Books like Dragon Waking

Like most middle books in a trilogy, this is a bit weaker than its predecessor. The stakes are rising as more mysterious green gems known as "dragon eyes" are found by various members of the Chestnut Circle neighborhood that was transported into this new world. There is a lot of traveling and rearranging of the players so it is like a giant chessboard. It's interesting, but also a bit emotionally distancing. The dragon remains frustratingly ambiguous, and I hope that all this build-up pays off. At this point, it could go either way. I do wish that I had a better idea of how old the kids are because Todd, Nick, Jason, and Mary Lou are moving into pivotal positions, but some of Nick and Todd's romantic interactions with Maggie, a militia Volunteer with a checkered past from 1909, and Sala, an abused girl from another island, make them sound like they are 17-19, but then other moments they seem more like 13-16. It's more of a pet peeve/annoyance of mine and is a minor complaint.