The Reluctant Dragon — Claire Youmans

With Azuki's future again at risk, can she and her friends forge fulfilling lives as society turns repressive and even the dragons are leaving Earth?
Japan, 1879. The first class of the National Secondary School will soon graduate, but what's next for the dual-natured Toki-Girl Azuki; her Sparrow-Boy brother, Shota; Eagle-Boy Akira and Dragon Princess Renko as they face a hostile world?
Azuki planned for college, but girls are once again excluded. Renko's dragon family will soon abandon a human-ravaged Earth, but she cannot go with them. Shota can take over the family property. Akira's sea captain father can help him build a future that will let his eagle nature soar, but “good wife and wise mother” is all that's left for the girls.
When two Shinobi need help to fulfill a mission and escape pursuit, the young people hatch a daring plan �" to sail them south out of danger as they search for their own solutions.
Dragons who vanish never return until Timin comes seeking his grandchildren. Will the dragons of Earth find a new home? What of those who must stay? Must Renko lose her family? Can Azuki pursue the talent that drives her?
In a world that races blindly towards “modernity,” can Azuki fly beyond the ordinary to survive and prosper?
The Reluctant Dragon is the bittersweet tenth book in The Toki-Girl and the Sparrow-Boy historical fantasy series. If you like clever characters, rich mythology, and sweeping epics, then you'll love Claire Youmans's lethally intricate tale.
Buy The Reluctant Dragon to leap into the future today!