THE GRIFFIN'S BOY

Princess Alyssandra works feverishly to protect an innocent boy while figuring out who’s been stealing magical creatures from her father’s menagerie.

Bored by her tutor’s genealogy lesson, Alyssandra—called Lyss—becomes distracted by the sight of a horse-drawn cart. Her uncle Raff, who travels the world searching for unusual creatures, has sent his most wonderful contribution yet: a griffin. Lyss notices a boy named Devin sneaking into the menagerie with the griffin. She learns that Devin was once employed by a cruel man who sold Tam to Uncle Raff but that he ran off in order to stay with Tam; he persuades Lyss to keep his whereabouts a secret from her father, the king. One night, the three of them observe two strange men sneaking around the castle grounds by moonlight; the next day, an amphisbaena—a two-headed, lizardlike creature—disappears from the menagerie. Lyss considers confiding in her father, but she prefers to present him with “a neat solution to a mystery rather than a problem he’d have to untangle”—a decision she may come to regret. Though this fast-moving, suspenseful tale takes place over the course of just a few days, it packs in a dazzling array of intriguing characters, both humans and mythological beasts. Laced with humor, the narrative raises thought-provoking philosophical questions as Lyss wrestles with ethical dilemmas. Català’s lively artwork complements the text; Lyss appears brown-skinned, while Devin is pale-skinned.

Highly entertaining.