Maggie and the Mountain of Light is an exciting, action-packed, fantastical adventure featuring an unlikely and relatable hero. Maggie is an ordinary twelve-year-old girl, struggling with anxiety and allergies, and yet, due to the strength of her friendships, she is able to achieve extraordinary things. With an effortless blend of history and fantasy, matter-of-fact cultural diversity, and many laugh-out-loud moments, Maggie and the Mountain of Light will delight and enthral readers. How can anyone ordinary do something extraordinary? Hi, I'm Maggie. I'm twelve, and I'm not just ordinary, I also suffer from extreme anxiety and life-threatening food allergies. So imagine my surprise at being invited to join an elite, top-secret branch of Wayfinder Girls. Our mission: to protect the world against inter-dimensional threats. But getting sucked into a race to retrieve the mystical Mountain of Light, before the world is overrun, was definitely not on my to-do-list! I'm going to need some help... The author tells Maggie's story through straightforward, effective prose and dialogue. Maggie is, in large part, defined by what her mum refers to as her "special needs," but this emphasis serves less to pigeonhole her than to emphasize how all-consuming such requirements can be. Maggie is a very real protagonist, plagued by self-doubt yet quietly determined and generous of spirit. The story moves quickly despite plenty of exposition and little detail omitted. The Fae duo, though representative of dark forces, are played for light comedy. A handful of full-page black-and-white illustrations serve to emphasize the fantasy element and the scale of Maggie's trials. She and her fellow Guardians should garner plenty of fans. A fun, fast-moving adventure with plenty to say about courage, friendship, and responsibility. Kirkus Blending fantasy magic and real-world problems, Maggie and the Mountain of Light offers readers a new way to think about what it means to be a hero. Unlike the traditional lone-wolf tragic heroes of classic fantasy, Maggie champions friendship, teamwork, and self-care, emphasizing that saving the world does not need to mean destroying yourself. Readers will love her honesty and compassion— traits that, with her engaging first-person narration, help her feel like a real person whose struggles are worth caring about. At the same time, the story itself is full of magic and as much excitement as a James Bond thriller. Maggie and the Mountain of Light is a strong start to the Wayfinder Girls series, which is sure to be a favorite with middle-grade adventure fans. The Children's Book Review Taking a respected girls' organization and creating superpower characters, the story includes other issues that preteen girls face, such as a sense of self-worth, feelings of inadequacy, the need to feel that you belong, and addressing bullies. The challenges young Maggie faces with her health difficulties and name association just add fuel to the fire for those seeking to bring her down. True friendship, particularly between Maggie and Anahira, builds their superpowers and leads them to success. This is a fast-paced and powerful mystery/fantasy/end-of-world story that will have young readers engrossed to the very end. Readers' Favorite Hi! Thank you for your interest in my book. My inspiration for writing the story was, and is, my eldest daughter, Mikayla. She has battled food allergies, anxiety, and ADHD, but this has not stopped her from living life. Mikayla successfully completed the Queen's Guide Award (GirlGuiding / Girl Scouts), helped create and run a Performing Arts Club at her university, and has just started her teaching career. Mikayla is a huge Percy Jackson fan and I loved the idea of a protagonist who didn't have any special powers or magical ability, but still went on a magical adventure. My daughter loves the character of Maggie and is thrilled she is the inspiration for the character. I read the early version of the book out loud at dinner time, one chapter each time, to get a sense of how my two daughters reacted to each scene. I would read a scene and then pause, Mikayla would say what she thought, and then I'd read the very next line, which was Maggie's internal thinking. On several occasions what I'd written down as Maggie's thoughts were exactly the same as what Mikayla had just said. It freaked Mikayla out a bit. "How do you know what's in my head?" she'd exclaim! They were proud Dad moments. And just a note about the authentity of the allergy experience captured in the story. It's a really authentic portrayal based on more than 20 years of dealing with daily life as a food allergic family. For example, we first meet Maggie's mum carrying a chilly bin (to keep food cold) full of Mikayla's safe food for the camp. The chilly bin is labelled 'Don't Touch' and 'For Maggie only'. And then there is the negotiation, even though already pre-planned, with the camp staff for a separate place for M