Brume: The Dragon Awakens by Jérôme Pélissier, illustrated by Carine Hinder
Due September 2025 Read via an online reader copy.
What it is about: Magic, mischief and mystery.
Well, there is more than that. Like Brume herself. She is a (publisher says feisty, I say down right bratty at times) young girl who is convinced she can do magic. She wants to be the village witch now that the old village witch has gone missing for several years. She is a child found in the fogs of forest, leading to her name. Her father is a simple fisherman, loves his foundling, but does not understand her. Then one day, Brume turns a local woman into a pig (well…. Not really) and is convinced the fog the village is covered in is from a dragon (and not her spell she accidentally let happen) so she and her friends (Hugo, one human boy, and Hubert, a real pig and not her elderly neighbor) go off to fight said dragon. The adventures happen, Brume learns the real meaning of fear and home, but still her usual rambunctious self, and also can actually do real magic! (Or was it her pig and her spell book which has a few surprises of its own?) 
It is clever and fun. There is action, mayhem and fantasy realism. Some of the pieces fit nicely, others have a few worn edges. The colors and details are bold, bright and have both a cozy and mysterious feel. Things are familiar, yet have a few new elements. The tone of things is as if it was translated, or maybe English is not the author’s first language. The reader can be as young as seven and up to 11-young 12. You could read it to a younger audience, but there are fantasy elements and for a sensitive or too young reader it could be a smidgen too much.
Overall, I enjoyed it, I probably will find a sequel, yet, if I don’t, it was an experience I appreciated. 