It is one of the classic formats of fantasy fiction for the narrative to be built around a journey. The Mark of the Dragonfly sits securely within this tradition and the protagonist, Piper, sets herself the mission of taking the lost and amnesiac Anna back to her supposed home in the distant 'Dragonfly Territories'. It is however unique in my experience of reading children's fantasy for almost all of such a journey to be made on board an old and very special steam train, as it is in Jaleigh Johnson's exciting debut.
And this is far from the only imaginatively mould breaking element of her book.
At the core of the world this writer creates is a dystopian society operating with rather crude mechanics (essentially 'steampunk' ), where disparate and largely broken elements of 'our' more advanced civilisation are scavenged as treasures. This is, in itself, a set up that I have encountered in so many recent books that is in danger of becoming over worked and rather tired as a concept. In addition the geography of the relatively small world of her narrative is split into two rival kingdoms clearly close to the brink of war. This is another fantasy trope that hangs for me on balance between convention and cliché. However here Jayleigh Johnson revitalises these elements by mixing them with other surprising and superficially rather inconsistent elements. Her creation has elements of pure science fiction in that, alongside the human inhabitants of her world, live a race of completely non- humans, the tentacled 'sarnuns' . Their place, at least In this particular narrative, is almost incidental and close to feeling gratuitous. Yet their presence does give the world a strong feeling of 'otherness' and challenges what could otherwise have been an easy assumption that this is simply part of our own earth projected into some post apocalyptic future. On top of this, or perhaps more accurately within it, are elements which belong far more to high fantasy. Not the least of these comes with the realisation that one of the story's key characters belongs to yet another race of beings and is in fact a shape shifter who can transform from his human form into a winged, rather dragonish, creature. There is magic too, at least of a kind, and the protagonist, Piper, discovers that she is a 'synergist', with the power to command and control mechanisms, both constructively and also with dramatically destructive force. This is all very strange - but in a good way, in fact a wonderful way. All these elements could feel very disparate and confused, yet Jayleigh Johnson manages to meld them very effectively into a totally convincing and enthralling world.
The great strengths of the book lie in its story-telling, which skilfully provides both compelling narrative drive and rich character development. The plot is gripping and has many surprising, even shocking, twists and turns. Edge of the seat excitement abounds. Yet the author also allows her story space and time. It is relatively long for a first children's novel, but here this is an asset. It gives ample opportunity for reflection on and enrichment of her world and her characters. The protagonist, Piper, together with Anna and Gee, who develop into her two very close friends - she is just a little young for outright romance - are all splendid creations. They are complex, endearing without being saccharine and certainly not idealised. Their development is as much a gripping element of the story as is the action which precipitates it. Other characters are strongly drawn as well, both the good guys on the train and those met en route. The chief 'baddie' is appropriately chilling too, and also turns out to be somewhat more complex that first painted. However this is very much Piper's story and it is excellent to have found yet another great fantasy adventure with a strong and feisty female lead. I hope we are moving steadily towards blurring or even erradicating silly distinctions between girls' and boys' books and through literature, licencing the young of each gender to identify with the thoughts and feelings of the other. We may then truly move closer towards genuine 'He for She/She for He' society. This book should certainly help. It deserves to reach a wide audience and I hope it will shortly be published over here as well as in the US. However, thanks to the Internet I am pleased to say that it is already fairly easily obtainable.
Strangely, neither this volume nor its accompanying website make any specific mention of a sequel. I hope and trust there is actually more on the way, and soon. Here is a story crying out to be developed into, say, a trilogy or quartet. Despite this book's warm and satisfying ending, there is so much in both this world and these characters which the reader is left aching to know more about. As it stands, this is an excellent fantasy read. If the author can extend its potential into a cohensive, fully developed and resolved sequence, then it could be the start of a great work of children's literature.
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