Unnaturals: Escape from Lion's Head

by Devon Hughes

Overview

Hybrid warrior animals embark on a dangerous journey to find a home in this dystopian fantasy adventure for young readers.

K-07M0 has never had a name. As a fox-bat, she has lived her entire life silently hiding from the other hybrids and the scientists who created her . . . until the day a new animal gives her the name Kozmo and they help each other escape the underground lab.

In the outside world Kozmo meets a pack of hybrids just like her, led by a feisty eagle-dog named Castor. But Castor and his pack are being viciously pursued, and Kozmo is forced to do something she's never done before: trust others to survive. Kozmo will discover that Castor and his friends have unexpected human allies. But can they uncover the truth about why the Unnaturals were created together?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062257598
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/22/2023
Series:	Unnaturals , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	375
Sales rank:	737,033
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Devon Hughes is the author of the Unnaturals series. She has always been inspired by the frontiers of nature and science and enjoys imagining how our ever-changing relationship with animals will look in the future. Like some of her characters, Devon lives in a city next to a river, with a view of distant trees that always seem to beckon her to another adventure. Though Devon did grow up with a beloved pet named Pookie, she is actually terrified of spiders.

Editorial Reviews

The combination of endearing hybrids and complex humans makes this a series worth investing in. A compelling page-turner with depth.” — Kirkus Reviews

PRAISE FOR UNNATURALS: THE BATTLE BEGINS: “This first book in a planned series will appeal to animal fiction fans who like rooting for an underdog.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

03/01/2017
Gr 4–7—Hybrid animals on the run from a shifting enemy and a futuristic world made almost unlivable from toxins and pollution are at the center of this action-packed sequel. Creature K-07MO, a hybrid fox-bat, has spent her entire life hiding from humans in the underground lab where single species are turned into hybrids. One day, her curiosity leads her to get a closer look at a new arrival, who turns out to be a friendly dog named Runt, a character readers will remember from the first installment. He suggests the name Kozmo for the lonely creature and becomes the first friend she has ever known. They help each other escape the lab and soon meet up with Runt's brother Castor, who has been turned into an eagle-dog and is now a star of a brutal virtual reality show where hybrids fight for entertainment. Meanwhile, humans Marcus and Leesa successfully free the hybrids who are forced to do battle, and continue to investigate the tangled web of secrets behind the creation of the Unnaturals. Readers, particularly animal lovers, will warm to the endearing characters—especially sweet, sensitive Kozmo, who is learning what it means to have a family for the first time. Although the journey feels overlong at times, the characters' kind and caring treatment of one another makes the novel satisfying. The chapters given over to the humans in the narrative are less cohesive and occasionally confusing, with too many characters and motives to keep track of. Still, fans of the "Warriors" series will enjoy the combination of action and adventure. VERDICT A worthy addition to medium and large middle grade collections; sure to please fans of animal survival stories.—Kristy Pasquariello, Wellesley Free Library, MA

School Library Journal

2017-01-17
In a futuristic city where the wealthy live in high towers above the poisonous air and citizens are entertained by death matches between hybridized animals, two teens defy the government in hopes of changing their world.Marcus Lund, an idealistic resident of the Sky Towers, and Leesa Khan, a street-smart inhabitant of the underground community of the Drain, work together to free the hybridized animals from NuFormz, the evil corporation responsible for their mutations. Castor, half-German shepherd and half-eagle, must lead his band of misfits through the broken city toward the Greenplains. But along the way, they will need to fight mutants determined to kill them and humans determined to recage them. Only Kozmo, a combination of bat and fox, holds some clue about what the future may have in store. This clever dystopic fantasy successfully juggles a host of both human and animal voices. The exploration of subjective morality gives this story heart and a unique depth. However, diversity resides primarily with the animal characters; Richardson's chapter-head illustrations represent both Marcus and Leesa with white skin, and aside from her last name, there's no real indication of ethnicity or race. While the government's evil machinations feel over-the-top, the combination of endearing hybrids and complex humans makes this a series worth investing in. A compelling page-turner with depth. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews