THE LIGHTCASTERS

A 12-year-old girl must harness her fledgling powers and her bond with two shadowy magical creatures to conquer an evil force bent on destroying her family and community.

Mia McKenna lives in Nubis in the kingdom of Lunis, where the elite look out for themselves, leaving ordinary people with limited resources to stave off the Darkness. Mia is training to become an umbra tamer when the soul-devouring Reaper King’s elite minions attack her community, taking her parents and nearly everyone else with the skills to fight back. Leaving behind the protection of their city walls, Mia traverses the Nightmare Plains to Stella, the high-tech City of Light, with little brother Lucas and friend TJ. They’re joined by 17-year-old rising star umbra tamer Jada as they desperately seek help from Queen Katiya, a ruler with a history of doing little for her people. Relationships drive the narrative: Mia’s friendships, closeness with Lucas, and bond with her two umbra (furry, horned beings who resemble fox-deer hybrids) are enjoyable. Unfortunately, key background information is frequently dropped haphazardly into the middle of action scenes, disrupting readers’ focus and lessening the tension. This fractured style of worldbuilding breaks up the narrative and makes it difficult to retain readers’ attention. Mia reads as Black, and names and physical descriptions signal a broadly diverse world; TJ has two mums.

An uneven fantasy story focusing on the power of family and friendship.