SOLVED. Middle Grade Fantasy. Cover was like shiny dragon scales, textured, maybe young girl on cover & a hole cut out, hardcover. Can’t remember any plot details, author or title. Read in early 2010s @ school library but it’s not there anymore. [s]

[Samantha]

been searching for years, really wanna find it again

[Paul]

It would be helpful if you told us what grade you were in at the time so that we can narrow down the search.

I found this list that might help you:

goodreads.com/list/show/38609.Best_Fa...

EDIT:

Was it a physical cut out or an implied cut out?

could it be:

The Spiderwick Chronicles
Book series?

Although not shiny as you described it has an almost dragon like feel to the look of the cover and one of the books has an implied cut out with a girl featured in the cut out.

[Samantha]

no it wasn’t that, i think it was a physical cut out, i read it in like 4th-5th grade

[cillian]

Is it Dragonsdale by Salamanda Drake?

[cillian]

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://...

[Samantha]

omg yes thank you! that’s the one!

[Capn]

Dragonsdale for Cillian's solve (nice!).

= ISBN 9781905294305 has the die-cut cover (added to the Die-Cut and Laser-Cut Covers list, here: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...).
Source: https://elibrary.westminster.gov.uk/c...