Friday, September 20, 2013

Middle Grade Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: Ghost Leopard (Lars Guignard)




Move over Percy Jackson. Find out what everybody is talking about! If you loved Harry Potter, if you couldn't get enough of Percy Jackson, if you're wondering what to read after The Mark of Athena -- from bestselling author Lars Guignard comes the kids' magic fantasy adventure... GHOST LEOPARD.
Zoe and Zak are lost in exotic India, where gods and magic still exist. Before they can find their way home, they just have to do one little thing...
...Save a mythical creature from an ancient evil that wants to rule the world.
When Zoe Guire goes along on her mom's business trip to India, things get very weird, very quickly. An elephant god speaks to her from the bottom of a swimming pool... She and her classmate Zak get locked in a trunk and shipped off to a strange city near the foothills of the Himalayas... and a crazy snake charmer tells them they've been chosen to protect a mythical creature called the Ghost Leopard from an ancient evil that wants to take over the world. As they travel deeper into the majestic mountains known as the Realm of the Gods, things get even weirder. If she and Zak want to make it back to their parents, they're going to have to tap into powers they never knew existed. Because if they don't, things will never be the same for any of us ever again.

 Book can be found at:



Lars Guignard is a former film and television writer and a graduate of both McGill University and the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. His debut thriller novel, Lethal Circuit, has been an amazon top 100 Technothriller since its release.
Guignard has wanted to write Indian stories for kids ever since he attended a boarding school in the majestic Himalayas. The time he spent in the “school above the clouds” affected him profoundly, and once he returned home to North America he was struck by the lack of children’s stories from India available in our culture. Since India is such an incredible country, he decided to write a series of action adventure books for young adults about India to introduce young readers to this magical, mystical land. So if you’re looking for a great book adventure for kids, try Ghost Leopard today!

Author Sites:




This is the first audio book middle grade novel that I have ever reviewed. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. I have listened to audio books before and really enjoyed them, especially if they have a good narrator but I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the voice relating to the age in this one. After starting it I realized that the narrator actually does a great job of coordinating between the two main characters, Zoe and Zak. I found it easy to understand when she swapped from one to the other. It was overall a great experience with this narrator. 

I am used to reading young adult and adult novels so it took me a little bit to get into this one since it was middle grade but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the way that the author wrote the story in order to add educational information for the reader. My son will soon be at this age and he loves reading so it was interesting to see what type of books he will be coming into before long. I liked the fact that had he chosen this book he would get to enjoy a good story but also discovers information about another country! 

The main character Zoe and her mother visit India for her mother’s work. Zoe is a very engaging character and of course wants to go on an adventure while she is in this new world. Zoe meets Zak almost immediately and their two personalities collide. Zoe is very calm and uptight where Zak is to the point of annoying but this is what is to be expected at this age so it fit perfectly into the story. 

Zoe and Zak then learn that they are “supposedly” meant to protect what is called The Ghost Leopard from all evil including lots of bad men. Zoe and Zak then begin their journey to search for The Ghost Leopard and incur LOTS of bad situations that they have to find their way out of!!!

The book is full of action, fast-paced sequences, and young humor. I enjoyed the book immensely and thing that any fan of middle grade would love it! I mean who doesn’t love a good mystery along with ghosts, scary situations, Indian folklore, and of course A Ghost Leopard.






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3 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you enjoyed this one too! I thought the narrator really did great. I tried to do the Indian accent and SO couldn't pull it off so I have to give her kudos for accomplishing that! I also loved 'visiting' India, now I want to go for real! Thanks so much for hosting a tour stop for this!

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  2. Thanks, Beth, for your review. I'm glad you liked it and I hope your son will too when he gets older. Cheers, Lars

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  3. I love the idea of children's books being set in India.

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