Wendy Orr

The little girl found under a bush has no name and cannot speak. Is she a miracle child who escaped the raiders, or is she a bad-luck child, the one who called the Bull King's ship to the island? No one sees the mama-stone around her neck, with the sign of the dragonfly. And only Luki, in training to leap the bulls, knows that she charmed the viper who would have killed him. When the girl turns twelve, she discovers her name - Aissa - and she knows that her one chance to live freely is to become a bull dancer, and be taken away to the island of the Bull King.

Dragonfly Song

Kelly Macquire

** spoiler alert **
           Another beautifully written book set in the Bronze Age Aegean with a mix of verse and prose. For a middle grade book, this novel tackles heavy issues of loneliness, bullying, acceptance and identity. Aissa was born to the Lady, but she was imperfect with small extra thumbs on each hand. When her father, the chief, cut them off, he was taken by the sea the next day. With the belief that the firstborn daughter of the Lady must be perfect, Aissa is sent to be thrown off the cliff, yet she is instead given to a farming family. 

After four years, raiders take Aissa's family away from her, and takes her mothers request to stay quiet until she comes back to her to heart. Aissa's life changes drastically from loving family, to being No-Name, cursed child and servant, then a banished girl. When she ends up becoming one of the next Bull-Dancers with Luki, her life changes again and again, and in the process, she finds herself and her voice. 

This book was written seamlessly between the verse and prose, and truly tackles themes of identity, belonging and self acceptance that transcends time and place.

Dragonfly Song

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