Book Review: Smash the World's Shell

IndieBookView

Nov 3

Smash the World's Shell

by Daniel Fliederbaum

Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

ISBN: 9781959804192

Print Length: 324 pages

Reviewed by Andrea Marks-Joseph / Content warnings: suicide, self-harm

Smash the World's Shell is a story about misunderstanding the creatures we share a world with—and the difference a kind, lonely misfit can make by keeping their heart open.

Ellen lives a quiet life with her dad, both of them grieving the loss of her mom by suicide. When she finds a ring that magically transports her to the wild, outdoor, dragon's realm—which should be inaccessible, because humans live under a protective dome specifically to avoid dragons—she meets Shard, a young dragon who offers to help Ellen amplify her mysteriously subdued magic abilities.

"A ring from nowhere that took her to a talking dragon that hadn't killed her and wanted to teach her magic?"

Their communities are mortal enemies with longstanding lore to instill fear and hatred in their respective populations. Despite everything, they become fast, fierce friends. Their star-crossed, secret only-at-first friendship becomes the catalyst for escalating vitriol between their nations and sparks a catastrophic battle that could be the end of both their worlds.

Both leads are lovely and you immediately want the best for them, in that typical "the adults and status quo don't know what's best, defiant teens will save the world" spirit typical of the greatest fantasy adventures. Shard loves to paint but has to do it in secret because local culture says art is for dragonesses only. He struggles with acclimating to being shown generosity and gentleness because he's so accustomed to being bullied and beaten up for his many "non-masculine" tendencies.