Gold medal winner - 2018 eLit Awards Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction Second Place winning title in the 2016 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards- Middle Grade Fiction. Koolura is no ordinary girl. Neither is her best friend Leila. While visiting Mexico, the girls discover a device which hurtles them back in time to an early Mayan civilization. The Mayans have troubles of their own—the alien Aquari people have all but enslaved them. They need a goddess to set them free. Could Koolura be the one? 5 star review Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite Koolura and the Mayans by Michael Thal is the third book in the Koolura series, an exciting story that will take readers on a historic ride back into the old Maya civilization. Koolura and her friend, Leila, are just two young teens visiting Mexico. They stumble on a device that allows them to travel back in time. They are thrust into an early Maya civilization, whose people are enslaved by the Aquari. The people hope for a goddess who could set them free. Could Koolura be this goddess? Although Koolura and the Mayans is written for a pre-teen audience, it was fun to read as an adult. Michael Thal’s characters are awesome and I enjoyed Koolura and Leila, two girls who are smart and very ingenious. They make a great team. Readers will enjoy watching them evolve through the story. The author seems to create a whole new culture around the Maya and the story feels so real, reading about the people and the challenges they face. At the level of style, this book is beautifully accomplished. First off, the reader will notice the gorgeous accessible writing, composed of short and easy-to-understand sentences. The writing also features great descriptions of characters and setting. The descriptive prose creates powerful images in the minds of readers. I enjoyed the well-crafted dialogues which make the characters come to life. Readers will love the adventure, the drama, the conflict, and the entertaining nature of this story. I enjoyed it!

Koolura and the Mayans (Koolura series)

Children's Books

Thal, Michael

Action & Adventure

Solstice Publishing

Like many preteens, Koolura has doubts about herself. She and her father have relocated so often that she has few community ties. Now, at her new school, she begins feeling "right at home" for the first time, ever. Soon she'll find out she has KOOL psychic powers. These allow her the ability to dematerialize at will and reappear wherever she chooses. She can move objects with her mind and even defy gravity. Will these powers be of any use in stopping Neb, a stalker, intent on her destruction? Neb wants the KOOL and he won't hesitate in hurting Koolura or her friends if they get in his way.

The Legend of Koolura (The Koolura Series)

MT Associates

Glodwyn's Treasure Chest (Crimson Cloak Anthologies)

Winstead, Gary

Alexander, Helen

Abel, L. Sydney

Filmer, Mary

Race, Esma

Tallant, Wesley

Well, B.

Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

Crimson Cloak Publishing

★★★★★ "A beautifully touching story of a tenacious woman!" - Reader Review 
___ 
“It’s not what you get in life, it’s what you give back that truly defines you.” 
Set in Iran during the 1960s and 1970s, and later in Los Angeles, California, Zhila Shirazi tells her story firsthand. 
She reveals the real-life struggle of being a deaf woman who refuses to allow adversity to stop her from reaching her dreams of living a normal and fulfilling life. 
In 1985, disgusted with the treatment of Jews by the new Islamic government, Zhila immigrates to the United States in pursuit of better circumstances and a chance to receive a cochlear implant to improve her hearing. 
However, it isn’t until she is forty-nine, when she meets her soulmate, Mickey Daniels, that she begins to feel her life truly complete. 
A decade later, after they have fallen deeply in love, Zhila learns that she is suffering from an aggressive form of cancer. In the months that follow, Mickey becomes Zhila’s primary caretaker, and the two grow ever closer as they fight the disease together. 
Right up to the end, Zhila shows her caring nature, innate intelligence, and will power to overcome almost any challenge. 
Her courage and the beauty of her memory is certain to inspire all who venture to follow her on their quest for a truly meaningful life.

The Lip Reader

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Paper Angel Press

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

"It's not what you get in life, it's what you give back that truly defines you."Set in Iran during the 1960s and 1970s, and later in Los Angeles, California, Zhila Shirazi tells her story firsthand. She reveals the real-life struggle of being a deaf woman who refuses to allow adversity to stop her from reaching her dreams of living a normal and fulfilling life.In 1985, disgusted with the treatment of Jews by the new Islamic government, Zhila immigrates to the United States in pursuit of better circumstances and a chance to receive a cochlear implant to improve her hearing. However, it isn't until she is forty-nine, when she meets her soulmate, Mickey Daniels, that she begins to feel her life truly complete.A decade later, after they have fallen deeply in love, Zhila learns that she is suffering from an aggressive form of cancer. In the months that follow, Mickey becomes Zhila's primary caretaker, and the two grow ever closer as they fight the disease together.Right up to the end, Zhila shows her caring nature, innate intelligence, and will power to overcome almost any challenge. Her courage and the beauty of her memory is certain to inspire all who venture to follow her on their quest for a truly meaningful life.

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Books by Thal, Michael