THE DRAGONFLY SONG

In Bronze Age Crete, the first-born daughter of the Priestess is abandoned, cast out, until she joins the acrobatic bull dancers and tries to free her island from paying tribute to the Bull King. Wendy Orr’s fabulous new novel is mythic, yet modern, and a riveting adventure.

The little girl found under a bush has no name and cannot speak. Is she a miracle child who escaped the raiders, or is she a bad-luck child, the one who called the Bull King’s ship to the island? Each year his warriors came, taking oil, grain, goat kids, and two young bull dancers to perform for their king. If they survive, the island will be freed from tribute. No dancers have ever returned. The girl with no name, and no voice, is cast out even by the slaves. Strangely, this nobody girl is chosen by the Priestess’s cat. No one sees the mama-stone around her neck, with the sign of the dragonfly: Aissa. And only Luki, in training to leap the bulls, knows that she charmed the viper that would have killed him. But he would lose his good luck if he was seen helping her. Running fast and lying low have got her this far, but by the time she turns twelve she knows her only way out is to dare to become a bull dancer. Can anyone outrun the fate the gods have planned? A strong, compelling adventure inspired by the bull-leaping frescoes of Knossos and the Greek myth of Theseus, when young men and virgins were sent to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Wendy Orr was born in Edmonton, Canada, but grew up in various places across Canada, France and the USA and now lives in Australia. She started writing for children after a career as an occupational therapist. She’s the author of many award-winning books, including Nim’s Island, Nim at Sea, Rescue on Nim’s Island (two already made into films and the third in production), Raven’s Mountain and Peeling the Onion.