The people of the Mainland used to think that unicorns were sweet with rainbow colored poop. Then they saw footage of the fierce and bloodthirsty wild unicorns of the Island. The only way to tame the terrifying predators is to have them bond to a human at the moment of hatching. Skandar has always wanted to be a unicorn rider, but is afraid to hope after his older sister fails the hatchery exam. When his time comes, mysterious circumstance bring him to the Island and he is bonded to a rare and outlawed "spirit" element unicorn. The Island the the Mainland are threatened by the Weaver, a terrifying spirit element rider, so Skandar must try to hide is elemental affinity while still gaining the trust of his young and strong-willed unicorn. As the threat of the Weaver mounts, Skandar begins to understand that he, with the help of his new friends, might be the only one who can end the Weaver's reign of terror.
At first I was amused by the premise of this middle-grade novel. It is clearly a pushback against all the unicorn merchandising of the last few years. As I read on, however, I got caught up in the story and characters. This is an above average "magic school" novel with complex themes and interestingly flawed characters. The world building has a few holes, but the setting, particularly the Eyrie, is a lot of fun and I think would really appeal to the target audience. There are some humorous passages, and a lot of good action writing. This book has a satisfying ending, but leaves enough unanswered questions to lead the reader to the second in the series (which I am likely to read sometime) (2022, 448 p)
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