Title: Maya's Magical Adventures: A fantasy comedy for young adults
Author: Malcolm McCoard
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Book Blurb:
2017 Purple Dragonfly International award winner in the 'Young adults' category. Like nothing you've read before! A fast moving, laugh-out-loud magical comedy and fantasy adventure that will keep your "heart thumping like a bongo drum strapped to the back of a runaway camel!".
Join Maya a young Scottish girl and her know-it-all talking cat Mischief, her living wand Spell and dragon Blink on a series of magical adventures and mishaps as she discovers her magical powers and their hilarious pitfalls.
Find out what lies behind the forbidden door. Solve a series of strange riddles and journey across Ayrshire and Arran landmarks in search of clues. How will each of her friends meet with their inevitable sticky end? Can she figure out who the mysterious shadow is and how to defeat it? Is Aunty Dot really that shallow and can Maya really trust her? Or is she destined to be lost in the strange nightmare of the mirror maze?
There's only one way to find out, read it! Failure to do so may lead to feelings of disappointment, delusions of sanity and the loss of a potentially right good giggle!
My Review:
Maya, a young Scottish girl, longs for adventure. She gets her wish when she walks through the forbidden door and enters a whole new world. Not only that, but she discovers she is blessed with magical powers and her grumpy cat, Mischief, talks. As Maya explores where she is, she meets and befriends magical creatures including a dragon. There’s mishaps along the way but the more confident Maya is in herself and her newfound powers, the better everyone is. Can she solve the riddles and unmask the mystery behind the “shadow” or will she fail?
Maya’s Magical Adventures is an award-winning fantasy any reader will enjoy. It reminds me of A Wrinkle in Time meets The Chronicles of Narnia. Maya is a strong heroine with lots to learn along the way. Mischief, the talking cat, is hilarious and brings lightness to the dialogue. Well-written with unexpected twists and turns, this is a must-read for any fantasy reader! Is this a series? I sure hope so.
My Rating: 5 stars
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Author Biography:
The accidental author - Malcolm started writing in response to his 8 year old daughter's request when he was making up bedtime stories about dragons and other magical adventures one night. "You have to write that one down daddy!" Maya insisted. Maya then provided illustrations and ideas for the book which incorporates a number of characters based on her close friends and family. The book won the YA category in the 2017 Purple dragonfly book awards.
Maya has now got the reading bug good and proper and has helped with the sequel - "Stop! Don't read this, It's impossible" where they go in search of her good friends magic bone. If you don't have a magic bone in you're body...you might like to find out why. No Stop Don't read it …. It's impossible.
Maya and Malcolm have also produced a picture book "The six lives of Henry the Eighth - The world's most unlucky cat. The family approach continues with the books being edited by Anne and Elizabeth McCoard, the authors wife and mother respectively.
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Reviewed by: Mrs. N