The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

Piper has been alone since her father died working in a factory for the King.  The smoke from ironwork got him.  The only hope she has of surviving is picking up salvage and fixing mechanical things.  The meteor storms bring goods, but the smoke and gas left behind will kill you.  It's a fine line between getting there first or dying.

Delacorte and Net Galley allowed me to download and read this ebook for review.  It will be published at the end of March.  I was so impressed by it, I have pre-ordered a copy for my own library.

This is a story of survival and a grand adventure both.  Piper goes out in the storm to rescue Micah, a young boy she's befriended.  He's determined to get better quality salvage and thinks he can hide under an overhang and be safe.  When she reaches him, he's OK, but the storm isn't over yet.  When it ends, he's been hit by a rock and is unconscious.  She saw a caravan traveling in the storm (which was insane) and they were hit also.  She's hoping they have medicine to help Micah.  Instead, she finds a girl that's also unconscious.  What she doesn't know is that this girl is very, very important and that a very determined man is coming after her and doesn't care what happens to anyone who gets in his way.

The only way to get away is to board the train as stowaways and head for the King.  The mark of the dragonfly is his mark, so she should be able to get a reward and have a better life with this find.  From here on out, the story gets even more exciting.

Action, adventures, raiders, slavers, a shapeshifter, a fireman who is almost fire himself, the engineer and Piper and her friend are all brought together into one big confrontation.  I enjoyed the adventure story, the odd bits of magic, and the budding romance Piper has.  All the characters were a bit odd in some way and that reminded me of me.  I've never been "normal" and I don't want to be.  Normal is boring; I'm not boring.  And neither is Piper!

Happy reading.