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Sidekick Super Review: A Language of Dragons (2025) by S.F. Williamson
- Sep 26
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 23
The Basics
Page Length: 432 pages
Audiobook Length: ~13 hours
Grade Level: 8+
Goodreads Score: 3.84/5
Buy it HERE
Setting: London, England, 1923 (an alternate, fantasy version of 1923)
Genre: Fantasy, Historical
Topics: Dragons, War, Language/Linguistics, Code breaking, Politics, Class System, Social Activism
Plot: Vivian Featherswallow is a student of language—dragon languages. For as long as she can remember, she’s been trained as an expert in draconic linguistics, expected to follow in her mother’s footsteps at the London Academy. Since the war between humans and dragons, translators have been essential to the English government in “keeping the peace”—or so they claim. Vivian has worked her whole life to earn a place at the university and build a career with her gift for dragon tongues. But every step has been marked by pressure.
As a second-class citizen, Vivian has only ever been afforded the “middle road” in life: education, medical treatment, housing. Nothing more. At eighteen, every citizen must take the class exam before graduation. Passing means you keep your social rank; failing means demotion. First class holds the rich and powerful. Second class—Vivian’s class—sits squarely in the middle. Third class lives at the bottom, forced into brutal conditions with the barest scraps England has to offer. Fail the exam, and you are quite literally kicked to the curb, dumped into a third-class neighborhood, stripped from your family, and cut off from the world you once knew.
Dragons, too, now live under crushing oppression. Once equals with humans, they are punished, imprisoned, or forced into labor for crimes real or fabricated. Though physically stronger than humans, dragons have been pressed under the political thumb of their queen and England’s prime minister. Tensions simmer across the nation. Rebels rise in opposition—against both the so-called peace agreements and the rigid class system.
When Vivian’s parents are arrested for rebel activity, desperation pushes her into criminal acts of her own in a bid to protect her parents and younger sister. But when she’s caught, she isn’t sent to prison. Instead, she’s “invited” to join other teenage recruits at Bletchley Park—a secret government community dedicated to the prime minister’s war efforts. With her gift for dragon language, Vivian is tasked with code-breaking, helping the government uncover hidden meanings in dragon communication. What she discovers is far more dangerous—and far more sacred—than she imagined. The code is not just about words or telepathy. Dragons wield powers tied to language itself. And the secrets she unravels threaten not only her own life, but the fragile balance between humans and dragons.
At Bletchley Park, Vivian’s beliefs are tested: the lies she’s been taught at school, the government’s treatment of third-class citizens, and the true nature of the so-called “peace.” As she makes new allies and uncovers layers of deception, she must face her greatest challenge yet: choosing between protecting her family or protecting humans and dragons alike.
Haunted by past mistakes, Vivian must decide whether those choices will define her—or whether she can forge a new path, one that may hold the fate of all humans and dragons in England.
Themes: Forgiveness, Rebellion vs. Oppression, Truth and Propaganda, Language and Power, Selfishness vs. Selflessness
You might like this book if you like:
Code breaking and puzzle solving
Keeping your Duolingo streak alive :)
The book series The Diviners by Libba Bray
Alternate history TV shows/movies like The Man in the High Castle, 11.22.63, Watchmen, Timeless
Shows/movies with dragons like House of the Dragon, Merlin, Eragon
Other books written by this author: War of Wyverns (book two in this series--expected release date January 2026)
Teaching A Language of Dragons As a Full-Class Unit
Content
Language: moderate use of strong language
Sex: some passionate kissing scenes, illusions to more, mention of dragons seducing each other
Violence/Scariness: quite a bit of violence. A girl is beaten and killed during protest, some characters are hit with rods as motivation to pass their exams, dragon battle scenes, a character's arm is broken, several are shot, a girl is poisoned, a character is tortured with a knife, humans are fed to dragons as punishment.
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: several characters drink and smoke regularly, including teenagers
Class Novel-ability: This is a great book, but it’s definitely not for everyone. The content might not be suitable for a whole-class study, and the fantasy genre may not have universal appeal. However, it’s an excellent independent read for students who enjoy fantasy blended with historical fiction. I really enjoyed it!
The Star Qualities
This fantastical alternate-history story includes REAL historical details! Most of the book is set at Bletchley Park, which was a real-life code-breaking location dedicated to the World War II effort. How cool! There are other clever nods to 1920s life, like live radio war updates and newspaper articles highlighting members of the British royal family at the time. The world feels removed from ours—with dragons and a warped class system—but these historical inclusions make it feel more grounded and believable.
The book also includes little pictures and snippets of non-narrative text. Between chapters, you might see newspaper articles, private diary entries, radio transcripts, research papers, or minutes from parliamentary debates. While some come from characters tied to Vivian, the narrator, others are more general. These pieces add depth and context to the situations and conflicts in the story.
The worldbuilding is excellent. I love the dragons—their origins, language, secret powers, familial bonds, loyalty, and strength. Their relationships with humans are fascinating, and the human world itself is rich and interesting. The class structure is very different from ours, but not so far-fetched that it feels unrealistic. The alternate class system almost feels futuristic and dystopian. This element, combined with the mix of realism and fantasy, makes the story especially compelling.
The female characters are incredible! All the high-powered leaders—the Prime Minister of England, the Queen of the Dragons, the professors and leaders at Bletchley Park—are women. Girl bosses unite! It’s exciting to see so many strong female figures. Of course there are boys too, but the prominence of these “leading ladies” is refreshing. Vivian, the main character, is also a strong female protagonist, but she’s flawed and relatable. At the start, she makes some questionable choices, and we get to follow her journey toward redemption. I really love that aspect of her character development.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read pages 1-4(until the word "translator" at the end of the second to last paragraph)
If you don't, read the above section in the Amazon Kindle reading sample here.
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Texts
I like this one because of its rhythm and pacing. I love the flow of the sentence fragments at the end and the repetition of “That I…”—it really highlights the narrator’s guilt. The pacing and paragraph breaks make the passage more dramatic, emphasizing the emotion she feels as she reflects. The reader can really feel the weight and shame the narrator carries for her past mistakes. This is a perfect mentor text to show students how they can use pacing and structure to create deeper emotion in their own writing.
This passage is so unique and playful. I think students would have fun analyzing it and learning how to imitate some of the stylistic moves in their own writing. The coolest part, to me, is the dictionary definition integration—especially the paragraph break on the last word, crime. Structuring the writing this way highlights the narrator’s translation process and discovery. It makes the moment dramatic and whimsical. Imagine how different it would read without the dictionary definition set apart like that! Visually separating it from the rest of the text lets the reader dissect the word in their mind, just as the narrator does. I also love the tone of this little snippet—it’s just very cool. I would be excited to see what students create when asked to analyze and imitate this stylistic choice.
This passage is packed with craft! It uses ellipses to highlight hesitation and awkwardness. There’s dialogue back and forth with parenthetical narration, as well as internal dialogue structured with dramatic paragraph breaks and short, punchy sentences or fragments. The layout of the scene emphasizes the narrator’s nervous, cautious, and tense attitude. There’s a lot here for students to analyze and choose from.
Sentences for Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining:
"It's a box made of glass, shaped a bit like a radio with a tall, retractable aerial and a small gold speaker that looks like it belongs on a gramophone." (A Language of Dragons, p. 115)
It's a box.
It's made of glass.
It's shaped a bit like a radio.
It has an aerial.
The aerial is tall and retractable.
The box has a speaker.
The speaker is small and gold.
The speaker looks like it belongs on a gramophone.
"My heart leaps out of chest and back in again, but I nod, trying to look calm." (p. 50)
My heart leaps out of my chest.
It leaps back in again.
I nod.
I try to look calm.
"More Guardians appear, all of them holding silver batons, and I jump aside as another group of protesters runs up behind me, one of their signs hitting my cheek." (p. 16)
More guardians appear.
All of them are holding batons.
The batons are silver.
Something runs up behind me.
I jump aside.
Its's a group of protestors.
Something hits my cheek.
It's one of their signs.
"Her wings shiver on each side of her back, giant leathery things that I know will span the space of the whole room when unfolded." (p. 51)
Her wings shiver.
They shiver on each side of her back.
Her wings are giant.
Her wings are leathery.
I know they will span the space of the whole room when she unfolds them.
Sentences for Imitation:
"But if I can offer myself a second chance then maybe I can do things differently. I can choose to live a life where what's important isn't what I can achieve--grades. social class, career--but the type of person I can be." (p. 374)
This is SUCH a strong choice for imitation. The repetition of “I can” builds rhythm and determination. The dash sets the list of societal expectations apart, emphasizing their weight on the narrator. The expectations are contrasted with who the narrator truly wants to be. Together, these stylistic choices create a powerful effect. I especially love this example because I think students can easily imitate it without a previously written piece already in front of them. It can be mirrored comfortably as students create their own list of societal expectations and contrast it with who they want to be. It's relatable AND worthy of imitation. Double whammy!
"It's cold outside--too cold for snow--and, in the grounds around the manor house, frozen dragon tracks are entrenched deep in the dirt." (p. 217)
I like this one mainly for its structure. The punctuation adds layers of drama, creating natural pauses that make the sentence more powerful when read aloud. The way it’s structured emphasizes both the temperature and the danger of the setting. Be sure to highlight this effect as you read it to students. It’s a great model for teaching punctuation as a stylistic choice. Plus, it works perfectly for Method #2 of sentence combining (where students rearrange sentences—see my how-to video). Another double whammy!
"I am a bright, ripe fruit: shiny on the surface but rotten at the core." (p. 19)
This singular sentence says A LOT. It uses the metaphor of the fruit. There's juxtaposition--shiny vs. rotten, which creates an interesting, self-condemning tone. The imagery is vivid—you can clearly picture the fruit as you read. Even the colon works as a stylistic choice, spotlighting the metaphor. Altogether, these moves powerfully show how the narrator sees herself as corrupt and decayed. It’s packed with craft worth imitating!
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
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