Featured Friday
Beware of the White by Kai Strand
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Title: Beware of the White
Author: Kai Strand
About the book
As is tradition, Terra learns on the Saturday past her twelfth birthday that she is a Natures Spirit. It is her legacy to serve in the peaceful underground city of Concord. Learning she is named in a prophecy and being threatened by the leader of the death tribe…that part breaks tradition.
The Trepidus are the death janitors of the Underworld, responsible for delivering fatalities with a smile and cleaning up after themselves until Blanco, recent leader of the Trepidus, decides the day of reckoning for his species is coming. He begins organizing the creatures and leads them toward an uprising. The prophecy says there is one person who can stop him. Terra.
With Spirit of Security, Frank, protecting her, Terra attempts to complete her training and discover her Spirit talents. Together, they go on a rogue investigation to learn how to defeat Blanco. In the end, it comes down to a battle of the minds. The future of Concord is at stake. Will Blanco, the older, more experienced being win? Or will Terra, the young, new Spirit earn back the peace of the city?
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What readers are saying:
This book was sooooooooooo good it was mind blowing. The details that were in every sentence made me jump into the book and I felt like I was in the book and living terra's life!” –A Kid’s Review
The ending was ingeniously done considering where it felt the last couple chapters were heading. –DK
This is a classic story of good versus evil, coupled with a coming-of-age quest. Terra has so much to learn about herself, her powers, the new world, dealing with so many emotions, and difficult situations. There are also relationships to build, coming to terms with life and death, and normal every day activities that contrast with the strange new world where Terra has the central role. Kai Strand has created a fantasy world that offers so much that is different and yet populates it with beings that we can appreciate, relate to, and understand. – Penelope Anne Cole, Children’s Author
Interview with Kai Strand
Kai, congratulations on the release of your middle grade fantasy adventure, BEWARE OF THE WHITE. We’ve read the blurb. Can you share with us your favourite part of the book?
I have a few, of course. When you get to know the characters so well, the things they say or do really grow on you. There are a number of responses from Frank that always make me smile. I even like when Finny, the good-bad guy, laughs. But I think one of my favorite moments from the book is when Terra discovers that she is able to introduce memories into someone’s mind. It isn’t that she can do it that I love so much. it is her reaction. Here is a girl who has always been considered odd by her classmates. She’s never had any really close friends, so she’s always on guard and reserved. Her father died when she was young, forcing her to grow up too fast. Think about it, she has NO idea how to have fun. But after she discovers her new talent, she spontaneously grabs Frank by the hands and dances around with him and chants a silly little victory ditty. It is the most relaxed and “twelve” we’ve seen from her and a real sign that she is feeling secure.
BEWARE OF THE WHITE is set in a modern setting as well as in a fantasy world. How hard was it to switch back and forth from world to world?
It wasn’t hard at all, really, because it was so organic to the story. Terra has to continue living in her own modern day world. Attending sixth grade at a middle school. Being picked on by the popular kids all while learning about the Underworld, the city of Concord, and the fascinating creatures that inhabit it, which she is destined to be a part of because she is a Nature’s Spirit. There are times that Terra gets confused between the two. She is under a lot of pressure and sometimes the two worlds cross in her mind. I pulled that from my own experiences. Sometimes I dream about someone I knew in Wisconsin but in my dream we will be coworkers in California. That may sound a little crazy, but there are times memories mush together, so I figured with Terra under duress, it would make her situations more convoluted.
How did you come up with the Underworld?
It all started with the Molly. The mole-like creature used as a trolley. I dreamed it up and liked it so much I had to build a world for it. The world itself was fun to discover as I wrote and even more fun to fully develop as I edited. This world was a long time in the making. Though I never want to take nine years to write a book again, I do appreciate the results of having spent so much time on Concord and the Underworld creatures.
Tell my readers why they should read this book.
First you have to consider that it is written for a middle grade audience or a reader who thoroughly loved their middle grade years enough to want to visit again. I like to take themes that are comforting or familiar to that age group and twist them somehow. It certainly isn’t a groundbreaking theme in BEWARE OF THE WHITE; girl feels like an outcast, finds out she has hidden powers she never knew about, learns how to like herself for being different. But the way she goes about it, the world it happens in and the support she gets from her mom and from her new friend, Frank - that is different. And Terra’s journey will make you feel good and might even surprise you a time or two. It is a world and a journey to get lost in.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
YES! Time is running out for readers to enter for a chance to win one of three book related prize packages. I’m giving away Mollys, and Travelers (creatures from the book), water bottles and book bags. Unique prizes inspired by the book.
About the author
Kai Strand writes fiction for kids and teens. Her debut novel, The Weaver, was a finalist in the 2012 EPIC eBook Awards. She is a (very lucky) wife and the mother of four amazing kids. The most common sound in her household is laughter. The second most common is, "Do your dishes!" She and her family hike, geocache, and canoe in beautiful Central Oregon, where they call home.
To find out more about Kai’s books, download companion documents, find links to her published short stories and discover all the places to find Kai both virtually and in person, visit her website: www.kaistrand.com. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to send her an email or visit her facebook page, Kai Strand, Author.
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