Darkisle

For 10-year-old Morag, there's nothing magical about the cellar of her cruel foster parents' home. But that's where she meets Aldiss, a talking rat and his resourceful companion, Bertie the dodo. She jumps at the chance to runaway and join them on their race against time to save their homeland from an evil warlock named Devilish, who is intent on destroying it. But first Berie and Aldiss will need to stop bickering long enough to free the only guide who knows where to find Devilish: Shona, a dragon who's been turned to stone. Terrifying, touching and funny, Darkisle is a vivid and fast-paced novel of captivating originality