Benton Johnson and the Tale of Tu’i Malila, Part 1

The world is in grave danger and no one knows it, no human anyway- except for thirteen-year-old Benton Johnson.

 

To make matters worse, he is alone and lost in a rain forest. Life was bad enough for Benton after losing his mom, but now, his world has turned beyond upside down. After falling from the boat on his Junior Discoverers' expedition, and becoming trapped in a South American jungle, he stumbles onto an ancient Aztec ruin and acquires the most incredible ability—though he soon wishes he had not. He learns that the demon pirate Black Bellamy is heading his way to drink the life force of Tu'i Malila, a tortoise with the power of the ages inside her. Then he learns that it is up to him to stop Bellamy. Life was ruthless, beyond unfair. If Black Bellamy drains Tu'i's life force he will become invincible, and will destroy the entire world. The hope of everything now depended on Benton and his small band of unlikely heroes.

 

But how was he, Benton Johnson, a nobody from nowhere, supposed to battle such supernatural evil and save the world?

 

 

 

 

“I intend to send you boys anywhere in the world you want to go.” 
“Anywhere? 
“Sure, sure, anywhere.” 

Benton is going on an adventure with his fellow Junior Discoverers, the scientifically inclined version of the Boy Scouts, setting sail on a guided voyage off the coast of South America. He had suggested South America in memory of his mother, who had been on a marine expedition a year earlier and had been lost at sea. 
Mr. Jacobs, a benevolent former Junior Discoverer, had decided to award the boys with the trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the troop of Junior Discovers has been taken over by the laziest, meanest man in town, Mr. Byle, and his good-for-nothing, trouble-making son, Tobias. Mr. Byle exchanges the boat, captain, and crew for a far less seaworthy setup so he can pocket the majority of the donated funds. After being relentlessly bullied by his shipmates, who were hooligans by nature, Benton ends up falling overboard and experiences more adventure than he could have ever anticipated!

Matthew Readling graduated with a degree in English from East Carolina University, but strangely enough found a career in healthcare construction, although he never lost his passion for the written word. Matthew has written four chapbooks of poetry but he decided to take a deeper plunge with his first book Benton Johnson and the Tale of Tu'i Malila, Part I. When not building hospitals or trying to keep up with his daughter, Matthew tries to squeeze in some fishing, but he always finds time to write, usually right before he falls asleep.