Twelve-year-old Sophie wants to learn more magic so she'll be accepted into the prestigious Royal Magic Academy. Sent to live and train with her cranky, discipline-obsessed auntie for a year, Sophie becomes impatient and riddled with self-doubt when she is repeatedly chastised for not picking up new skills quickly. Stealing her cousin's spell book and casting a spell she's not ready for, Sophie causes a storm so severe she is swept out to sea. A young water dragon, Lir, rescues her, but their magic mingles, causing him to shape-shift into a human and lose his memory. Sophie must decide if the boost Lir gives to her magic is worth more to her than helping him regain his memory and find his way home. Using several series of wordless panels and a dramatic presentation of Sophie's inner monologue, Xu deftly illustrates the emotional turmoil in both children's minds as well as their actions, which are a direct response to what they've been told by people they love and respect. A perfect fit for fans of Studio Ghibli movies.

A legacy of magic binds two aspiring hopefuls from different worlds together.Inspired in part by East Asian cultures, this graphic novel's prologue reveals that a dragon draws rebuke from her family when she leaves the sea to be with her love, a fisherman. Now known as the Wu clan, their descendants earn respect from the dragons when they combine their collective magic and repel a powerful hurricane the dragons sent to destroy the kingdom. From then on, the dragons promise to always answer the call of the Wu family. In the present day, 12-year-old Sophie Wu, an aspiring witch, is determined to perfect her spells for her audition to the Royal Magic Academy. She travels to stay with her young aunt, Sage, a recent Academy graduate, and her cantankerous great-aunt in Dragon Bay Harbor Town to learn from them. However, her great-aunt's incessant negativity about her talents-which she hopes to disprove-and her own insecurities cause Sophie to lose control of a spell. A dragon named Lir becomes stuck in human form with no memories of what came before. A diplomatic conflict ensues that threatens the peace between dragons and humans unless Sophie and Lir are able to untangle their intertwined magic. Reminiscent of Kiki's Delivery Service, the colorful panels are filled with movement, and the manga-style art pops. Characters have skin tones ranging from light to mid-brown and hair in varying shades of brown.A fun, fantastical romp. (author's note) (Graphic fantasy. 9-12)