Majestica

By: Sarah Tolcser

Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan

Length: 8 hrs

Publisher's summary

Jurassic Park meets Once There Was in this thrilling middle grade fantasy adventure set at a nature preserve for magical beasts, where two girls find themselves on a wilderness expedition gone disastrously wrong.

Hattie Swift is a maid-in-training at Majestica, a resort and nature preserve where visitors come face-to-face with rare magical flora and fauna. She’s thrilled to be invited along on the park’s famous wilderness train excursion for the first time, but there’s a catch: She has to accompany Evelyn Ridgewell, the hotel owner’s haughty niece, who wants nothing to do with her.

Soon after embarking, Evelyn overhears a man who aims to hunt the park’s creatures for sport, and Hattie meets Jacob Threadborne, an apprentice magician sent by a foreign government on a top-secret mission. Then the magical fences keeping guests safe stop working, and the train breaks down in the most treacherous part of the jungle. Faced with poachers, man-eating trees, and a dragon on the loose, Hattie, Evelyn, and Jacob must stick together to figure out what’s gone wrong at Majestica . . . that is, if they want to make it out alive.

Features a richly illustrated map of the expansive nature preserve, as well as a bestiary with all the magical—and dangerous—creatures at Majestica.

©2024 Sarah Tolcser (P)2024 Listening Library

Critic reviews

* “Rich worldbuilding will draw readers into an immersive adventure . . . Tolcser combines themes of conservation and the repatriation of cultural artifacts with unexpected friendships to create a fast-paced fantasy. Caparo’s exquisite art adds to the magic . . . Charming characters abound in this tale that’s thoughtfully grounded in ethics."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Riveting . . . The marvelous magical menagerie and Victorian details feel terrifically fresh. There is danger, daring, and mounting mystery aplenty, but quiet moments of introspection give the suspenseful story room to breathe . . . An epic adventure sure to enthrall and inspire.”—Booklist

“A pulse-pounding adventure that examines themes of conservation, exploitation, and responsibility.”—Publishers Weekly