The Story of Owen

Dragons. In modern day North America. How can sixteen-year-old Owen fight back when he can barely pass algebra? It takes a village to train a dragon slayer, and Owen needs all the help he can get.

Owen is destined by birth to carry on his family's legacy as a noble dragon slayer. Siobhan, his classmate and new friend, agrees to be Owen's bard, slated to tell his stories for posterity. Together they embark on an epic quest to protect their rural Canadian town from dragons who hunger for fossil fuels. For in this wildly creative alternate version of our world, dragons feed on carbon emissions, and they'll take down any human who stands in their way.

Owen and Siobhan have homework to do, instruments to practice, and college to think of, but their most important job is to keep the residents of Trondheim, Ontario, from getting caught in the dragons' cross fire. Literally.

Fans of M.T. Anderson and readers who love contemporary fantasy, alternate history, and old Norse ballads will devour this clever, award-winning tale of friendship and adventure.

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Kirkus Prize for Young People's Literature Finalist
Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist
YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults

E. K. Johnston is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of several YA novels, including Star Wars: Ahsoka and A Thousand Nights. She is also a trained forensic archaeologist, has lived on four continents, and decorates cupcakes in her spare time. These days, she calls Stratford, Ontario, home.