Monsters Born and Made
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
LIMITED PRINT RUN: EXCLUSIVE FIRST EDITION. The first printing includes an exclusive designed case! Available only while stock lasts.
*A Book Riot Must-Read South Asian Book of 2022*
*A BuzzFeed Highly Anticipated YA Book of Summer 2022*
She grew up battling the monsters that live in the black seas, but it couldn't prepare her to face the cunning cruelty of the ruling elite.
Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and These Violent Delights, this South Asian-inspired fantasy is a gripping debut about the power of the elite, the price of glory, and one girl's chance to change it all.
Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve.
In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers—the ruling elite, have indentured Koral's family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others—if they're lucky—survive.
When the last maristag of the year escapes and Koral has no new maristag to sell, her family's financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can't afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral's only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race.
But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against competitors—including her ex-boyfriend—who have trained for this their whole lives and who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. As a rebellion rises and rogues attack Koral to try and force her to drop out, she must choose—her life or her sister's—before the whole island burns.
Perfect for fans of:
• Dystopian Fantasy
• Sea Monsters
• Exes-to-Rivals-to-?
• Golden Boy x Pariah
• Deadly Competition
• Rebellion
• Angsty Teenagers
• Fans of Chloe Gong
• Female Friendship
Praise for Monsters Born and Made:
"An exhilarating race of willpower and defiance, set on an utterly unique world filled with glorious monsters." —Xiran Jay Zhao, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Iron Widow
“Monsters Born and Made takes well-beloved YA tropes and turns them on their heads, creating an action-packed rallying cry against oppression and a riveting tale of one girl’s desperation to survive no matter the odds.” —Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times bestselling author of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Berwah fuses a South Asian–inspired caste system with elements of classical mythology in this high-stakes debut. Sixteen-year-old Koral's island home, Sollonia, is divided into two segments: the lower-caste Renters and the upper-caste Landers. As Renters, Koral, her level-headed older brother Emrik, and her younger sister Liria, whose asthma limits her mobility, have few options in life. To pay for Liria's medicine, Koral and Emrik risk their lives daily to capture and breed dangerous maristags—bright green, amphibious monsters who dwell in the dark waters surrounding the island—which they then sell to Landers. Maristags are needed for the Glory Race, a ruthless chariot competition whose winning champion earns a lifetime of gold and glory. Renters can't enter the competition, but when the last maristag gets loose, increasing her family's debt and imperiling Liria's health, Koral resolves to enter, win, and clear their dues. As she schemes her way through the race, she must face down elite opponents—and rebels from her own caste determined to see her fail. Though familiar dystopian worldbuilding and tropes at times constrain the narrative, fluid prose and a breakneck pace ensures a wild ride from start to finish. Ages 13–up.
