The House with a Dragon in It
by Nick Lake; illus. by Emily Gravett
Intermediate    Simon    256 pp.
10/24    9781665955683    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781665955706    $10.99

When Summer, a detached and frustrated fourth grader, shouts at her foster father, “You’re not my dad,” a sinkhole opens in the living-room floor, and everything starts to get out of hand. Beneath the floor, in a huge cavern, Summer discovers a dragon, a sword in a stone, and a potential treasure. She eventually finds herself in possession of the treasure: a bottle with a witch inside and a “DO NOT OPEN” label. This warning goes unheeded, and once released, the witch promises to grant Summer three wishes. Still struggling to establish her place in school and with her foster family, Summer has plenty of big wishes ready to go, but unfortunately, they come at a cost. Interjected throughout the dramatic story are comic breaks provided by the witch’s smug cat, Tobias. Gravett’s moody, fantastical art punctuates the chapters with extra personality, deftly building tension or slowing it down at key plot points. With the support of well-drawn secondary characters, including true friend Aishwarya and librarian Mrs. Brathwaite (who is well-versed in the tricky history of witches and the power of words), Summer stands up to the trouble she has created for herself and for those she cares about. Summer (unwittingly) marches new fantasy readers through a number of tropes that will introduce them to the genre as she discovers that many wishes can be fulfilled without the aid of magic.

From the ">January/February 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.