A cozy middle-grade fiction with plenty of books, an indie book store, and a dragon. Need I say more?

I will :) I’ve been reading this book since I found it in my school library in Grade 6. In Grade 12 I considered asking my school librarian if I could have it, but didn’t have the nerve. So, I lost contact with it for many years, until I bought it last year. 

The book is about Nonesuch, a dragon born in the middle ages, who, finding himself alone in the world, discovers a love for books. Using a unique power, he carefully protects the books hand-copied and illuminated by monks, and over time, he sees the evolution of books with the printing press, culminating in his protection of a small independent bookstore that finds itself under attack by a developer (while explicitly being unnamed to avoid people going and looking for Nonesuch, I figure it is in Saint John, NB). 

Not having actually read much cozy fiction, I’d still call it such, as many scenes are just about Nonesuch discovering books and the people who care for them, and his will to defend these books from harm. Some of the scenes, particularly those of medieval battles, and a few at the end have a bit of mild violence, it's overall a fun, cute, easy read. 

One thing I picked up from this read was the socially radical characters. The bad guy is literally an evil capitalist developer who threatens small independent businesses, there is a pro-union proto-punk dockworker that joins the fight against him and a socialist who tries to turn an unused school into social housing. And Nonesuch, who using his special powers works in the background to preserve the bookstore against the interests of the developer.

I loved revisiting this book. It is cute and a relaxing read. I’d be curious to know what a modern middle-grader would think of it, but I know I certainly loved it, so if you know one who reads it, let me know!