Loved it up until the ending which was abrupt. The book felt like it was missing the last third. What started out as a promising new voice in fantasy middle grade ended up needing a better editor.

A very exciting story about a young African American boy who doesn't know much about his family background but soon is swept away on an adventure of knowing himself, and realizing where he came from. I enjoyed Ma's character and her personality. Jaxon is intelligent, sharp, and always ready. This is going to be a very interesting series.

Ostensibly set in a very recognizable world, this middle grade fantasy eases the reader into the fantastical by way of a mysterious grandmother, a pesky squirrel, and a jumping package. Before the ride is over, you have traveled through space and time, met an intriguing cast of characters, and met those dragons in a bag.

Immediately upon finishing the book, I wanted the next.

In addition to the smooth writing, great characters, and fun story, the fact that the characters approach the fantasy world from a non-white perspective is an additionally appealing fact.

I look forward to more by this author in general, and in this world she has built.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this sweet fantasy novel. I love the way that it teaches the importance of integration while including the lighthearted magical fantasy elements of time travel and dragons.

(I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Zetta Elliot for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review).

A cute children's urban fantasy novel about a boy named Jax who has to stay with Ma when his Mama needs to go to court for the day to try to keep their home. He learns that Ma isn't exactly related to him (she's not his grandma), but she has taken care of many children in the past, including his own mother. There's something strange and...magical...about Ma. When Jax finds out that she is a witch, he seems to take the information in stride, and more and more strange magical things begin to happen around him, including the appearance of magical creatures, such as dragons.

This is a very fun and quick read. One of the only qualms I have about it is that I wish the dragons were physically discovered sooner and that more was done with the dragons, because that is one of the appeals that drew me into the book. Anything with dragons, and I'll read it in a heartbeat! That aside, I really liked how this book features an intelligent young boy and the reader is given little mini history and geography lessons throughout the book as explained by various characters for different purposes. When the dragons do finally make their appearance, they are pretty cute and somewhat unique in themselves as well, which I liked. I do want to know more, for sure, and the book leaves a few open plot lines for a definite sequel. After you read the story, it will be pretty obvious what Jax's next adventure is going to be. One of the other nice touches about this book was that there was at least one illustration with every chapter, something that books seem to disregard as they become geared for older readers. There's no such thing as too old to add images to a book! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and, while it is more of a children's book, I wouldn't mind having this book on my classroom shelf for middle school students to access, or even some of my high school students who might struggle with reading or be at a lower reading level. This book would be very fun for those students, and anyone who wants a quick, easy, and exciting read...with dragons, of course!

this is a DELIGHTFUL middle grade urban fantasy. I read it all in one sitting and can't wait to learn more about this world (and Kavita's dragon). Jax is such a great protagonist--a smart, curious boy who wants to do the right thing....but dragons?!--and so much is communicated about him and his relationship with his mother through relatively little.

A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing me a copy of “Dragons in a Bag″ by Zetta Elliott in exchange for my review. “Dragons in a Bag” was a nice, interesting book and I feel a good start to the series.

Let’s start with the characterization. It’s really hard to dislike any of the characters as all of them are charming in their own manner. My favorite characters in the story are Ma and Trub. What I surprisingly enjoyed was that the characters and the settings are still vague after completing the book. Usually, the first book sets the ground for the world building and clearly outlines the rules. When you pick out the second one in the series, you can predict what is going to happen. However, after finishing this book, I am still not completely clear as to where the plot is going or what the characters might do. Ambrose, Trub, Ma and Sis still remain a mystery to me.

That doesn’t mean that the story is boring. It’s a wonderful concept and draws you in as soon as you start reading. The author has written the characters in a compelling manner that makes you want to pick up the next book and continue. Actually, I was expecting a lot of interactions between Jaxon and the dragons. Instead, I liked that the story focused more on the relationships between Jaxon and his new friends. On a side note, as an Indian, I chucked when I read Jaxon’s reaction to pedas (it is a delicious Indian sweet!)

Coming to the negatives, there were some minor glitches that bothered me while reading the story. While I enjoyed the time travel element, I found some parts of the story a bit unrealistic. For instance, when Jaxon goes into the dinosaur era, he swats some mosquitoes during that time. Wouldn’t this alter the future, in some way? I’m not going to get technical on the metaphysics of time travel, but it was hard to believe that things remained exactly the same when Jaxon came back to the present time. However, considering that it is a middle grade fantasy, I didn’t take this matter too seriously.

Also, I wish there were some proper names for the characters to easily distinguish them. I really liked the characters being referred to as ‘Ma’ and ‘Mama’ and thought it was a cute concept. However, since many sentences had Jaxon relating between his Ma and Mama, at times I read one as the other, causing some confusion.

The story leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and I can’t wait for the sequel to read more! Perhaps there is a logical explanation to these inconsistencies mentioned above and provided in the next book. I enjoyed Zetta Elliott’s style of writing and how she made her characters feel down to Earth. Geneva B. has also drawn some nice illustrations that I feel would look even better in the final draft. Overall, “Dragons in a Bag” is a fun adventure start to the series and I rate it 3.5 / 5 stars.

You know I loved this book! I interviewed the author, Zetta shared about it on my blog at: https://dulemba.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/zetta-elliott-on-magic-of-mythical.html . :)