Dragonfly Trilogy
Fantasy series for middle grade readers.
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BOOK 1
BOOK 2
BOOK 3
Dragonfly
Book 1
Dragonfly, the first book in the Dragonfly trilogy, is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl with more than her share of problems. Her family is a mess and her only friends are outcasts themselves—overweight, impulsive Gill, and lanky, easily frightened Raleigh. Worse yet, the three friends have to spend the summer at the most boring possible job—pulling beans in Farmer Anderson’s field. Or at least it seems boring until they make an astonishing discovery—there’s a strange door hidden in the bean field, and surprisingly Dakota is the only one who can open it. Even stranger, the tunnel underneath the door leads them back in time—straight back to the Wild West days of their own hometown.
Slowly, the friends realize that there is someone among these strangers who has powerful and frightening intentions for their modern world—and that Dakota may have unleashed a force that is beyond their control.
Fast-paced, action-packed, and full of an assembly of intriguing characters, the Dragonfly series mixes the best of time-travel fantasy, rural realism, and quirky humor with a story about self-awareness and acceptance.
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Praise for Dragonfly
“…for fans of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart (2003) or Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (1962), the novel offers a fresh, high-stakes fantasy filled with courage, humor, and a hint of something ancient stirring beneath the soil. An imaginative, emotionally rich blend of rural realism and epic adventure.”
Kirkus Reviews
“The author skillfully creates dialogue for speakers of all ages and from modern and distant time frames. The characters are believable...and Schmidt puts his own stamp on the familiar ‘chosen one’ theme with the time travel element and some unique superpowers…Middle-school readers will eagerly await the sequel to find out.”
Blueink Review
“Dragonfly is a complex coming-of-age fantasy novel in which three friends learn who they are and who they want to be. Part Western, part time portal story, Noel Schmidt’s engaging and action-packed fantasy novel Dragonfly defies easy categorization...the book works toward an exciting ending, maintaining suspense throughout via its chases, captures, escapes, and gunfights.”
Clarion Reviews
"I loved these books! Kids will go wild for them!"
Mary Logue, author of the Claire Watkins Mysteries and The Streel and Big Sugar
Dragonfly: The Undertaker
Book 2
Dragonfly: The Undertaker is the second book in the Dragonfly trilogy. Here, Dakota discovers that creatures from the Netherworld have breached the time tunnel again and emerged into her rural community—and they are up to no good. It will take all of Dakota’s wits and help from her comical friends to stop them.
It all begins when the Undertaker, one of the Netherworld creatures, a tall forbidding man dressed entirely in black, takes over the local funeral home. The evil cowboy Ben Masters causes havoc at the summer celebration and the combine demolition derby. This all leads to the kidnapping of Buena’s father, a magical shoot-out at the farmhouse, and the imprisonment of Dakota’s companions—the Centurions and Guardians. Then things really go bad.
Fast-paced, action-packed, and full of an assembly of intriguing characters, the Dragonfly series mixes the best of time-travel fantasy, rural realism, and quirky humor with a story about self-awareness and acceptance.
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Dragonfly: The Netherworld
Book 3
In the finale of the Dragonfly trilogy, Dragonfly: The Netherworld, the stakes are raised even higher when Dakota is plunged into the Netherworld, the land of the dead, along with her friend Buena, her father, and the Centurions and Guardians. In the Netherworld, Dakota must battle black-hooded reapers, scarecrows that attack, pigs that walk on two legs, river demons, and monsters that toil endlessly in the forsaken Wastelands. During her journey, she is pursued relentlessly by the Undertaker and his bug-eating assistant. Unfortunately, what she doesn’t know is that Gill and Raleigh have also fallen into this nightmarish place and been captured. Time becomes precious as the Netherworld slowly sucks the life out of Dakota. And the worst creature of all, the Queen of the Netherworld, is on the move toward Dakota.
Fast-paced, action-packed, and full of an assembly of intriguing characters, the Dragonfly series mixes the best of time-travel fantasy, rural realism, and quirky humor with a story about self-awareness and acceptance.