Nahoko Uehashi's The Beast Player is an epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save. Elin's family has an important responsibility caring for the fearsome water serpents that form the core of their kingdom's army. So when some of the creatures mysteriously die, Elin's mother is sentenced to death as punishment. With her last breath, she manages to send her daughter...

When Apophis, the chaos snake, threatens to plunge the world into eternal darkness, siblings Carter and Sade Kane plan to use an ancient spell to destroy the snake, but first must rely on the murderous ghost of a powerful magician.