MS Review

MS Review – Tambika and the Shield of Wisdom – middle school fantasy

Posted on by mouttet.menagerie

Holser, Derek and Zach Fay. Tambika and the Shield of Wisdom. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2025.

Lightglider Origins

Guide to Categories – MS Review – review of books for older elementary-aged and middle school-aged children

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Summary

The Lightglider Origins saga continues with the story of a strong-willed teenager who wants to save her tribe from violence and restore peace, but instead finds herself in the land of Glideon.

Tanganyika, Africa, 1896

As long as she’s been alive, Tambika’s tribe, the Hehe, has lived in conflict. She longs to be a leader who stands up for her people, but her desire for vengeance endangers her destiny. When Tambika and her friends break into the German armory to take back their tribe’s silver, she attacks a young soldier and flees the scene.

As she escapes into the bush, Tambika sees a cosmic light that fills the sky and transports her to another realm, the land of Glideon. She discovers an old journal with clues that lead her to an abandoned training facility, where her purpose in Glideon is revealed. She has been chosen to resurrect Lightglider Academy and to equip teenagers from all over the world to rescue Gliddles and restore the land. She must first locate the Shield of Wisdom, a crucial component of the Armor of Light, which will empower the next generation of Lightgliders.

Through the Lightglider Origins series, readers will be awakened to the truth that whenever darkness comes, they were made to shine!

  • Second of seven books in the Lightglider Origins series for ages 8–14, telling the stories of teens from different time periods and locations around the world who are transported to the mystical land of Glideon to become Lightgliders.
  • Fantasy adventure stories with relatable, authentic characters that affirm a biblical worldview and positive values.
  • The Lightglider Origins series is based on the characters and story found in the Lightgliders virtual world of Christian faith, games, and community for kids.

Purchase Tambika and the Shield of Wisdom on Amazon – https://amzn.to/47ZwAve

My MS Review

I realize that sometimes authors have ideas for a prequel after part of a series has been published. I’m sure Holser and Fay had their reasons for releasing this book after the first book in the Lightglider series. I kind of wish I had read this book before starting the Lightglider series as, for me, it helped make the first story make better sense. 

Tambika and the Shield of Wisdom tells the story of one of the characters we met in Bryce and the Lost Pearl – Tambika, the Principal of Lightglider Academy. A brief version of Bryce’s story is told in this title. 

This story starts in the 1800’s in Tanzania at a time when the Germans were ruling over the tribes. Tambika, due to events in her family and community, chooses to rebel against the Germans. She ends up having to flee for her life. A bright flash, like a comet, transports Tambika to the fantasy wolrd of Glideon w.here she becomes the leader of the Lightglider Academy. She is trained using holographs of the missing founder of the school and by the Gliddles, the creatures who live there. 

Tambika learns to be a more peaceful person and near the end of the story is transported back to her home for a time. The book ends with Tambika being called back to Glideon with a hint that her friends may join her. 

Tambika and the Shield of Wisdom would be a great addition to the fantasy section of a K-12 Christian school library. It is appropriate for upper elementary and middle school.

I received a complimentary copy of Tambika and the Shield of Wisdom.

This is my honest review. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. 

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