Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents critically acclaimed indigenous fantasy writer Rebecca Roanhorse’s thrilling adventure about a Navajo girl who discovers she’s a monsterslayer.
RACE TO THE SUN
by Rebecca Roanhorse
Disney-Hyperion, January 2020
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)
Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he’s Mr. Charles, her dad’s new boss at the oil and gas company, and he’s alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he’s a threat, but her father won’t believe her.
When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says « Run! », the siblings and Nizhoni’s best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . .
Timeless themes such as the importance of family and respect for the land resonate in this funny, fast-paced, and exciting quest adventure set in the American Southwest.
Rebecca Roanhorse is a black/indigenous (Ohkay Owingeh) writer of speculative fiction, including two adult books in the Sixth World series, Trail of Lightning and Storm of Locusts, and a Nebula and Hugo-winning short story, « Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience. » RACE TO THE SUN is her middle grade debut. Rebecca, a graduate of Yale, is a lawyer by day who specializes in federal Indian and tribal law. She lives in Northern New Mexico with her Navajo husband and their daughter.
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