Las Animas High - Hardcover

Monk, Gibson

Hardcover

ISBN 13: 9798986842479

Publisher: Hyssop Press, LLC., 2026

Synopsis

"This delightful coming-of-age tale sparkles with vibrant characters and supernatural turns." 
— Kirkus Reviews
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In the high desert of Colorado, nothing stays buried forever.
At Las Animas High, Danica Drake thought the worst thing she'd face was surviving senior year. That illusion shatters the night she and her friends witness a brutal hijacking-one tied to a powerful oil corporation with secrets it will kill to protect.
But the crime is only the beginning.
As strange sightings ripple through their small town, Danica uncovers a truth older than history: Las Animas sits on a fault line between worlds. Dragons stir beneath the desert. Giants walk forgotten paths. And forces rooted in ancient myth are waking-hungry, watchful, and no longer content to remain hidden.
Caught in a conflict that predates humanity itself, Danica and her friends must navigate shifting loyalties, first love, and the terrifying cost of knowing too much. Because the corporation isn't just drilling for oil-it's digging for something far more dangerous. And once it's unleashed, there may be no stopping it.
A gripping blend of supernatural suspense, Indigenous mythology, and high-stakes coming-of-age, Las Animas High is about the bonds that hold us together-and the secrets that can tear a town apart.

About this title

About the Author

Gibson Monk is a storyteller whose work spans multiple genres and forms. His short fiction has appeared in respected literary journals including Sixfold, Zahir, and Helios. He teaches religion and philosophy at the University of Mary Washington and lives in Virginia with his wife and three children.
His previous novel, Entanglement, weaves together technology, conspiracy, and gamer culture. With Las Animas High, he turns to supernatural suspense, Indigenous mythology, and the bonds of friendship in a high-desert coming-of-age story.

From the Back Cover

Senior year is hard.
Surviving it together might be impossible.
In the high desert of Colorado, Danica Drake is counting down the days to the end of senior year, certain the hardest part of her life is almost behind her. But when she and her friends witness a violent hijacking tied to a powerful oil corporation, the fragile logic of their small town begins to fracture.
Strange sightings ripple through Las Animas. Rumors cling to the edges of every conversation. And beneath the desert — older than memory, older than history — something is stirring.
What Danica begins to uncover is not just a conspiracy, but a truth embedded in the land itself: Las Animas is a fault line between worlds, where myth has never fully disappeared, only waited.
As the boundary between the ordinary and the impossible begins to erode, Danica and her friends are drawn into a conflict far larger than themselves — one that will test their loyalties, reshape what they believe, and demand more from them than they are ready to give.

From the Inside Flap

Dragons, giants, and a town full of secrets — welcome to Las Animas High.
In the high desert of Colorado, nothing stays buried forever. At Las Animas High, Danica Drake thought the worst thing she'd face was surviving senior year. That illusion shatters the night she and her friends witness a brutal hijacking — one tied to a powerful oil corporation with secrets it will kill to protect.
But the crime is only the beginning. As strange sightings ripple through their small town, Danica uncovers a truth older than history: Las Animas sits on a fault line between worlds. Dragons stir beneath the desert. Giants walk forgotten paths. And forces rooted in ancient myth are waking — hungry, watchful, and no longer content to remain hidden.
Caught in a conflict that predates humanity itself, Danica and her friends must navigate shifting loyalties, first love, and the terrifying cost of knowing too much. Because the corporation isn't just drilling for oil — it's digging for something far more dangerous. And once it's unleashed, there may be no stopping it.
A gripping blend of supernatural suspense, Indigenous mythology, and high-stakes coming-of-age, Las Animas High is about the bonds that hold us together — and secrets that can tear a town apart.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hyssop Press, LLC.
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798986842479
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 242