Perfect for fans of the Animorphs and Warriors series, Devon Hughes's exhilarating debut is full of friendship, heroism, high stakes, and epic adventure. Castor has always been a stray, prowling with his pack in the back alleys of Lion's Head. That is, until the day that he's captured and taken to a dark laboratory full of terrifying creatures. They're called Unnaturals, and they're made to fight. Soon Castor is transformed from a mutt into a powerful beast with huge eagle wings—and he's thrust into the fighting ring. He knows he'll need all of his courage to survive. But it will take unexpected human and animal allies and something even more than courage for him to save the Unnaturals.... Gr 4–7—Lion's Head is the setting of this dystopian novel in which the rich live sequestered behind thick glass up in the sky away from the poisonous environment down below. The poor live in squalor in the Drain and make do with the synthetic food that is available. Mayor Eva Eris keeps the denizens entertained with her Mega Monsters Mash Up, a reality show where mutant animals face off against each other in the arena. The reining champ is the Invincible, a hybrid tiger-scorpion who is true to his name. Castor, a German shepherd stray, becomes an unwilling member of Team Scratch after he is kidnapped by humans and redesigned with eagle wings and a new name, The Underdog. Castor had been content living with his dog pack and dreaming of the Greenplains, a natural wonderland. He does not want to become the killing monster his human handlers expect. With the help of a Chihuahua-spider mentor named Pookie, Castor looks to his inner strength to survive his ordeal and to win out against the machine that put him in this predicament. The story is at its best when it focuses on Castor's plight and those of the other animals in the arena. The momentum slows when the story shifts to the human characters Marcus and Leesa, who are less developed than their animal counterparts. Marcus is a "sky boy" who believed the animals were virtual. He instantly goes from devoted fan—"a Moniac"— to animal cruelty advocate when he discovers they're real. Leesa is working to get her dog Pookie back. VERDICT This first book in a planned series will appeal to animal fiction fans who like rooting for an underdog.—Beth Cuddy, Seward Elementary School, Auburn, NY “This first book in a planned series will appeal to animal fiction fans who like rooting for an underdog.” - School Library Journal Castor has always been a stray. He knows no other life than the one he has spent in the back alleys of Lion's Head, prowling with his pack. His days are filled with the unknown: Where to eat? Where to sleep? Who to trust? But Castor's tougher than he looks, and he's always gotten by. Until the day that he's captured by a group of strange men. And taken to a dark laboratory full of terrifying creatures. What Castor doesn't know is that there's a nefarious secret society lurking beneath the busy streets of Lion's Head. Scientists who trap stray and exotic animals and create hybrids by injecting them with a DNA-changing serum. They call these extraordinary new breeds Unnaturals . And they force them to compete against each other in an infamous fighting ring for big prize money. Soon, Castor is transformed from a German shepherd mutt into a powerful beast with huge eagle wings. As he's thrust into the ring, he knows he'll need all his courage to survive. But it will take unexpected allies and something even more than courage for him to save the Unnaturals. . . . 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.