Since Race to the Sun is almost on sale, we got clearance to share the opening pages of Rebecca Roanhorse’s thrilling adventure. Enjoy!

My name is Nizhoni Begay, and I can see monsters.

In fact, I’m looking at one right now.

The monster is a pale man with thin blond hair, slightly bulging eyes, and unusually red lips. He’s tall and skinny, and he has on a black suit and tie. (Monsters wear human skin more often than fairy tales would lead you to think. Scales and horns and claws are strictly for beginners. Trust me, I’m an expert on these things.)

This monster is sitting in the second row of the packed bleachers of my seventh-grade coed basketball game, looking completely normal. Normal except for the fact that he’s wearing a suit when everyone else is wearing a T-shirt that says GO, ISOTOPES! or GO, BEAVERS! depending on which team they’re rooting for. Normal except there’s a circle of empty space around him despite the gym being filled to capacity, like nobody wants to get close to him. Maybe they feel there’s something creepy about him, too, but they aren’t sure what it is.

I watch as a lady in a bright purple tracksuit moves in front of him, waiving a red-and-black pom-pom dangerously near his face. Pretty sure if she keeps that up, she’s a goner. Monsters don’t take kindly to people invading their personal space.

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