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A Forgery of Fate
CCBC Review:
When Truyan Saigas’s father is lost at sea, she turns to forging valuable paintings to support her mother and two younger sisters. Desperate for cash after her mother’s gambling loss causes a lender to threaten to collect by abducting her sister, Tru hopes to pay off the debt with the sale of her most impressive work. Instead, Elang, a half-human, half-dragon prince exiled from his homeland by his grandfather, the Dragon King, offers an alternative solution. If Tru agrees to marry him and paint a perfect portrait of his grandfather, the Dragon King will be dethroned, and Elang’s generous compensation will cover her family’s debt and set them up comfortably for life. As an added incentive, Elang shares that her father may be alive and imprisoned by the Dragon King. Tru signs a contract and travels with her new husband to his besieged underwater fortress in the dragon realm, where she works on the portrait, drawing both on her artistic skill and her hidden ability to paint visions of the future. In a Chinese-inspired nod to the “Beauty and the Beast” motif, Tru and Elang’s sham marriage evolves into genuine romance while the deadline for the portrait’s completion and the threat of the Dragon King’s powerful wrath draw near. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 12 and older
Age Range:
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Action/Adventure
Art and Artists
Fantasy
Fathers
Folk and Fairy Tales
Good and Evil
Love and Romance
Secrets
Diversity subject:
Asian
Publishers:
Alfred A. Knopf, Random House
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 470
ISBN: 9780593650615
CCBC Location: Fiction, Lim