Longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2024
The story of a Queendom set in an alternate India. A debut rich in fantasy, friendship and faith, and an original middle grade adventure that sparkles with storytelling magic.
‘A land that loses its stories loses its way.’
The beautiful queendom of Moonlally has fallen under a tyrant’s rule. Their queen is dead, worship of their goddess, the Dark Lady, is forbidden, and the precious black diamond that protects the city – a rare fragment of fallen star – has gone missing.
When fierce orphan girl Minou Moonshine’s life is unexpectedly shattered, she joins the ragtag band of rebels, the Green Orchids, who are plotting to overthrow the General.
Armed with a secret and a map, Minou sets off with her friends and a mechanical elephant, through the lush jungles of Indica, in search of a queen, a goddess and her destiny.
Gita Ralleigh grew up reading fantasy adventures that took her to faraway lands. The closest she came was on family holidays to India, where old palaces, ice-capped mountains, monkeys and elephants were part of everyday life. After a career as a medical doctor, she studied for an MA in Creative Writing and published short stories and two poetry books.
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