THE POWER OF UNITY POSTED BY JUST REVIEWS BY:GABINA49: ⋅ SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 Shanti and the Magic Mandala: F. T. Camargo Creating a world where people of every race and religion work together and get along most would think is pure fantasy. Living together without the threat of a terrorist attack fiction. Shanti a young girl living in New York, wants more for her life than just living in her new home. Exploring the world, traveling and wanting to do something important for humanity is just part of her goals and that of five others that she is going to meet. A vision that comes to her in a dream from the god Krishna enlightens her. Explaining that she is really from another world, another place called Sirius and was sent here for a special purpose will lead readers to learn that Shanti is about to undergo a great adventure. Shanti envisions herself going off to a foreign land, at the right time to join several others forming what the Krishna called the Northern Alliance and eventually meet others from the Southern Alliance joining forces in Peru. Oddly enough Shanti’s school is sponsoring a program for students in Peru and Shanti hopes to be chosen. Having this outer body experience and wondering just where this would go becomes an obsession for Shanti. Learning that she once fought in Atlantis to obliterate experiments being done with animals and stopping The Black Magicians. In the future she will team up with two others and meet in New York to form this Northern Alliance and then three more forming the Southern Alliance as the author introduces each of the of five characters in unique way. Each one of the six meets their spiritual guide receiving two special pieces of information that will guide them. One is a scroll with instructions and the second a special stone. Earth from so great a distance and different time periods is to protect our animals from what a Satanic Group has planned for them. Sacrificing these animals for their own purpose and cause we hear their voices explaining that they want to take over the world in many different ways and hope to begin their quest on the night of the Great Eclipse. Six young adults each from another country and whose values and religions are different yet they meld together and blend as one. Shanti, Nasir and Itai are going to form the Northern Alliance as the author weaves their stories into one. Relating the events that lead up to their trip to Peru in order to create an alliance for world peace we find these three in dire danger at times. When Max, Shanti’s dog is kidnapped she is fortunate that Nasir and Itai are there to help rescue him. Seeing a strange man on the way to school who threatens every being has kept her and the others on alert knowing that someone is out to stop what they have planned to do. Smart, creative and astute the three ban together when they learn the identity of this group, the powerful people behind it and the end result of what they plan to do and why. Shanti was told she came from Atlantic and fought these evil members of darkness. Each one has their own spiritual guide and each one will be kept safe and protected by them from the black magicians. Antonio, Helena and Tadao form the Southern Alliance and when all six join forces in Peru will they be able to stop what these evil Children of Satan started? Itai studies the Kabbalah and can connect with animals as can Shanti. Are they part of another plan? Nasir prays to Allah each day, works in his uncle’s computer store, enjoys sleeping there having a special space for his own and Shanti has a special affinity for animals. Helena a young African-Brazilian girl is the first one in the Southern Alliance that we meet. We also meet someone quite dangerous named Claudiney, one of the Children of Satan who would require people to pay a tithe in order to finance the Lord’s Work. But, what he was really doing was something evil. As Helena’s story is told and we meet her father and a woman named Tereza, tragedy strikes, her home goes up in flames and Helena’s life is about to change. An Angel would approach her and Helena would find herself in the Kingdom of the Sixth Ray and meeting Uriel, her archangel. Her mission not yet revealed but a scroll with instructions given and a special ruby stone. Tadao is the second in the Southern Alliance and he comes from Egypt. Each one of these young people has some power within that will help complete their mission. But, before he receives his mission Tadao is approached by someone who has taken his new and closest friend, Imad and left him a deadly message from the Children of Satan. Two forces one trying to create world peace and the other world domination for their own good. Antonio comes from Southern Brazil and his vision comes in the form of a red jaguar that he communicates with telepathically. Golden Eagle is his spiritual guide and he explains to Antonio that he was a member of Sirius and Sirius Delta Capa Federation who worked on “the energetic study of souls that would unfold on the exile planets and colonial worlds, as was the case of planet Earth.” There was much more that was explained but since the mission is to be secret the information will remain within pages 41-43. But, first the author shares two things that Antonio receives in order to proceed: A special cylinder of Pau-Brazil’s wood which hides the map needed for the mission and the information to proceed. The second is a sphere of moon rock. Each of the six receives something that when the mission is about to unfold and the final scene arrives all of the pieces fit together inside a magical mandala that controls it all. Finding their way to New York, Rio and then to Peru they encounter many obstacles. Each one finds themselves face to face with adversaries from the Children Of Satan as the author reveals in Chapter 14 exactly what these people are planning. Blood sacrifices of animals and humans in order to complete their mission and take over the world. Black Magic observed and recorded by Nasir. Here the voice of one man as he says: July 8th is the day of the great eclipse. The gates will finally be opened after the sacrifice offered by us to the darkness.” Their goal is to make humanity in his words “vulnerable.” He wants people divided, weak and not able to resist. Scary, true and will the six be able to unleash their own magical powers and win? Within each remaining chapter the six devise their own plan, visit many historical places that the author vividly researched and describes and in Part 3 the alliances unify, the dispute begins and the forces on both sides react. Shanti is special and readers will learn just what her name means in relation to the past as the author brilliantly takes us to where these characters originated from allows us to get to know their true identities and then brings us back to the present to confront the enemy. When Shanti is kidnapped the other five go into action to save her from what the Children of Satan have planned. Each one using one of the six stones given including Shanti’s and a Zodiac Mandala that holds the magical key to their success. But, will they save Shanti in time from the dagger that is hovering over her body? Will they be able to destroy the dark forces? Six young adults from different countries working as one in order to lift the darkness connect with the light and create peace. But, can they overcome what has been set in motion? What will happen if they fail? What is the Mandala made of and how does it relate to the sun? Unified, working as one amazing isn’t it that six young adults from different countries can come together as friends for a common cause yet in reality and in the real world can we learn a lesson from them in world unity? Friendship, trust, betrayals, honesty, allegiance and world peace are just some of the themes that students even in middle school can learn from reading this book. However, some might find some of the scenes graphic yet I feel this book is a great learning tool. What’s next for these six? Find out if the author brings them back. Fran Lewis: Reviewer ~ Just Reviews, http://tillie49.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/the-power-of-unity/

Shanti and the Magic Mandala by F.T. Camargo / 4 Stars Shanti and the Magic Mandala is a book filled with action that tells the story of six teens who are specially chosen to fight an evil force and restore order to the world. The story is filled with the dreams and visions of the characters, with angels and gods guiding them on their adventure. Shanti, Helena, Antonio, Nasir, Tadao, and Itai are the young people in the alliance that is formed, each of them from different cultural backgrounds. They are led to meet through supernatural visions and learn of their mission and of their identities in a past life where they were guardians of the planet. Soon the characters discover who their enemy is, a power hungry group called the Children of Satan, and quickly realize they have to do all that they can to stop them. Shanti and the Magic Mandala is fast-paced, interesting, and holds the reader’s attention the whole way through-even more so in the second half of the book than the first. There is a highly spiritual and supernatural element to the story that uniquely blends with the very realistic lives of the six teens. The main characters are portrayed as likeable and courageous, which helps keep the reader wanting to see how they will overcome the challenges of their adventure. Though at times the book can be a little repetitive, and the blending of the characters’ religious backgrounds can feel somewhat forced, overall it is a captivating and fun story that is a good read for young adults. ~ Red City Reviews , http://redcityreview.com/our-reviews/shanti-and-the-magic-mandala-by-f-t-camargo/

The story starts with Shanti, an Indian immigrant that lives with her father in a tiny apartment in New York City. She is having an out of body experience and is told that she is from Sirius Delta. That her and five others came to Earth to fight for the treatment of animals. That she was at Atlantis and fought followers of the darkness with their experiments with the animals. At a time in the near future three of the reincarnated fighters will meet in New York and form the Northern Alliance at the same time three fighters meet as the Southern Alliance. We meet all six characters throughout the story as you learn how they come to meet a spiritual guide to help them meet with their groups and then as they battle the black magicians. All of the fighters, Shanti, Nasir, Itai, Antonio, Helena, and Tadao come together and have several different run-ins with the Children of Satan, what the black magicians are calling themselves this time around. It becomes a race against time when Shanti is kidnapped and the eclipse has started. This was a good story. I really liked how it was about six kids from around that world. It’s such a change from the typical characters that are in more young adult stories. I also like the diversity of every ones beliefs. It was a great blend for the story and how the characters came together. Shanti and the Magic Manadala has great action and a well written story. It’s easy to like the characters and cheer them on with every turn. This is a good story and I think that middle grade, teens, and adults will like it. ~ Jessica Bronder Book Reviews, Blog JBronderBookReview

Shanti and the Magic Mandala is the Winner at 2014 London Book Festival - Young Adult ~ 2014 London Book Festival , http://www.londonbookfestival.com/

Shanti and the Magic Mandala won a Honorable Mention at 2014 - New England Book Festival - Young Adult ~ 2014 - New England Book Festival , http://www.newenglandbookfestival.com/winners2014.html

Shanti and the Magic Mandala won the Bronze Medal at 2014 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards - Young Adult Fiction - Religion / Spirituality ~ 2014 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1862

"Friendship, trust, betrayals, honesty, allegiance and world peace are just some of the themes that students even in middle school can learn from reading this book. However, some might find some of the scenes graphic yet I feel this book is a great learning tool. What’s next for these six? Find out if the author brings them back." Fran Lewis ~ Fran Lewis, Just Reviews

“Camargo’s debut novel is filled with interesting ideas… Readers looking for urban fantasy that reflects real cities will love the wide variety of cultures and religions." Publishers Weekly ~ Publishers Weekly , Publishers Weekly