I got this book on a whim when it was available for free on Amazon. I was glad I did.
Cora and the Nurse Dragon tells the tale of a girl who loves dragons. She had always wanted to be a jockey, racing dragons. Her father, however, was dead set against the notion because he thinks it's cruel to keep dragons caged up. So instead, she keeps tons of cheap, common mayfly dragons and does "trials" to determine how to best prolong their lifespan (suggested to be at an average of 6 weeks).
The following review will be written specifically for parents looking for a good book for their young children but don't have time to actually go through the entire book themselves. Expect some spoilers.
First, let's address the good bits. I love the themes addressed in this story. The biggest focus of the story, is without doubt about animal rights. Cora loves dragons and she loves watching them race, and she naturally thought her dream was to be a jockey no matter how many times her father tells her it's a cruel thing to do. Through the course of the story, she comes to understand about animal cruelty and, finally realising that it is abhorrent to keep such majestic creatures caged, works hard to set them free instead.
Then we have the whole parent-child dynamic going on. We explore 3 families in this book - a rich family (Mr Algernon and his spoilt son, Xavier), an average family (Abry and her revenant father and lawyer mother) and a poor family (Cora and her father). Mr Algernon doesn't have time for his son and buys him anything and everything he wants so that his son won't bother him. In turn, Xavier, kicks up all sorts of trouble to get his father's love and attention and takes on the role of the neighbourhood bully. Abry's father preaches about doing good while her mother teaches her about business and the likes, and Abry follows their teachings to a fault. I love how Abry shows maturity beyond her age thanks to her upbringing and endless reading. And I love how Burke used Abry to highlight the importance of proper documentations, no matter how tedious, in her story. Cory, on the other hand, comes from a poor family, but the love between father and daughter is just as strong as Abry and her parents. I love how Cora's father constantly protests against keeping dragons in cages but allows his daughter the freedom to keep mayfly dragons as pets - provided that they are well looked after.
As an adult reader, though, I find fault with several aspects of the story. First off, about finance. Cora's family was repeated painted to be in the lower average income group - rich enough to not go hungry, not enough to afford Christmas surprises. However, she somehow has the money to buy and feed cages of mayfly dragons for experiment. Think about keeping a constant flow fifty or so mice who lasts several months at most. As a kid's book, my concern would be how this affects a kid's mentality. Will a kid from a poor family become petulant and demand a pet because Cora was poor but could still afford multiple pets? Also, I disagreed with Cora's attitude towards the mayfly dragons in general. Because they had short lifespans, she forced herself not to form any emotional attachments with them. Which is true. Except in that case, it annoys me because it gives the impression that animals that are common and live short lives do not deserve as much love and attention as the rarer ones. NOT TRUE.
Plus, words cannot express how frustrated I am at the author's very, very unsuccessful attempt at suspense. Look, it only works if you don't know the name of the book before starting. I mean, look at the flipping title! We know from the start that it's a book about dragons and that Cora's dragon is a nurse dragon! Was that whole "suspense" about the racing animals even necessary? And that stretched out research to find out Cora's dragon's breed? Come on. You're not fooling a five-year-old.
Next, the world was not really built well upon. Apart from the fact that it's set in an alternate universe with dragons, we really don't know anything about their world. It's like, it could almost have been a book about horses. Except of course, there were elements in the story that required the animal to conform to certain rules for it to work. Also, till the end, we do not know how a supposedly extinct dragon came back into existence. It's all written down as being a miracle.
I also hated how education was handled. Cora hates school and wants nothing more than to drop out. Her father, though, forces her to at least graduate as he believes she is too young to be making decisions like dropping out of school. This is very true, but the way the story handled it, it's like Cora's father was wrong and she was right and he should have allowed her to leave school early. Thankfully, Burke did take care to highlight that Cora completed school and we have Abry, the bookworm to demonstrate the grand things that an educated person can do versus someone who is not - same dream, same goal, different outcomes because one's knowledge allowed you to pull off feats you otherwise wouldn't have known to do.
Lastly, I do believe that the bit of violence at the end was completely unnecessary and it could have been removed without affecting the plot at all. To be honest, it felt like it had been added merely for the shock factor. For parents wanting to know, there was a gun shot and someone died. Nothing gory or explicit. Just a simple line describing the sound of gunshot, followed by a brief allusion to the fact that someone died. It's up to you to decide if your child is old enough to handle a death - an a terribly unnecessary one, at that - in his/her storybooks.
I've complaint so much, but I hope no one mistakes it as me disliking this book. No. Overall, I think it's a very well thought out book. Minus the violence bit.
Ultimately, this book is a great book addressing animal love and familial love. It also tells you that sometimes, you have to learn how to go. It also has a happy - or some may say bittersweet - ending.
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Top reviews from other countries
G. O. Jones
H.L.Burke has written a lovely story the flows smoothly and is easy to read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2016