Beast & Crown

A thrilling new middle grade fantasy from Texas Bluebonnet Award winner Joel Ross. Packed with adventure and humor and filled with goblins, royals, and magic, this is a tale of unlikely heroes who embark on a daring quest. Boot boy Ji is tired of scrubbing soles and untangling shoelaces. He doesn't want to bow and scrape. All he wants is freedom-for himself and his friends. He decides to risk everything for a chance to accompany a young nobleman to the Diadem Rite, a magical ritual that chooses the heir to the Summer Crown. Ji doesn't care about crowns or ceremonies, but he vows that this trip will grant him and his friends new lives, far away from boots and bowing. What Ji doesn't know is that he and his friends have a dangerous part to play in the Diadem Rite. One that will change them forever.

From Texas Bluebonnet Award winner Joel Ross, author of The Fog Diver, comes the second book in his sweeping fantasy duology. Ji and his friends Roz, Sally, and Chibo have gone into hiding following the disastrous Diadem Rite, where they were transformed from humans into half-beasts. It's their hope that they will survive the epic journey to the Ice Witch to be restored to humans again before they run out of time. But they know the evil Summer Queen's soldiers are tracking them and fear that she is hot on their (at times abnormally large and fluffy) tails...With the help of goblins, ogres, trolls, and a few mermaids along the way, Ji and his band of unlikely heroes must save their world from being eternally divided. Ross's smart and fast-paced writing, paired with an addictive, suspenseful, and funny storyline, will leave readers hanging on every word. Fans will cheer for this endearing crew of servants, led by the amazing and dynamic Ji, who are changed forever and must fight for their freedom.