No Such Thing As Dragons by Philip Reeve

A realistic fantasy? Impossible, you say? As impossible as the existence of dragons...
Ansel, a mute boy, is sold by his uncaring father into servitude with a traveling "dragon hunter." Brock, the hunter, has plenty of secrets and a boy who can't talk is the best kind of secret-keeper. One of Brock's biggest secrets is that dragons do not actually exist and he is merely a con artist who takes advantage of the superstitions and fears of the peasants and villagers. Of course, there wouldn't be much of a story if a dragon didn't come along sooner rather than later... And in the course of facing it, Ansel also discovers some important things about himself...
Published by Scholastic. 2010.

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