Beast & Crown — Joel Ross

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.