The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey is the first book of the Halfblood Chronicles. This is a book that I have put off reading for far too long. I have had several people recommend the book to me and now I know why. This is a fantastic book.

This is the story of Shana, the daughter of a human woman and an elven lord. However, humans and elves are forbidden to have children together so Shana's mother runs to the desert to escape the death sentence that is given her crime (intentional or not). There she finds an oasis and with her dying moments gives birth to Shana. Shana is rescued by a very unlikely creature, a pregnant female dragon named Alara.

The dragon takes the tiny baby home and her son, Keman, raises the child they name Lashana. Lashana or Shana, as she is usually called, is raised right alongside Keman and his younger sister, Myre. She is taught magic, how to speak and read Kin (what the dragons call themselves), the elven language and the human tongue. She soon becomes a source of conflict between Keman and his sister and other dragons. When a fight results in violence, Shana is outcast from the Lair and Kin.

She is dropped in the desert by a dragon and left to fend for herself. Unexpectedly she finds a caravan of humans belonging to Lord Beneral, they take her in but are more interested in her garment of dragon skin then her plight. Shana is taken back to the city and when she doesn't reveal where the skin came from for fear of revealing the existence of dragons to the world. Seeing as she is no longer useful, she is sold at auction and bought by a wealthy elven lord.

This is where her real adventure begins. Her new owners take her into the wildlands and she finds that they are not what they seem. If I say anymore at this point I'll give away the whole book. You'll have to read it yourself like I did. But don't worry, it's such a good read that it won't take you very long anyway.