Stevie‘s review of Dragons Are People, Too by Sarah Nicolas
Young Adult Paranormal Romance published by Entangled: Teen 28 Apr 15

One of the great freedoms of young adult novels is the lack of need for explanations, which is why I’m far more trusting of shifter stories in the genre than I am in paranormal romances aimed at older audiences. I’ve been burned once too often by stories that give impossible ‘scientific’ explanations for were-whatevers, while I’ll happily accept that such things ‘just are’ in the universe I’ve been plunged into upon opening the book. Fortunately this rip-roaring adventure (pardon the pun) explains away were-dragons and their abilities from a very teenage point of view: people have tried to explain how shifting works, but our heroine isn’t interested.

Kitty (only her mother calls her Katherine, and then only when she’s in trouble) is a Chinese-American were-dragon, who juggles high school, where the President’s son is one of her classmates, with special ops duties. Her problems begin during a night mission when the new operative accompanying her panics and is caught on camera shifting from human to dragon. As if being disciplined by her mother and the other commanders isn’t bad enough, the world’s media gets hold of the footage and suddenly the dragons are being rounded up and locked away to protect the humans.

Before the CIA can track down Kitty and her fellow shifter classmate Sani, however, they are caught up in the kidnapping of the President’s son. Sani gets shot and is forced to stay in human form until he heals. The two teenage were-dragons go on the run, finding their images plastered all over TV and the internet, but helped by one of the human bodyguards who was also a witness to the kidnapping and is keen to help them rescue his former charge.

This is a non-stop rollercoaster ride of a story with the teens very much in control of their destinies, although also prepared to accept help wherever it’s offered. I like the different forms that the various ethnicities of dragons take on, and the way they are able to play to their best skills when not being told what to do by the top brass.

The romance between Kitty and Sani is very understated for reasons that become clear towards the end of the story and which are totally understandable, given both the ages of the protagonists and what we know of their backgrounds. I do feel that the ending is setting us up for a sequel, but the story doesn’t end on a total cliffhanger, for those readers who dislike that sort of thing.

All in all, this is an enjoyable adventure, and I’d like to spend more time with the characters at some point.

Grade: B

Summary:

Never judge a dragon by her human cover…

Sixteen-year-old Kitty Lung has everyone convinced she’s a normal teen–not a secret government operative, not the one charged with protecting the president’s son, and certainly not a were-dragon. The only one she trusts with the truth is her best friend–and secret crush–the über-hot Bulisani Mathe.

Then a junior operative breaks Rule Number One by changing into his dragon form in public–on Kitty’s watch–and suddenly, the world knows. About dragons. About the Draconic Intelligence Command (DIC) Kitty works for. About Kitty herself.

Now the government is hunting down and incarcerating dragons to stop a public panic, and a new shape-shifting enemy has kidnapped the president’s son. Kitty and Bulisani are the last free dragons, wanted by both their allies and their enemies. If they can’t rescue the president’s son and liberate their fellow dragons before getting caught themselves, dragons might never live free again.

Read an excerpt.