The Centaur Wars by Roz Evans

A rollicking modern fantasy! Sixteen-year-old Dee Markappen is flunking Chemistry, flunking History, and flunking basically everything else. Biology, though—Bio is great. She’s grown up next to a haunted forest that contains impossible creatures, and she wants to know why: snakes with wings. Toads with feathers. Surely there’s an explanation. Everything changes when Dee finds an injured centaur chained beneath an old motel. He’s shackled. He’s furious. He’s disgusted at being captured by humans. And he’s exactly the source of information Dee needs. Every member of her family dies young. Her mother is involved in something gruesome. Despite Dee’s lifelong efforts, she hasn’t learned why. So, Dee strikes a bargain with this half-crazed centaur. In exchange for his freedom he’ll give her the answers she seeks. His herd is murderous. Even worse foes lay beyond the haunted forest. But if Dee can survive the journey, the distant homeland of her ancestors holds not just the source of impossible beasts, but the greatest secret ever hidden from humankind… Featuring an inconveniently-attractive sidekick and a temperamental centaur, this banter-filled romp is sure to please fans of adventure and magic.

Young Adult • Children’s Fiction/Science Fiction and Fantasy • Fantasy/Science Fantasy • Fantasy/Contemporary