Bad Luck by Pseudonymous Bosch

Clay is spending the summer on Prince Island at Earth Camp, a secret camp for students with magical talents. He doesn't show any special abilities, so he's not sure why his brother worked so hard to get him admitted. Clay discovers a cave with ancient graffiti drawings, and he starts to have visions through the eyes of a dragon. He finds a boy washed up on shore, and the boy's father shows up soon after. The father actually threw his son off a cruise ship and is on the island searching for a mythical creature. However, the Midnight Sun is behind the whole thing, and they have much bigger plans in store.

This book is the second one in the series, and I have not read the first book yet. I received an advanced, on-line version that did not include the final illustrations. The plot is easy to follow and should appeal to middle-grade readers. It does not include a great deal of magic even though that is the focus of Earth Camp. One student can create fire, one can see the future, and another child has an acting ability that can baffle people. In one scene, she posed as a bawling ten-year-old then a young adult within moments. I'm not sure what other abilities are at the camp. The story is mostly told in third person, but there are times when the narrator speaks directly to the reader and moments where he "slips up" and talks in first person. This style leads to a casual retelling and creates a light-hearted tone to the story. The book is a wonderful blend of adventure, magic, and suspense. It's a fantastic appetizer to the writing style of Pseudonymous Bosch.