Rockstar Book Tours: “The Girl Who Lost A Leopard” by NizranaFarook

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE BOY WHO MET A WHALE by Nizrana Farook Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway! 

About the Book

Title: THE BOY WHO MET A WHALE

Author: Nizrana Farook

Pub. Date: February 1, 2022

Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 256

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible, B&N, iBooks (audiobook), Kobo (audiobook), TBD, Bookshop.org

A Sri Lankan fisherboy is swept up in a thrilling seafaring adventure, complete with a kidnapping, missing treasure, and a huge blue whale! From the author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant.

Razi, a local fisherboy, is watching turtle eggs hatch when he sees a boat bobbing into view. With a chill, he notices a small, still hand hanging over the side.

Inside is Zheng, who’s escaped a shipwreck and is full of tales of sea monsters and missing treasure. But the villains who are after Zheng are soon after Razi and his sister, Shifa, too. And so begins an exhilarating escapade in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all.

Author Nizrana Farook has crafted another briskly paced, action-packed quest that swells with empathetic heroes, missing treasure, and a great beast lurking beneath. Set against a vibrant, authentic landscape inspired by Sri Lanka, this delightful caper will thrill young fans of adventure and fantasy.

A Financial Times Best Children’s Book of the Year

Also available from Nizrana Farhook:
The Girl Who Stole an Elephant

Reviews

“It’s a thrilling, old-fashioned treasure hunt, and the Sri Lankan setting makes familiar arcs feel fresh. Short, action-packed chapters keep things moving at a fast clip, while lush descriptions and flashes of beauty (including an astonishing encounter with the titular whale) will keep readers absorbed. A proper adventure story with a tender heart.”-Booklist

“An exciting and appealing page-turner.”-Kirkus Reviews

“Farook invokes the beauty of her native Sri Lanka with sparkling descriptions of island and sea. . . . This lyrical story, reminiscent of Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories will be appreciated by all lovers of adventurous fairy tales.”-School Library Journal

Grab book 1, THE GIRL WHO STOLE AN ELEPHANT now!

About Nizrana Farook

Nizrana Farook was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the beautiful landscapes of her home country find their way into the stories she writes. She has a master’s degree in writing for young people, and lives in Hertfordshire, England with her husband and two daughters.

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Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE BOY WHO MET A WHALE, US Only.

Excerpt

The Girl Who Lost a Leopard

By Nizrana Farook

Excerpt for Rockstar Book Tours

Excerpt from The Girl Who Lost a Leopard / Text © 2022 by Nizrana Farook. Reproduced with permission from Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER ONE

Selvi frowned as the man with the bow and arrow took aim at something in the bushes. She bent low and watched him from her hiding place. What was he hunting? 

A whistling thrush called from a tree above him, taking off in a flutter of sleek dark blue. The man twisted in place slightly, as if following a moving target, one eye narrowed in line with the nocked arrow. Next to him, partly obscured by trees, two other figures watched silently. 

Far above him in the mountains, Selvi crouched down further. What was going on? She knew the man with the bow by sight, though only vaguely. Jansz was a large man with a big head and chipped teeth, and he and his two companions were known for being troublemakers. If Selvi’s mother were here she’d tell her to stay away from them. 

From her vantage point, Selvi had an eagle’s view of the mountain range. Misty green hills rose around her to varying heights, all covered in a thick wilderness occasionally broken up by exposed rock. Tall eucalyptus trees shot upward like arrows from the slopes, their balmy fragrance sharpening the breeze. On her right and away to the south lay a vast plain of velvety grassland. 

The man exclaimed angrily and lowered his bow. He moved toward the others underneath the tree. Whatever he’d been aiming at, it was gone now. 

The men’s voices drifted up and it sounded like an animated discussion was going on. Selvi ran light-footedly toward the other side of the mountain, anklets jingling softly. They wouldn’t see or hear her here, as long as she didn’t make too much noise. She would scale down this side of the mountain and be away from them. 

Selvi set off climbing down the bare rock face. She was adept at this. Even the dangerous climbs that no one else could manage. She was small and light, and that helped as she gripped the rock. 

She’d learned to climb by instinct, feeling the sun-hot surface with her feet and arms as she used every hand- or toehold to help her down. She knew the type of vines to hold on to, the tufts of bracken that could take her weight best. Her toes curled into foliage and grasped on, as agile as the toque macaques that swung around these parts. 

She was partway down the rock face when a movement below caught her eye. She paused and looked down. A clump of yellow daffodil orchids swayed softly among their pointed grassy leaves. Could it be . . . ? Her heart soared. But no, she hadn’t seen Lokka in over two weeks. Maybe he’d moved on? It made her sad, but he was a wild animal after all. She shook her head and turned back to the rock face. But then she caught the soft swish of trees and knew that something was definitely moving below. She held her breath and suddenly caught a glimpse of a sinewy figure with a hint of gold rippling past the foot of a keena tree. 

Selvi smiled broadly, her heart singing in her chest. The familiar powerful body, the glossy golden coat with 

dark rosettes and dabs of softest orange in them. Lokka! She’d missed him so much and was glad to see him sloping around the mountains again. 

A whisper floated up in the breeze. Selvi froze as a sudden appalling thought came to her. The men were being very quiet now. Too quiet. She scaled back up the rock quickly and crawled to the edge she’d been on before, anklets jingling and elbows scraping the rough ground. 

All of a sudden, several things happened at once. An arrow whistled through the air into the bushes. A loud roar from an angry animal echoed up the mountains, followed by a crashing sound coming from the bushes. 

Lokka! 

Tour Schedule

Week One:

Week Two: