Mia and the Lightcasters: Umbra Tales 1 (The Umbra Tales)

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Gut gefallen hat mir allerdings die Beziehung zwischen Mia und ihrem Bruder Lucas. Sie ist ihm eine tolle große Schwester, passt auf ihn auf und versucht ihn vor allem zu beschützen, nimmt ihn dabei aber trotzdem ernst und gesteht ihm seinen eigenen Kopf und seine eigenen Entscheidungen zu. Die Szenen zwischen den beiden waren wirklich süß zu lesen. I truly love my life as an author. It's been my dream since I was a child and after ten years of trying to become one, I made it and I feel blessed. What I love about gaming is the sense of fear and adventure all mixed into one. I also love being fully immersed in the game’s story and the world. The big, beautiful, and sometimes scary open worlds that you find yourself in when playing a video game is something which has inspired me massively. Games like Pokémon, Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider are all games I loved as a child, and now as an adult. In her free time, you can find Janelle holed up in her room, gaming and watching anime (some of her favourites being Inuyasha, Dragon Ball Z and Death Note), or attending numerous comic cons and gaming events. It took me roughly five months to write the first draft of Mia and The Lightcasters, although I'd written about eight other manuscripts by then, so I had a lot of practice teaching myself to write to deadlines. When I had an agent, it was about a month of editing and then I got my book deal, and edited it again with my editors afterwards.

At first glance, The Lightcasters looks like fantasy. Mia lives with her family in the town of Nubis, in a small country, Lunis, that had six cities (three now destroyed) surrounding the Shadowplains, where dangerous creatures walk. Nubis is a city of perpetual night. Some of the people of Nubis are umbra tamers. An umbra tamer is one who has accepted a lifelong pairing with a shadow animal called an umbra. Umbra are or appear to be magical. Mir persönlich fiel es lediglich etwas schwer, sich die Umbra vorzustellen, was daran liegt, dass diese Kreaturen aus „mehreren“ Tieren bestehen und es mir hier evtl. an der nötigen Phantasie fehlt oder mein Bild bereits gefestigt ist. Das Abenteuer, das Mia und ihre Freunde bestehen müssen, ist spannend, teilweise auch ein bisschen unheimlich und brutal, aber dabei immer der Zielgruppe angemessen. Die Kampfszenen fand ich sehr passend eingesetzt und nie zu viel des Guten, und es gibt zwischendurch auch immer ruhigere Stellen, an denen es auch mal ein bisschen emotionaler wird. Insgesamt eine wirklich gute Mischung und ein guter Spannungsbogen. Die Geschichte ist in sich abgeschlossen, das Ende wirft aber ein paar Fragen auf und macht richtig Lust auf den zweiten Band!The Lightcasters is, I believe, Janelle McCurdy's debut novel. And what a debut it is! Strikingly original. The Lightcasters is intended to be the first book of a series, Umbra Tales, and I certainly intend to read the rest. I’ve incorporated elements of gaming into the story; the action and martial arts scenes, for example, are something that will get the attention of fellow gamers. Those who love fighting games, like Super Smash Bros and Tekken, will especially enjoy those scenes! Once it got going, though, it was very good. Mia, her little brother Lucas, and her friends TJ and Jada must save their world. It is one of those stories where a child is thrust suddenly and unfairly into the job of an adult. I LOVE the characters. Mia and Lucas own my heart. The relationship of these siblings just gave me all the feels. The whole family dynamic was just beautiful. Mia and the Lightcasters was born from my love of gaming. I want gamers like me to feel the same magic when reading Mia and the Lightcasters as they do when playing a video game.

Es gibt die klassischen Middle Grade Elemente, aber es ist eindeutig eins der besten Bücher in der Altersklasse, die ich gelesen habe. Ich kann es wirklich nur empfehlen. Das Cover des Buches gefällt mir richtig gut, da es sich auf den Inhalt der Geschichte bezieht und auch schon genau die Stimmung transportiert, die das Buch ausmacht. Die Geschichte ist ein wenig düster, voller Magie und lebt von einer starken jungen Protagonistin, die sich in der dunklen Welt von Lunis gegen alle möglichen Hindernisse und Gegner durchsetzen muss. Looking for inspiration to engage reluctant readers? Books inspired by video games or other media are a great gateway into reading. We spoke to author Janelle McCurdy about her latest book Mia and the Lightcasters and how her love of gaming inspired this junior fiction fantasy. It follows siblings Mia and Lucas on their journey through a fantastical world to save their parents from the clutches of the dangerous Reaper King... Tell us what you love about video games There's also a small emotional moment with Mia and Lucas later in the book, which really touches my heart every time I read it. Nachdem in der Beschreibung stand, dass das Buch etwas für alle Harry Potter sowie Keeper of the Lost Cities ist, hat es mich als großer Fan der beiden Reihen natürlich neugierig gemacht. Und ich wurde nicht enttäuscht.

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I've always been fascinated with the stars and the universe, so when creating the City of Nubis and the whole kingdom of Lunis, I wanted to capture the beauty as well as the scariness of living in a forever night world and what that would entail, if there were only a few cities that see sunlight. It's fun to write about as it's so different from our world. Mit dem Buch werden vor allem jüngere Leser angesprochen. Was sich im Schreibstil wiederspiegelt, da es hier keinerlei zu stark verschachtelten Sätze gibt. Dennoch ist es auch für ältere und Erwachsene sehr fesselnd geschrieben. Und selbst wenn der Leser glaubt, alle Geheimnisse zu kennen, so gibt es doch die eine oder andere Überraschung am Ende. This was a really good debut novel. The Lightcasters definitely deserves to have its time in the spotlight! Ganz besonders toll fand ich auch die verschiedenen Umbra, die man in der Geschichte kennenlernt. Sie sind wirklich tolle magische Wesen und richtig fantasievoll beschrieben. Überhaupt fand ich die magischen Anteile in der Geschichte atmosphärisch und interessant beschrieben. year-old Mia lives with her young brother Lucas and mum and dad in the city of Nubis, under the light of the forever moon and permanently starlit skies. She has always dreamed of being umbra tamer, but a terrifying encounter with a red eyed umbra out on the Nightmare Plains three years ago frightened her into staying within the city walls. That was with her friend Miles who mysteriously disappeared shortly after the encounter (readers, look out for his horrific reappearance later). Now Mia’s parents have been captured and caged - and they say it’s her job to reach her grandparents in the Stella The City of Light and get help. To do it, Mia must face the Nightmare Plains again, defy the Reaper King, all while taking care of Lucas. But first she must find and tame her Umbra, and find out more about the mysterious Lightcasters - does she have a connection to them?

Mia and the Lightcasters displays the hidden power and strength within and encourages readers to know and understand their true worth. Children who enjoy stories with animal companions set in a game-inspired arena, will love Mia and the Lightcasters. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...Mia konnte mich als Charakter nicht wirklich überzeugen, gerade wie sie am Anfang des Buches dargestellt wird und am Ende passt nicht zusammen. Auch wie sie mit den beiden männliche Hauptcharakter umgeht hat mir nicht gefallen. Mia ist eine Interessante Protagonistin, und obwohl sie ein Teenager ist, hat mich ihr Verhalten als erwachsene Leserin nicht genervt, was meistens bei jugendlichen Charakteren der Fall ist. Ihre Beziehungen zu den anderen Charakteren waren auch realistisch dargestellt. First was gaming. I wanted to write a book that could capture the essence and fun of gaming. I want my readers to love my characters like they would a character they play as in a video game, and be invested in the journey and the adventure at the same time. A few games actually helped inspire my original idea for Mia and the Lightcasters, such as Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider and Pokémon.

Of course! My name is Janelle McCurdy, I'm 26, and I'm a gamer and author. I started writing lots of short stories in primary school, writing about myself in the worlds of my favourite games and TV shows. I also wrote loads of dragon stories as they were my favourite mythical creatures (and still are!). Mia, who lives with her little brother and parents, dreams of being an umbra tamer until a haunting encounter leaves her afraid and staying close to home. Mia is forced to face her fears when her parents are captured and she is tasked with getting help from a far away city. Her journey leads her to finding out more about the mysterious Lightcasters, and if she might have a connection to them. Then came the creation of the umbra. I wanted the kingdom to have beautiful yet dangerous mystical creatures roaming about, similar to how you will often have monsters roaming in open world games, and the idea of the umbra being made from shadows and stars fit that vision. Then came Mia! The prologue sets up the story pretty well, establishing the relationship between Mia and Miles. Despite their friendship not being present for most of the story, the scenes they had together really helped to show their chemistry and years of friendship. Their friendship was complicated, while both of them still cared for each other. While views diverge, causing them to oppose each other in certain situations. Both provided an interesting view of the situation. Rarely are there stories where people still care for each other but not always on the same side, so I appreciate seeing that happen here.

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I think children who love and enjoy gaming will like Mia and the Lightcasters, or at least I hope they will! Mia ist in Nubis, einer Stadt in völliger Dunkelheit, aufgewachsen. Wie fast alle Städte im Königreich Lunis wurde auch ihre Heimat vom sagenumwobenen König der Finsternis in ewige Nacht gestürzt. Nur mit Hilfe der Umbra, gestaltwandelnden Fabelwesen mit magischen Kräften, können die Bewohner die Finsternis unter Kontrolle halten und die Stadt schützen. Doch dann wird Nubis erneut von den Schergen des Königs angegriffen und Mias Eltern werden gefangen genommen! Mia muss ihre Ängste überwinden und lernen, ihren eigenen Umbra zu zähmen. Nur so hat sie eine Chance, den König der Finsternis zu besiegen und ihre Eltern zu retten. Sollte sie es nicht schaffen, wird sie ihre Familie für immer an die Dunkelheit verlieren … Ich muss zugeben ich hätte mir ein kleines bisschen mehr Info sowie Szenen mit der Königin gewünscht. Lucas was a cute addition to the cast and a great younger brother. His sibling relationship with Mia was explored and I love how family is a driving force that pushes Mia to overcome her fears. Her friendship with TJ was also great, and he was a witty and loyal character who looked out for her.