Miganium by Ali Sparkes
This is one tremendous adventure story from Ali Sparkes, author of the famous Shapeshifter series published by OUP. Her regular followers won’t need to be told that ‘Miganium’ is a book to get hold of – they have been eagerly awaiting this title for some time – but in case you haven’t come across Ali’s stories, this is how it goes…
Ty is living the life of many an urban kid – battling to get used to the idea of a brace on his teeth, planning his day in a never-ending attempt to avoid the attention of the school bullies, and doing it all with only the TV-gazing, snack-consuming Auntie Dawn at home to ‘help’ him. He does have some advantages though – there’s his friend Sam, the countryside ranger, and the miganium – a lump of mysteriously glowing rock that fell to earth at his side during a thunderstorm.
The rock appears to bestow great powers on its owner but Ty’s problems are far from over. As he very quickly discovers, being a boy with astonishing telekinetic powers attracts completely the wrong sort of attention. No sooner have Ty and Sam decided the miganium should be kept a secret than two very alarming black-suited types appear at his school asking awkward questions.
Ty and Sam go on the run, planning an undercover route up the country, in search of other people they believe have found pieces of the miganium. Pursued by the black-suited pair, they seek the car-lifting and TV-levitating freaks they’ve read about in the papers. Ty and Sam soon collect an unlikely band of friends – the gruff OAP, the stressed hairdresser and the ‘slightly septic busker’. All they have to do now is find out what exactly miganium is and why it gives them, and only them, magical powers. Well there’s that and avoiding the black-suited ones – and the mysterious bloke in the track suit, and the police. Oh and there’s the business with the Royal Navy…
A classic and beautifully written epic-journey then – and one woven through with the unfailing humour which is an Ali Sparkes’ speciality – but there’s another point that makes ‘Miganium’ well worth investing in. It’s a real-life personal adventure, too. The main character, Ty, appears in the ‘Shapeshifter’ series and Ali’s regular readers have been asking her for his back story so ‘Miganium’ makes its appearance by request – and does not come from Ali’s usual publisher. Ali has commissioned artwork for the cover, hired a freelance editor and published this limited edition book herself. She says she is enjoying her venture into self-publishing, and I believe her – you can feel the enjoyment and the enthusiasm as soon as you pick up the book – just as Ty felt the magic buzzing in the miganium.
Great project, great book and, if you want one, better hurry – it’s a limited edition. When they’re gone, they’re gone!