The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts

Twelve-year-old Eli is an apprentice librarian at the largest library in the world. But when his grandmother falls ill, he enters the Glorious Race of Magical Beasts to raise money for her treatment. This is an event that happens every year, usually somewhere particularly perilous and full of spiky dangers. Unicorns and dragons are the favoured creatures of choice, but when Eli consults the rule book, he finds that there is nothing to stop him from entering the race with Humphrey, his moon tortoise. Moon tortoises aren't suited to racing and Eli is no natural adventurer. But he soon finds himself in an unlikely partnership with another entrant: Raven is a rulebreaker and skilled archer, and her creature is an ice hare - one of the fastest animals in the world. If the two children put aside their differences and work together, they might just reach the finish line!