Genre: Middle Grade Magic, Fantasy Adventure. Ages 8-13
About the Book:
Zoe and Zak have learned some things since their first semester at Moonstock Himalayan Academy in India: #1 Don't trust the parrots. #2 Don't eat the food. #3 And most importantly . . . don't stick around if something crawls out of the lava hole beneath your school. Last semester, Zoe and Zak returned the first lost Noble Truth to its rightful home. Now, the seventh graders are back in India for their second semester at Moonstock, their boarding school high in the Himalayan mountains where impossible things seem to happen on a regular basis. School kicks off with the Activity Week Challenge in the tiny mountain kingdom of Bhutan where the students must deliver medical supplies. Things take a turn for the worse when Zak becomes deathly ill after an encounter with a strange floating bubble. On returning to Moonstock, Zoe and Zak discover that a creature has come through the lava hole far below their dormitory. When Zoe and Zak follow the creature, they soon learn what they must do. They have been tasked with finding the second lost Noble Truth--the Tiger Eye of Justice. Finding the Tiger Eye sounds like an impossible mission, and it's only made more confusing when Zak discovers that he has been given a powerful gift to help with the task. But Zak's new gift is a double-edged sword, and if Zoe and Zak don't find the Tiger Eye quickly, Zak's time will run out. The Tiger Temple takes Zoe and Zak deep into an exotic world of magical enchantment and heart-pounding action. It promises to be the most thrilling Zoe and Zak adventure yet.
Audible | iTunes | Amazon | GoodReads
My Review:
I didn't have much experience with Audiobooks outside of realistic fiction because I was always afraid that it would be so much harder to get into a fantasy or adventure story without reading it myself. Zoe and Zak and the Tiger Temple definitely proved me wrong! The story just seemed to play right in front of my eyes like a movie and I found myself closing my eyes a lot while listening to it. I don't know what it was but in this case I feel the audio enhanced the story so well. I sometimes find that audiobooks can drag on a bit and the sentences just become a blur but in this case I hung to every word! I wanted to keep listening and I felt like I was part of the adventure: Zoe and Zak and Judith! :)
The story itself was great! I find that most Middle Grade novels have epic adventures, and this was no different. One of my favorite things about Zoe and Zak and the Tiger Temple was the setting! I absolutely love when books take place in foreign lands! This book was like taking a much cheaper flight right into the Himalayan Mountains of India! Regardless of all the crazy and dangerous things they face in those mountains, I found myself wanting to go!! I loved Zoe and Zak as characters because they embodied everything we wished we were as kids. They were living out the fantasy and the adventure I could only have dreamed about when I was their age. That's not to say that both Zoe and Zak don't deal with some issues all of us can relate to, such as bullying, embarrassment, and the joys of success.
I listened to this one with out having read the previous two and I didn't feel out of the loop at all. I love series like this when you can jump in at any point and enjoy each individual story on it's own. I do however plan on picking up both very soon because I was left wanting more! Overall I HIGHLY recommend this book! Not just for your child but for yourself as well! It doesn't matter what age you are, we can all take something away from Zoe and Zak. I know it left me wanting to be more brave and adventurous! It also teaches us the meaning and value of friendship and that is something we all need to remember. So buy yourself a copy, sit outside, and prepare yourself for a magnificent, magical adventure!
Prior to writing novels, Lars Guignard wrote for film and television. As a teenager he attended boarding school in the Indian Himalayas and his experiences there provided the inspiration for the Zoe and Zak series which now include: Zoe & Zak and the Ghost Leopardand Zoe & Zak and the Yogi’s Curse and Zoe & Zak and the Tiger Temple.
He lives in the Pacific Northwest where he dodges bears and cougars while hiking & skiing the magnificent Coast Mountain Range.
For news about new releases, please join his email list here: Zoe&ZakAdventures@gmail.com
He can also be reached at the following places:
Website: www.larsguignard.com
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This tour was organized by CBB Book Promotions.
LOVE this review! I'm so glad that you were able to jump in and enjoy it without the previous books. I agree, this is one fantastic audiobook and I also loved the adventure and spending time in India. These books are so FUN! Thanks for hosting a tour stop!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the listen. That's great that the book swept you away to a foreign land. Really, that's exactly what I wanted it to do, so I'm really pleased you had that experience. Thanks again for the enthusiastic review!
ReplyDelete