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Most young adolescents only dream of great deeds and wild adventures. What if a couple of typical 21st-century teens suddenly found themselves in a strange and fantastic world? In "Dragon Skurfers" by author L.J Libiran, Gabriel Hunter and his younger brother Zach were spending a perfect day snowboarding the half-pipe and checking out trails. The last run of the day would be down Demon's Gate. A Black Diamond trail due to open in a couple of weeks. They never made it to the end of that trail. Instead, they were plunged into an unimaginable ride, into a world where elves, dragons and demons are part of everyday life. After being hunted and threatened by the inhabitants of this new world Gabriel and Zach must decide if the bond they are developing with some of the dragons is worth fighting for. The balance of power is shifting, and Gabriel and Zach discover that the skills they once took for granted could change the future of an entire civilization.
Dragon Skurfers
L. J. Libiran
1stBooks Library (2002)
ISBN 9781403314314
Reviewed by Ben Weldon (age 10) for Reader Views (6/08)
“Dragon Skurfers” by L. J. Libiran is the story of two teenage brothers, Gabriel and Zach Hunter. They are having a stupendous time snowboarding and decide to try an expert trail that has not yet opened. They fall into a deep crevasse and must dodge pillars of ice and rock in order to survive. When they come out the other end, they are in the strange land of Morgowood where elves and dragons run wild. The elves are suspicious of the newcomers and want to banish them to the Whiteness, but, before they can, the evil dragon Rage sends his Skaavs to attack Morgowood. Will the elves and boys be allies or enemies? Will Morgowood succumb to the evil dragon?
Zach and Gabriel are snowboarding fanatics. You could almost say that their lives revolved around two things: snowboarding and eating, especially pizza. When they fell into the crevasse, they considered it to be like a top-grade video game except that if the snowboard crashed they would not just lose a computer-generated life, they would really die.
Good thing Zach and Gabriel really like wild adventures because they are in for a lot more. For starters, they witness four dragons hatching, and two of the dragons immediately bond with them. What will come of these strange bonds when they find themselves in a battle against the evil dragon Rage? I will tell you one thing -- you will see Zach and Gabriel put snowboards to use in ways you would never imagine.
This book has a great mix of reality and fantasy. It is so good, in fact, that at some points I almost felt like I was a part of the book. The book’s fast-moving story makes for quick reading. The main characters are very creative at solving problems. Zach and Gabriel are very likeable teenagers, and I do not think that most parents would have any objection to this book.
I would recommend “Dragon Skurfers” to people who like adventure and fantasy books. Full of dragons, this book is fun to read especially if you have an avid imagination. I hope that everybody who reads this book enjoys it as much as I did. Readers will be happy to know that there is a sequel already out.
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