Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older


Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older    



This is the story of a group of young orphans, led by our main character Magdalys, who lived at the Colored Orphan Asylum in New York during the Civil War. That is before it was burned down in the Draft Riots leaving Magdalys and her friends homeless and in search of the other orphans who they fear have been kidnapped by the magistrate, Richard Riker and sent down south to slavery. Did I mention they escaped on the back of brachiosaurus? A brachiosaurus they may or may not have been controlled by Magdalys’s mind? Because dinosaurs are alive and well in this historical fantasy novel and they might be the key to helping Magdalys find her friends and hopefully her family.

               I don’t know where to begin with this novel! I had so much fun reading it but it’s set in such a horrible point in our history that shrouds over it. In Dactyl Hill Squad you have this incredible adventure novel, where dinowrangling is real and it’s nothing to ride on a Triceratops pulled wagon or take a Sauropod ferry across a river. But it’s a novel that touches on a very complicated history of New York during the Civil War and we have a group of non-white children at the center. They know the war is being fought to keep them out of chains. But they are also very aware that there are groups of people in their own city who are willing to kidnap them and sell them south. It’s complicated but in the hands of Older, I was swept up in the strength and joy of these kids who were intent on fighting back.

               I highly recommend this novel. My kid is actually about to start reading this and I can’t wait. The character development is amazing. All of these characters have such nuance and their personalities shine from the very beginning. The world building is incredible. It feels like this is a world that could have actually existed and not only that, but the idea of being able to ride on a dinosaur seems awesome. But it’s the plot and the relationship that these characters have with each other that really propels this story along and makes it so much fun and so enjoyable. I can’t wait for him to read it. I give this 5 out of 5 stars. I’m ready for book two.

               Since writing this review a few months ago, the kid has read it and absolutely loved it. I was really glad that I read it first so we could have conversations centered on the characters emotions and the history of the Civil War. He had questions, important questions about how people were able to get away with selling children south in the middle of the war and if there were people who actually resisted in the way we see some of these characters resist. We’ll be reading the second book together when it comes out. I’m sure that along with it being an incredible adventure, it will spark more conversations that make us both reflect on the history of that time. And we get more dinosaurs. Needless to say, both of us are now ready for book two.

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