A thrilling new middle grade fantasy from Texas Bluebonnet Award winner Joel Ross. Packed with adventure and humor and filled with goblins, royals, and magic, this is a tale of unlikely heroes who embark on a daring quest. Boot boy Ji is tired of scrubbing soles and untangling shoelaces. He doesn´t want to bow and scrape. All he wants is freedom--for himself and his friends. He decides to risk everything for a chance to accompany a young nobleman to the Diadem Rite, a magical ritual that chooses the heir to the Summer Crown. Ji doesn´t care about crowns or ceremonies, but he vows that this trip will grant him and his friends new lives, far away from boots and bowing. What Ji doesn´t know is that he and his friends have a dangerous part to play in the Diadem Rite. One that will change them forever.