School of Tamers

Alka Zhuk is sure he is the real deal of a failure: he has not an iota of the Magic of Taming, and there’s only one week left until the entrance exam for the School of Tamers.

He hasn’t told anyone about his secret—not his mom, not his teachers, not his classmates. Instead of magic, Alka relied on something else: he learned to understand animals, cared for them, fed and treated them, patiently got along with a battle hamster, and figured out what a saber-toothed hare actually likes. And somehow it worked: during checks, the animals still responded to him—just not the way “real” Tamers are supposed to. The truth is, though, one nasty classmate is starting to suspect that Alka isn’t a magician at all…

Then comes the day of the exam: he must escape from a terrible forest by summoning a unicorn. Can a boy without magic do what only the chosen are able to—or will fear and other people’s expectations be stronger?