Dragon on Trial (The Menagerie Series #2)

by Tui T. Sutherland, Kari Sutherland

Overview

Zoe Kahn is no stranger to the risks that come with caring for mythical creatures. But even feeding deadly basilisks and tracking down missing griffins didn't prepare her for the crisis that is unfolding at her family's Menagerie. The goose who laid the golden eggs has been murdered—and all the evidence points to a dragon named Scratch.

Now that he's part of the secret Menagerie, Logan Wilde is determined to help. He and Zoe are sure that the dragon is being framed, but unless they can prove he is innocent, Scratch will be executed. Worse yet, the Menagerie will be forced to shut down—which Logan and Zoe are starting to fear is exactly what someone wants. . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060851439
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/11/2014
Series:	Menagerie Series , #2
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Tui T. Sutherland & Kari Sutherland are sisters and best friends, and if you can’t tell by looking at them which one is older, Tui certainly isn’t going to tell you. They grew up in South America, traveling a lot and moving several times (and they’re still only about 80 percent certain that their parents weren’t secret agents). Kari now lives in California, while Tui lives in Boston, but they use every excuse they can to see each other (like, say, writing a book together).

Tui T. Sutherland & Kari Sutherland are sisters and best friends, and if you can't tell by looking at them which one is older, Tui certainly isn't going to tell you. They grew up in South America, traveling a lot and moving several times (and they're still only about 80 percent certain that their parents weren't secret agents). Kari now lives in New Jersey, while Tui lives in Boston, but they use every excuse they can to see each other (like, say, writing a book together).

Editorial Reviews

In this sequel to The Menagerie (HarperCollins,2013), Logan, Zoe, and Blue are faced with a new challenge: the golden-egg-laying goose, Pelly, has gone missing. Scratch, one of the menagerie’s dragons, is being implicated in her murder. SNAPA (SuperNatural Animal Protection Agency) agents are sniffing around the menagerie collecting evidence in their case against Scratch. The stakes are Scratch’s life and the future of the entire menagerie. Although there is a lot of evidence against Scratch, Logan, Zoe, and Blue are certain that he is innocent. As they look for a different perpetrator to cast some doubt as to Scratch’s guilt, they end up finding a classmate, Marco, who is a wererooster. Marco is able to determine that the bloody feathers at the scene of the crime do not belong to Pelly but to a much older goose. Unfortunately, his testimony will not stand up in the fast-approaching SNAPA trial. The kids have just days to find the real murderer and save the menagerie, or their lives will change forever. Fantasy lovers will delight in this funny and action-packed murder mystery full of the mystical creatures from all of their other favorite fantasies. Reviewer: Elisabeth W. Rauch; Ages 11 to 15.

Voya Reviews, April 2014 (Vol. 36, No. 1) - Elisabeth W. Rauch

2013-12-01
New threats to the existence of a hidden refuge for magical and mythical animals occupy a trio of young sleuths in this droll middle volume. The tale picks up just after the opener's cliffhanger ending (The Menagerie, 2013) and likewise ends midcourse with an ominous, sequel-keying discovery. In between Zoe, Logan and their part-merman buddy, Blue, find themselves racing to discover the truth about the apparent murder of Pelly, the thoroughly obnoxious goose whose golden eggs are nonetheless the Menagerie's sole source of income, and to keep the entire Wyoming facility from being shut down by regulatory agents. Meanwhile the large cast of griffins, hell hounds and other creatures—many with oversized egos, bad dispositions or both—need often hazardous care and feeding: "If you look a basilisk in the eye, it kills you instantly. If you hear a basilisk hiss, it kills you instantly. If you smell a wide-awake basilisk—." And lest the pace lag for even a moment, the authors also stage a hilarious jury screening for a dragon's trial-by-peers, trot in a rambunctious family of unregistered shape-changers, engineer encounters between Blue and a preening classmate with a crush, and shoehorn in several other subplots, both new and ongoing. Busy, busy…but funny, funny too, not to mention positively stuffed with exotic fauna. (map) (Fantasy. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Full to bursting with animated fantasy creatures, this delightful story begs to be read aloud. Animal lovers will eagerly anticipate more Logan and Zoe adventures.

ALA Booklist

05/01/2014
Gr 6–9—Zoe and Logan are trying to figure out who killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. With another cliff-hanger ending, readers will be eagerly awaiting the next title.

School Library Journal