I really loved this world. It was a super fast pace read. I think sometimes the fast paceness took me out of the story a little bit. But I really loved the creatures and unicorns at the heart of this novel. I also loved how this book took place over a whole year. I also loved all the mytery and intigue that were at the heart of this read. I also loved the character at the heart of thi novel and loved the friendship the developed at the heart of the read!! I found this book to such a fun read and reminded me of percy jackson in some ways!! Really excited for book 2!! ( )

I really loved this world. It was a super fast pace read. I think sometimes the fast paceness took me out of the story a little bit. But I really loved the creatures and unicorns at the heart of this novel. I also loved how this book took place over a whole year. I also loved all the mytery and intigue that were at the heart of this read. I also loved the character at the heart of thi novel and loved the friendship the developed at the heart of the read!! I found this book to such a fun read and reminded me of percy jackson in some ways!! Really excited for book 2!! ( )

Unicorns Belong in Nightmares

A.F. Steadman flips the myths of unicorns, with a high action contest of skill, and a dangerous quest to find out what these fearsome beasts really are. Skandar Smith dreams of attending the Chaos Cup, a deadly race using blood thirsty unicorns. Winning a race could solve his family’s financial problems, and make his dad proud. This is not a tame race, but a battle of magic and danger. When a mysterious cloaked figure on a wild black unicorn called the Weaver appears to end the races forever. Skandar must solve the mystery of the unicorn thief.

A.F. Steadman mixes some serious themes within a magical adventure. Skandar’s life is filled with loss and disappointment, and his one hope is that a unicorn can change his life. These are not traditional unicorns, but winged monsters and growling carnivores. Which add humor to an otherwise sad story. Each unicorn has magic relating to the four elements of fire, water, wind, earth, and the fifth element of spirit. All with their own personality types, and other fun classifying symbols. This combination of magic, and flying deadly unicorns adds its own interesting problems. Including plenty of fart jokes as well.

He may be in training to become a unicorn rider, but Skandar is told very little about the ways of magic. His search for answers bring very little help. He must rely on his new friends, and found family, to make it through training alive. He will need them all, and their snarling unicorns, to face the truth that awaits him. ( )

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief is a 2023 Lone Star novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It reminded me of a watered-down Harry Potter. Sometimes you want something that's just fun to read--nothing that makes you think too hard. This novel is it! Let's say the week has been long, so on a Friday evening, you pick this up for a brain break. There are no surprises--it'll progress as you think it will, for it follows a standard pattern. You can just enjoy. Sometimes I want a stupid romance novel because I know how it will end and I can enjoy reading the same basic plot you get. If it's fairly well-written, that means it's a perfect Friday read to nicely end the week. That's what this novel is for middle school fantasy. I looked up reviews on Goodreads and they did not like it for various reasons. They were expecting a saga--a complicated fantasy novel with lots of layers, depth, and surprises.

The world building is thin. I'll just say there's a "Mainland" and the "Island." On the "island," there exists unicorns. The wild ones basically never die; they rot and smell and wreak havoc and are very dangerous. They cannot be allowed on the Mainland to hurt the people there. The Island has a school for people to learn how to ride a unicorn that bonds with them. There you find your bonded unicorn, learn to take care of it, find your element affinity, and learn to battle. There are also people who live on the Island supporting the school with goods and services as well as a government. The Mainland has all the regular people who just try to get by and are protected by the sentinels who keep the wild unicorns on the island.

Skandar lives on the Mainland with his sister and father. His dad struggles with depression, it seems. The only day he's really "with it" is the day of the Chaos Cup. The people who have bonded with Unicorns means that the unicorn isn't wild and horrible. It will be tamed (a little) by the bond and will die instead of live a horrible, rotting life. These bonded riders compete in battle games called the Chaos Cup. This year, Skandar, his sister Kenna, and his dad eat breakfast together and excitedly watch the Chaos Cup. Something odd happens--the winner's unicorn is stolen on life TV by a person riding a wild unicorn. This type of rider cannot be! You can't tame a wild unicorn! The Mainlanders don't really know what's going on, so they aren't quite as concerned as they might need to be. They still want to send their 13-year olds to the Island to train. Kenna failed her exam to be a rider and has never gotten over it. She's only dreamed of being a rider. The day after the Chaos Cup is Skandar's turn to take his test.

Skandar studies and works hard to be a rider. He arrives for the exam only to be turned away. That never happens. He dejectedly goes home only to be awakened at midnight and told to go to the Island. The lady who arrives takes him to the island and tells him how to sneak on. Something isn't right, but Skandar really wants a unicorn. He does as told and gets in line. The doors to the unicorn hatchery only open to those who have a unicorn, so many people go back to the mainland. Surprisingly, the door opens for Skandar. He does as told and, sure enough, an egg hatches upon his touch--he is bonded. The surprise? There are only 4 elements. When a couple of other new students see Skandar's unicorn, they know that Skandar and his unicorn are illegal. They are spirit elements--the most dangerous. These three other students help Skandar hide the signs of then spirit element.

The rest of the novel involves training (it's pretty vague training) and preparing for the end of the first year when they compete to stay. The bottom five will be declared nomads. You'll enjoy meeting all of the students and finding out who the bad guy is on the wild unicorn as they must "save the day" by the end. Once again, I had fun reading it. I liked it. Is it great? No. Is it escapism? Absolutely. ( )

Harry Potter meets Avatar the Last Airbender bundled up with unicorns and treehouses!

What a fantastic first book in what I hope will become a series! We're introduced to Skandar Smith, a 13 year old who lives on The Mainland, but who wants to be able to go to The Island and hatch his own unicorn. However these unicorns are not the sparkly, whimsical unicorns that "poop rainbows". These unicorns are bloodthirsty (looking for any opportune moments to eat a passing rabbit or cat) that can be trained to Sky Battle with their riders, the person who hatches them and creates a bond.

The book brings into question of both the bonds of family and the bonds of friendship, as well as whether destiny is meant to be followed or if we can control our own fate.

I think this book would be a perfect read for 5th graders and up into middle school. I am looking forward to adding this to my district's braille library as soon as we can, and hopefully we can add a full series in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am very happy to give this a well-deserved 5 stars! ( )