©1996, ProMotion, inc.
www@bookpage.com
Beagle's novel The Last Unicorn, is a modern classic, and now he returns to a world where unicorns co-exist with humans. In this coming-of-age short novel, 13-year-old Josephine "Joey" Rivera, a kid who is hopelessly out of place in school, finds a retreat in the music shop of John Papas where she works in exchange for music lessons. Underneath the gruff exterior, Papas seems to know far more than he should about Joey's life and their new customer, Indigo, as well as the magic horn that only Indigo can play.
Under the influence of Indigo, Joey soon crosses the unseen border into a magical world called Shei'rah inhabited by satyrs, water nymphs, six-inch dragons, phoenixes, two-headed serpents, and the Elder -- that is, the unicorns whose music is the spiritual basis for Shei'rah. They are in danger from flying creatures called Perytons and a strange affliction that is blinding the unicorns.
Joey has left behind a world of school, family, and her crusty Hispanic grandmother, Abuelita, whom she visited every Saturday in a nursing home. But now Abuelita has her secrets as well, and among them they discover the source of the strange disease-causing blindness and achieve a just resolution.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.