Dager of the Tasman Empire by Teresa SchapanskyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Summary: Ruthlessly torn away from his family at the tender age of three; subsequently sold as a slave, the little boy endures unbelievable brutality.
Thankful for his nightly dreams about magical, faraway places, and the constant companionship of his equally neglected farmyard friends, he survives.
Two agonizing years pass; he receives a mysterious message, and learns that he has a family that loves him. He also discovers that he has a name, and that his family has never given up hope of his eventual return. With resolve that he didn't know he had, the little boy puts up the fight of his life, to return to his home.
Review: What a sweet little book! 3.5 stars for this one.
This year hasn't been that great for reading, so the first thing I need to do is thank Teresa for being very patient with me as she's been waiting about three months for this review, now!
This is a fun little book full of whimsy and magic and the fantastical, a book about family and surviving and the things that both separate us and bring us together. The main character, Dager, is kidnapped from his family as a young child and subjected to a difficult upbringing far away from those who love him, and the book takes us through the journey he goes on to get back to them.
I would have appreciated a bit more depth to the characters, but I could still empathize with them and what they were going through, particularly the children. There's something universal about the desire of a child to have and be with their family, I think, and that's at play here.
Although the writing could be a little more fluid at times, I really appreciated the story that the author was telling. It's engaging and sweet and also more than a bit heartwarming. This book is a great one for younger readers, along with Imogene of the Pacific Kingdom, also by the same author.
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