Chris d’Lacey (born 1954) writes books for children of all ages, but is best known for his series The Last Dragon Chronicles which have sold nearly four million copies worldwide. He was born in Malta, but has absolutely no memory of the island and has never been back. Most of his life has been lived in Leicester, England. He now lives in Devon, England. 
The Fire Within by Chris d’Lacey
The Fire Within is the opening book of Chris d’Lacey’s Last Dragon Chronicles. Interestingly enough, despite the series’ title, and the dragon on the cover, there are surprisingly few dragons in the book. In fact, one could make an argument that the dominant creatures are squirrels. Yes, squirrels. But somehow, it works (dragons play a much larger role in succeeding books).
The novel begins when David, a college student, takes a room with the Pennykettles — mother Liz and young daughter Lucy.
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Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one