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

Product Information

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. Administrative note: As far as I can figure out, The Lightcasters and Mia and the Lightcasters are the North American (Simon and Schuster Aladdin) and UK (Faber Children's) version of the same book. If wrong, I would be glad to be corrected about this.

How did you go about creating your setting, and what made you think about having a town where it is always dark? 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! Das Jugendbuch „Die Chroniken von Lunis – Wächterin des Lichts“ stammt aus der Feder von Janelle McCurdy. Dies ist der erste Band einer Fantasyreihe, welche eine fantastische Welt und eine actionreiche Handlung verspricht. Bei „Die Chroniken von Lunis: Wächterin des Lichts“ handelt es sich um Band 1 der „Die Chroniken von Lunis“-Trilogie von Janelle McCurdy. Ich muss zugeben ich hätte mir ein kleines bisschen mehr Info sowie Szenen mit der Königin gewünscht.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.

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. 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. But all that changes when a mysterious cult storms Nubis, capturing everyone with the ability to protect it—including her parents, the rest of the umbra tamers, and their mystical, powerful creatures made of shadow and starlight.Mia and The Lightcasters is perfect for children who love sci-fi, fantasy, adventure or technology. It is a really great addition to books of these genres and one I know many children in our school will enjoy reading. 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?

You can probably guess, but it's definitely gaming! That's my favourite thing to do to help me unwind after a writing session. I also enjoy listening to music and taking pictures. I've recently found a love for Lego building as well, haha! This is a difficult one, because there's not really a straight answer, it just happened. Compared to Lucas, who was inspired by the children I looked after when I worked at a nursery, Mia sort of just came about on her own in my mind. Das Cover dieser Geschichte und die ganze äußere Aufmachung des Buches, passen perfekt zum Inhalt, was ich absolut liebe. Dennoch finde ich persönlich, dass gerade das Cover auch ein bisschen spoilert und somit das Gefühl der Vorhersehbarkeit verstärkt, was ich wiederum sehr schade finde. Gleiches gilt auch ein wenig für den Untertitel „Wächterin des Lichts“, aber ich könnte mir auch vorstellen, dass dies von der Zielgruppe (Kinder und Jugendliche ab 10 Jahren) nicht so offensichtlich wahrgenommen werden würde. That all sounds like a fantasy world. But there are no elves, no sorcerers, no magic spells. Mia's mother, besides being an umbra tamer, is a scientist who works in her lab trying to understand the umbra. Mia's mother and father carry holophones, which appear to be cell phones that project holograms instead of showing things on video screens. They have computers and Mia has a tablet that can take and show pictures. They have running water and elevators and navigation systems. I have a few, but two of them happen very closely together. It's the moment Mia is reunited with a certain someone, but at the same time taken away from loved ones.

By Author / Illustrator

Ich LIEBE die Charaktere. Mia und Lucas gehört mein Herz. Die Beziehung der Geschwister sorgen bei mir einfach für all die Feels. Die ganze Familiendynamik war einfach wunderschön zu sehen. This is a book that I will be proudly displaying in my classroom and recommending to many children who I know will devour it. I have not come across many other children's books that explore fantasy worlds this imaginatively and can draw a reader in to them. We have been consciously researching books with main protagonists of colour in school and this is certainly one to add to the list. There are unfortunately not many within this genre, especially a female role, too. Von vorne bis hinten hat mir der erste Band der Chroniken von Lunis einfach richtig Spaß gemacht. "Wächterin des Lichts" ist eine tolle Fantasygeschichte (nicht nur) für Kinder (ca ab 11) mit einer starken Heldin und einer interessanten Welt, in die ich total gerne eingetaucht bin. Die Idee einer Stadt, die komplett in Dunkelheit liegt, und Wesen aus Schatten, die den Menschen im Kampf zur Seite stehen, fand ich total cool. Ich konnte mir beim Lesen alles richtig gut vorstellen und habe die Schattenwesen, genannt Umbra, förmlich vor mir gesehen. Die Charaktere mochte ich überwiegend wirklich gern – sie haben alle ihre ganz eigene Rolle, Funktion und Persönlichkeit, die sie aus- und liebenswert macht und die vor allem dazu führt, dass eine ziemliche Vielfalt an Figuren herrscht. Readers who like their heroes brave, resourceful and caring, magical and with a skill in martial arts are going to love twelve-year-old Mia, star of Janelle McCurdy’s gripping new fantasy adventure Mia and the Lightcasters.

Coffee house Caffè Nero has announced the 16-strong shortlist for the inaugural Nero Book Awards, recognising the outstanding books of the past 12... Umbra are mysterious, magical creatures, which take different forms but bond with a particular human. Following a terrifying incident when she was much younger, Mia is going to need to dig deep into her resources of courage to discover her own umbra taming abilities. Ever so often I find a book that I feel is the epitome of middle grade fantasy, and The Lightcasters is one of them! What I love the most about middle grade fantasy is an immersive fantasy world with great world-building, developed characters, and a book that transports me into another world. Janelle McCurdy accomplished all of these things. The Lightcasters is perfect for fans of The Marvellers, and Amari and the Night Brothers.

Interview

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. I think readers will also relate to the strong family bonds in Mia and the Lightcasters. Mia and Lucas's relationship is the heart of this first book. Whilst, like any brother and sister, they can annoy each other and fight, Mia will always be protective of her little brother and will fight anyone and anything to protect him. I’m sure those with siblings can relate! Lastly, can your character Mia give us any top tips on how to tame the fantastical creatures of her world, umbras?