What do you think?
Rate this book
Unnaturals #1
The Battle Begins
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....
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2015
22 people are currently reading
798 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 15, 2017
I think that Castor is very brave that he fought the scorpion-tiger to protect his friends.
January 29, 2018
While the premise sounded interesting, I just couldn't get into this one. Overall, the writing was flat and the character introduction info-dump came across as the work of an amateur. In fact, the lack of style reminded me of another writer I'd attempted to read before. Once I flipped to the back, I wasn't surprised; the author profusely thanked James Patterson for his guidance, and cited Patterson's advice to "cut the poetry." Well, the lack of "poetry" (substitute with the word style) was exactly what was wrong with this book. Besides the poor worldbuilding and flat characters, nothing was described in an interesting enough manner to keep me reading. Correction: the only description I liked was of the dog getting sucked up by a street-sweeper. The understated blandness enhanced the horror there, but everything else was underwhelming.
I may slog through this in the near future since the sequel features an awesome-looking bat-fox (plus the street-sweeper scene gives me hope the author might eventually figure out how to write), but right now I have better things to do, like watch paint dry.
I may slog through this in the near future since the sequel features an awesome-looking bat-fox (plus the street-sweeper scene gives me hope the author might eventually figure out how to write), but right now I have better things to do, like watch paint dry.
December 19, 2017
😎and the first day of reading was awsome
Awesome thanks for the last time they had fought and when the poisonious died it made me cry 😢😢😢 Awesome book
Awesome thanks for the last time they had fought and when the poisonious died it made me cry 😢😢😢 Awesome book
July 8, 2019
A 7th grader loaned me this book and I really liked it. It might be my next book club pick because it is a fast, fun read but I think you could go with a lot of different talking points like animal cruelty and testing, reality TV and doing anything for ratings, team work, loyalty between animals and masters (everyone probably has a story for that), and how he humans polluted and ruined the planet. Best of all, it is completely G rated so no parents would be upset about anything in it.
Castor the eagle -dog is the main narrator for the story and is a likeable leader. Marcus and Leesa are the two human side characters. I wouldn't say they're is a lot of growth or development in the charters, but the plot is very action packed and story is pretty straight forward and fun. Great middle grade book.
Castor the eagle -dog is the main narrator for the story and is a likeable leader. Marcus and Leesa are the two human side characters. I wouldn't say they're is a lot of growth or development in the charters, but the plot is very action packed and story is pretty straight forward and fun. Great middle grade book.
May 13, 2019
This book is about a dog who is turned into a mutant, called an "Unnatural", and forced to fight other Unnaturals. My favorite part was when the Unnaturals talked together about their situation, even though they are enemies. This book connects to the concept that you might have to sacrifice others' survival for your own. The style is interesting because it shows the humans' side of things as well as the animals', which gives each perspective. This is unique from other authors I've read. I recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy/dystopian worlds with animals because the Unnaturals are the main characters. This book uses a world just similar enough to ours that its messages and characters are relatable and realistic, but also interesting.
February 4, 2019
I think that this book shows good promise and has a wonderful storyline, but it goes really fast. This book is set in the future, where the government imports and catches animals in order to mutate them. They give them traits from other animals, and then force them to fight against each other. This storyline has a lot of potential, but the plot is very undefined and rather ambiguous. The sequel is worse... Also; Castor is an excellent character, but his strength and power are over the top. He seems to completely change character from book to book as well.
March 21, 2017
The Unnaturals are genetically engineered animals created to fight each other to the death, kind of like the Hunger Games, but for hybrid animals. The setting is a dystopian world in which the wealthy live "in the sky" and the poor are "down below," living in the polluted world.
Castor is a German Shepherd who is captured and injected with eagle serum. Most of the story is told
from his point of view, as he struggles with the plight he finds himself in. The scenes which feature two kids, Marcus and Leesa, are less compelling than the stories of the animals. I was totally absorbed by this book and can't wait to read the next one. which fortunately comes out soon!
Castor is a German Shepherd who is captured and injected with eagle serum. Most of the story is told
from his point of view, as he struggles with the plight he finds himself in. The scenes which feature two kids, Marcus and Leesa, are less compelling than the stories of the animals. I was totally absorbed by this book and can't wait to read the next one. which fortunately comes out soon!
January 6, 2017
When I picked out this book, I suspected it wouldn't be very good. But it had a number of elements I liked (told from the animal's POV being the main one), and it had a great cover (I know, I know), so I decided to give it a try.
The story opened with a pack of dogs living on the street. Through them we learn that people never leave the buildings anymore -- the air and water is too toxic for them to survive. (So how do dogs and all other animals survive outside? Since they were more intelligent than our RL animals are, to the point of the main character dog teaching himself to read by looking at street signs, I'm okay with assuming that they're somehow more evolved. Or mutated. Or something.) Two of the dogs encountered a street sweeper machine. (Why? If people never ever leave the buildings, why put them in protective gear and send them out to clean? Who cares if there's trash on the streets? And where in the world does the trash even come from?) For some unknown reason, the street sweeper just happens to have animal tranquilizers and a cage, so when it happens to break down and spot the dogs, the people in it can capture them.
As you can see, plotholes abound. To be far to the book, this isn't even a YA book -- it's targeted at 8-12 year olds, so likely they wouldn't notice all the issues.
So anyway, these animals are given *hand wavey* scientific injections and it turns them onto animal crosses. Buffalo-zebra. Panther-rabbit. Dog-eagle. That sort of thing. Then the animals have to fight to the death for the entertainment of the humans. It was exactly like some kind of talking animal Hunger Games story.
I could roll with all the issues and plot holes, but the humans were just so over the top evil -- black/white, not a single bit of subtleness at all. Nearly every human gleefully torture the animals. That was the last straw.
Surprisingly I made it to the 50% point, so I can count it towards my total for the year.
Edit: Rereading this, I realize I didn't touch on any of the things I liked. There were some big positives about this book. I liked all the characters, and they seemed believable "people" (personalities?). Even though I didn't like the dog learning to read by looking at signs, other than that, I bought the animals as animals -- their behavior seemed realistic to me (if too intelligent). The main dog character's struggles, feelings, and reactions were well-written and believable. If the story had been more light-handed on the 'all humans gleefully torture animals' thing, I would have finished it.
The story opened with a pack of dogs living on the street. Through them we learn that people never leave the buildings anymore -- the air and water is too toxic for them to survive. (So how do dogs and all other animals survive outside? Since they were more intelligent than our RL animals are, to the point of the main character dog teaching himself to read by looking at street signs, I'm okay with assuming that they're somehow more evolved. Or mutated. Or something.) Two of the dogs encountered a street sweeper machine. (Why? If people never ever leave the buildings, why put them in protective gear and send them out to clean? Who cares if there's trash on the streets? And where in the world does the trash even come from?) For some unknown reason, the street sweeper just happens to have animal tranquilizers and a cage, so when it happens to break down and spot the dogs, the people in it can capture them.
As you can see, plotholes abound. To be far to the book, this isn't even a YA book -- it's targeted at 8-12 year olds, so likely they wouldn't notice all the issues.
So anyway, these animals are given *hand wavey* scientific injections and it turns them onto animal crosses. Buffalo-zebra. Panther-rabbit. Dog-eagle. That sort of thing. Then the animals have to fight to the death for the entertainment of the humans. It was exactly like some kind of talking animal Hunger Games story.
I could roll with all the issues and plot holes, but the humans were just so over the top evil -- black/white, not a single bit of subtleness at all. Nearly every human gleefully torture the animals. That was the last straw.
Surprisingly I made it to the 50% point, so I can count it towards my total for the year.
Edit: Rereading this, I realize I didn't touch on any of the things I liked. There were some big positives about this book. I liked all the characters, and they seemed believable "people" (personalities?). Even though I didn't like the dog learning to read by looking at signs, other than that, I bought the animals as animals -- their behavior seemed realistic to me (if too intelligent). The main dog character's struggles, feelings, and reactions were well-written and believable. If the story had been more light-handed on the 'all humans gleefully torture animals' thing, I would have finished it.
January 24, 2020
Surprisingly detailed, with a much bigger world than is usually explored in the first book. Not knowing what the characters know or do not know about what is going on is both a nice touch and super frustrating.
July 5, 2020
In a world where the rich and powerful get to live high up in the sky above the pollution. A street dog is taken and given a new life as a genetically modified fighter in human virtual reality entertainment. The book is aut the challenges he overcomes and the friends he makes.
August 7, 2020
This book has such an intriguing plot and so many characters that I couldn’t help but love. Finishing up the book, you can tell how much the author put into this and how heartfelt it is. This series is pretty underrated and I hope in the future that it gets a lot more attention.
May 29, 2018
The idea behind this seemed interesting, and there seemed be a good story in there somewhere but the execution was fairly flawed and it came across as pretty flat and dull and uninspiring.
April 23, 2019
I’m eight years old and I enjoyed this book.
It does have violence in it.
It does have violence in it.
February 8, 2020
This was WOW! I don't even know how to put it in words.every single chapter was loaded with suspense. I loved every minuet of reading it and can't wait to read the next one.
November 8, 2021
it was super good. I read it in less than two hours, I was glued to the book and I hope he makes more books like this.
July 5, 2023
Very good! I can’t wait to talk into the second one!
April 9, 2024
Great Book
I'm happy I found this book it was a great read. I'm looking forward to the next one. Thank you
I'm happy I found this book it was a great read. I'm looking forward to the next one. Thank you
July 27, 2024
I grabbed this book a long time ago just to try something new. It was okay, but not good enough for me to keep reading the series.
January 29, 2023
This Book.
This. Book.
I l o v e d this book. So much.
Hear me out tho.
Lots of the fight scenes, I have to admit, were a tad bland. But some were super rad. And I don't say that word often.
This. Book.
I l o v e d this book. So much.
Hear me out tho.
Lots of the fight scenes, I have to admit, were a tad bland. But some were super rad. And I don't say that word often.
September 3, 2020
Keeps you hooked the whole way through! one of the most creative books I have ever read! Would recommend this book to anyone.
June 19, 2020
This book has been my very favorite ever since I picked it up a few years ago, and it will stay that way, I am sure.
For starters, the premise astounded me. A future with sky-high towers! Amongst it all, a mutt named Castor, and his pack, live on the ground, where humans cannot go without a mask and heavy protective gear, because of the terrible pollution and toxic sun. Castor's brother Runt is small and weak, the omega, and gets blamed, and punished for everything. Alpha's ruling is unfair and unjustified, and the dogs barely survive on carcasses and raccoons.
Runt isn't very strong, or brave, but Castor loves his brother. One day when Castor accidentally bites Alpha and Runt is blamed, he insists on taking part of the punishment. So the two go out hunting for raccoons.
But while chasing a raccoon, Runt goes over a little dog's rival pack's territory, and Castor has no choice but to go after him. Runt catches the raccoon on a dock, with Castor on his heels, but it's too late. A swarm of rival dogs has found them.
With nothing to loose except his life, Castor jumps into the fight to protect his brother. He's a big dog, with excellent fighting skills, but he cannot keep it up forever. That's when a human truck pulls up and the people, with big orange protective suits and bug-eyed masks, take him away.
They inject him with a shot in a big dark white room, and his life changes forever.
The story follows Castor, a dog with newfound eagle wings and long claws, Marcus, a sky-kid and a Moniac, a fan of the Unnaturals reality show, and Leena, a girl from the Drain who is searching for her dog Pookie, who was taken by the same people who took Castor. It pulls you in and doesn't let you out until the very last page, and even then it stays with you forever.
I've read this book, and the second book, twelve times now, and it is just as enchanting as the very first.
It is a book aimed at grade-schoolers, but anyone can read it, and it can make you cry no matter your age. There is a bit of violence and gore, but nothing a nine-year-old wouldn't be scared to watch a movie of. (I'm not nine that was just a rating XP) It does, yes, center around a falling government and a violent animal-fighting show, and, yes, it is not exactly... PG... but it is an elaborate and wholesome tale. It warns of pollution and is really very insightful, which warms my heart more than Jazzy the panther-rabbit.
READ IT!! BUT FIRST BUY SOME TISSUES!!
I cannot think of anything that I love more than Castor the mutated shepard-dog.
CASTOR MY BB!!!!
just... my god i love this book.
For starters, the premise astounded me. A future with sky-high towers! Amongst it all, a mutt named Castor, and his pack, live on the ground, where humans cannot go without a mask and heavy protective gear, because of the terrible pollution and toxic sun. Castor's brother Runt is small and weak, the omega, and gets blamed, and punished for everything. Alpha's ruling is unfair and unjustified, and the dogs barely survive on carcasses and raccoons.
Runt isn't very strong, or brave, but Castor loves his brother. One day when Castor accidentally bites Alpha and Runt is blamed, he insists on taking part of the punishment. So the two go out hunting for raccoons.
But while chasing a raccoon, Runt goes over a little dog's rival pack's territory, and Castor has no choice but to go after him. Runt catches the raccoon on a dock, with Castor on his heels, but it's too late. A swarm of rival dogs has found them.
With nothing to loose except his life, Castor jumps into the fight to protect his brother. He's a big dog, with excellent fighting skills, but he cannot keep it up forever. That's when a human truck pulls up and the people, with big orange protective suits and bug-eyed masks, take him away.
They inject him with a shot in a big dark white room, and his life changes forever.
The story follows Castor, a dog with newfound eagle wings and long claws, Marcus, a sky-kid and a Moniac, a fan of the Unnaturals reality show, and Leena, a girl from the Drain who is searching for her dog Pookie, who was taken by the same people who took Castor. It pulls you in and doesn't let you out until the very last page, and even then it stays with you forever.
I've read this book, and the second book, twelve times now, and it is just as enchanting as the very first.
It is a book aimed at grade-schoolers, but anyone can read it, and it can make you cry no matter your age. There is a bit of violence and gore, but nothing a nine-year-old wouldn't be scared to watch a movie of. (I'm not nine that was just a rating XP) It does, yes, center around a falling government and a violent animal-fighting show, and, yes, it is not exactly... PG... but it is an elaborate and wholesome tale. It warns of pollution and is really very insightful, which warms my heart more than Jazzy the panther-rabbit.
READ IT!! BUT FIRST BUY SOME TISSUES!!
I cannot think of anything that I love more than Castor the mutated shepard-dog.
CASTOR MY BB!!!!
just... my god i love this book.
October 2, 2016
The Unnaturals by Devon Hughes is a book about the struggles to be yourself and friendship. Devon Hughes illustrates this beautifully throughout her book.
It introduces us to our main character, Castor, through his dream in the dystopian world. Symbolizing his wish for peace and a place to be truly safe. As the plot progresses the normal german shepherd is thrown into a lab of mutants being trained to fight against each other and is turned into one himself.
They newly transformed are called ‘The Unnaturals’ and are trained to fight one another in a colosseum.
During Castor’s time in the lab/colosseum he makes friends and enemies with some of the other Unnaturals who all have their own special perks. This constantly goes against him, for trusting some of the others prove to be quite dangerous and traitorous.
But during the times he was being pushed down and told to be a brainless killing machine a retired Unnatural once known as ‘Pookie the Poisonous’ tells him to be himself.
For example this quote that Pookie told Castor from page 121 “Remember who you are, pup. Always remember that first, and you will take away their power. They will try to take many things from you while you are here, but they cannot take that.”
This book has many colorful characters not excluding people even though they seem to be the antagonist in the story.
The Unnaturals was truly a interesting book to read, due to its setting in the future and what had happened in the book’s universe.
While I was reading this story I did get some vibes from different books that I have read like from Peter Howe’s Waggit trilogy and more animal related books.
The story’s third person omniscient view was pretty neat, expressing the some of character’s feelings but also expressing other elements of the story that clearly told the reader that the story was not in first person view.
I did enjoy the first edition of the The Unnaturals series and am looking forward to the books to come. Going along with that I don’t think I would change much about the story, and there wasn’t much I disliked. I believe the theme of Devon’s book was to never give up no matter what happens, due to everything that happens during the book. For spoiler purposes they won’t be shared and you’ll have to read the wonderful book (which I would recommend) to see for yourself.
It introduces us to our main character, Castor, through his dream in the dystopian world. Symbolizing his wish for peace and a place to be truly safe. As the plot progresses the normal german shepherd is thrown into a lab of mutants being trained to fight against each other and is turned into one himself.
They newly transformed are called ‘The Unnaturals’ and are trained to fight one another in a colosseum.
During Castor’s time in the lab/colosseum he makes friends and enemies with some of the other Unnaturals who all have their own special perks. This constantly goes against him, for trusting some of the others prove to be quite dangerous and traitorous.
But during the times he was being pushed down and told to be a brainless killing machine a retired Unnatural once known as ‘Pookie the Poisonous’ tells him to be himself.
For example this quote that Pookie told Castor from page 121 “Remember who you are, pup. Always remember that first, and you will take away their power. They will try to take many things from you while you are here, but they cannot take that.”
This book has many colorful characters not excluding people even though they seem to be the antagonist in the story.
The Unnaturals was truly a interesting book to read, due to its setting in the future and what had happened in the book’s universe.
While I was reading this story I did get some vibes from different books that I have read like from Peter Howe’s Waggit trilogy and more animal related books.
The story’s third person omniscient view was pretty neat, expressing the some of character’s feelings but also expressing other elements of the story that clearly told the reader that the story was not in first person view.
I did enjoy the first edition of the The Unnaturals series and am looking forward to the books to come. Going along with that I don’t think I would change much about the story, and there wasn’t much I disliked. I believe the theme of Devon’s book was to never give up no matter what happens, due to everything that happens during the book. For spoiler purposes they won’t be shared and you’ll have to read the wonderful book (which I would recommend) to see for yourself.
July 16, 2019
I loved it. I was recommended it after reading the warrior cats series and it was worth the 2 month wait to get it.
January 27, 2016
This is the first book in a Dystopian sci-fi series for the younger set. Details are sketchy as to how the world has become what it is currently but it likely has something to do with global warming and the deterioration of the atmosphere coupled with pollution. Humans are separated into those who live in the Drain, down below, and those who live elevated in protected dwellings above and protected from the mess. In order to entertain the masses, animals are caught and turned into mutants via injections of DNA from other species. The animals are then taught to fight others. These creatures are subjected to intense training and tortured in various ways in order to get them to obey and do what is expected. There are a few children who learn of this and are intent on freeing the animals from this horrifying situation. Though the book was exciting at times and there are certainly noble characteristics within some of the humans as well as the animals the overall level of cruelty towards creatures is rather overwhelming at times. Those readers who are fans of the Warriors series, etc. will likely enjoy this read but may be put off with the cruelty shown toward animals.
October 20, 2017
I have to admit that at first, I wanted to judge this book by its cover. A dog with wings? Huh? But after skimming a page or two at a random spot in the book, I decided I wanted to read it after all. I was quickly hooked and hardly put it down. It was an easy read, but it had a good plot, great characters, and nice descriptiveness. The author did a good job of putting you in futuristic world, and you could easily connect with the human and animal characters. Overall an awesome book; I hope that this will be a series!
April 27, 2022
I didn't know a lot going into this book. I didn't know it had a dystopian setting or that there were human points of view as well, but I loved it all the same. Devon Hughes did a fantastic job at writing the inside of an animal's mind and writing how they describe things (I loved how she described a rabbit through Castor's eyes).
I especially loved the plot; getting to see and meet all of the Unnaturales and becoming friends with them was fun. The pasts of a lot of the animals was sad at times, but it only made the read more enjoyable for me.
I especially loved the plot; getting to see and meet all of the Unnaturales and becoming friends with them was fun. The pasts of a lot of the animals was sad at times, but it only made the read more enjoyable for me.
May 20, 2016
In this book, dog fighting on steroids meets genetic engineering in an action-packed story. Castor is a stray who loves hunting with his pack. But one day he is captured and taken to a secret lab where he is genetically modified and then forced to fight other genetically modified animals. It takes a team of animals and humans alike to band together and save these creatures.
Recommended for ages 8-12.
Recommended for ages 8-12.
September 3, 2015
They're called Unnaturals, and they're made to fight. With that said you should know what your getting when you start this book. a good start to a series. Placed in a world so messed up by humans that ground level of cities are toxic. Well written with characters developing through story Animal pit fighting could be disturbing to some younger readers.
November 23, 2015
I had a very hard time getting through this because of the animal cruelty; it is just a really disturbing read and while I can see that the action might be compelling for some readers, it was not for me.
December 4, 2015
It is an amazing book showing friendship, action, and science fiction. It is set in the future with the entertainment for the people is watching Unnaturals (mutants) fight each other. The story is told from many views and is inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews