Wasabi: Queen of the Bark

Wasabi did not get adopted.

She was chosen.

At least, that’s how she tells it.

When a teenage Giant brings home a fiercely opinionated Tokay gecko, Wasabi finds herself transported from the only home she has ever known to a mysterious new territory filled with warm basking lights, climbing branches, suspicious human activity, and an assortment of reptiles who clearly have no idea that their queen has just arrived.

Naturally, Wasabi assumes command.

There’s Haggis, a laid-back blue-tongued skink who seems far too comfortable with the humans; Chamoy, a gargoyle gecko prone to having very bad days; Fruit Salad, a Pacman frog whose thoughts rarely stray far from food; Spam, an enthusiastic leopard gecko; Tiramisu, a rosy boa; and Vanilla Bean, an Amazon tree boa who has the irritating habit of questioning Wasabi’s royal authority.

Then there’s the Giant.

The Giant brings food. Changes water. Cleans enclosures. Controls the lights. And, most suspiciously of all, refuses to be intimidated.

Wasabi barks.

The Giant stays.

Wasabi threatens.

The Giant stays.

Wasabi even bites.

The Giant simply smiles and says, “Okay, maybe next time.”

This is deeply concerning.

As Wasabi settles into her new kingdom, ordinary life in the Reptile Room becomes anything but ordinary. An escaped army of crickets launches her first military campaign. A territorial rivalry determines who deserves the highest perch. A mysterious disappearance of food leads to an investigation. A trip to the veterinarian is clearly an abduction. And when a storm plunges the Reptile Room into darkness, Wasabi begins to discover something she never expected.

The Giant isn’t serving them.

The Giant loves them.

And somewhere between defending her territory, helping her fellow reptiles, surviving disasters, and carefully observing the enormous creature who returns every single day, Wasabi must confront an increasingly inconvenient possibility:

Perhaps this strange place isn't captivity.

Perhaps it's home.

Told through the hilariously confident eyes of a Tokay gecko who considers biting a legitimate form of diplomacy, Wasabi: Queen of the Bark is a funny, warmhearted story about trust, patience, belonging, and the extraordinary relationships that can grow between people and the animals they love.

Wasabi will deny all of this, of course.

She has a reputation to maintain.

Book One of The Reptile Room Chronicles.