Dragon Thief
The first in the Alex Neptune series, this is a lovely read for older primary years and with a refreshing plot. The opening sentence of ‘Ever since I was a child, the sea has tried to kill me’ had me hooked.

The sea for Finn is definitely out to get him and as such he does his best to avoid it, something a bit tricky when he lives so close. But generally life is OK for Finn and his friend Zoe who is forever inventing contraptions with bits of leftover scrap from her Dads boat repair business. There is a folk tale about the seaside town where they live that talks about a dragon who used to protect the town, but one day someone did the dragon damage and in revenge it created a tidal wave that washed over the land and bit a huge part of the shore off, leaving the concave bay.

It was a lovely tourist town, however since the last mayor was elected, a strange factory had appeared and the bay was hugely polluted, killing off all the wildlife and driving away the tourists. Suddenly one day, Finn is accosted by sea animals who seem to have a message for him and what’s more, he can understand what they say and they take instructions from him. Completely intrigued, Finn, Zoe and Anil the son of medics who have recently moved to the area start to investigate some really strange going ons.

It seems that the folk tale may have some substance to it and that Finn has a closer relationship with the sea than he ever realized.

Excellent for book clubs, book reports and both home and school libraries or reading corners.

Look out for the other books in the series. (Pirate Hunter, Monster Avenger and Zombie Fighter)