Author: Jan M. Flynn
Publication: Disney Hyperion (May 5, 2026)
Description: Impossible Creatures meets The Giver in this unforgettable fantasy series starter perfect for kids 8-12!
When twelve-year-old Rain bonds with the last wild griffin, she has the chance to change her fortune—and possibly her world.
As an orphan on the lowest rung of society, twelve-year-old Rain is destined for a future of hard labor—until she meets a wild griffin and bonds with him.
An old law says that bond entitles Rain to an education at the elite Griffin Riders Academy instead of a life in the mines. But Rain’s Rise threatens to topple Griffin Land’s fragile hierarchy, and those at the top are determined to see her fail. So they task Rain with proving herself: Armed with just her wit and accompanied by her best friend and an unlikely ally, Rain must scale the highest peak in Griffin Land and defeat the monster at its summit.
Rain’s success could change the world. But with an impossible quest ahead, will she and her griffin even survive?
Filled with awe-inspiring black-and-white illustrations, Griffin Speaker is both a delightful friendship-adventure story and a hopeful tale of resistance in an unequal world.
My Thoughts: This middle grade fantasy tells the story of a 12-year-old girl named Rain who is an orphan at the lowest rank in society. Her future will consist of underground mining of root. She fears her future because she is afraid of the dark, closed-in tunnels.
Rain's future changes when she meets a griffin that her aunt, who has a farm raising exotic winged creatures for sale to the rich, is hiding in her barn and training to sell to a man from the highest rank of society. His daughter Orla wants to join the exclusive griffin riders, but she's been denied because of politics.
Rain names the creature Griff. She able to talk to him and understand him in her mind. Griff is a wild griffin. Wild griffins are hunted by the griffin riders who are the society's enforcers. Rain decides that she and Griff will present themselves to the griffin training academy which must admit them both according to an ancient law.
Rain's plan runs into politics. Those in the highest ranks of society see Rain as a demonstration of societal change that they do not want to happen. To keep her out, they design a quest that they intend to see that she doesn't survive. With Griff taken from her and drugged, Rain and Orla who has declared herself Rain's Champion have to travel to a distant mountain to get the tail of the queen of the Nightflyers. They are joined on their quest by Rain's only friend Twig who has come to the city with Rain's belongings.
This was an engaging introduction to epic fantasy for young readers. A young heroine of pure heart goes on a quest which changes society before it is all finished. It is also a friendship story about friends working together for a goal.
