Before books, there was a time when stories circled the fire, creating a spark. Not everyone could feel it, but in Teresa L. Shaw’s The First Flame, five young people from around the world can feel that spark. Only they can reach beyond their place of being. There’s Kezbah of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Mei in Shanghai, China, Júlia in São Paulo, Brazil, Saki in Kyoto, Japan, and Musa in Giza, Egypt. They all have their unique pull and a quiet thread that connects them even though they’re scattered across the globe. The feeling becomes a journey, one that tests their limits of courage and trust, one that binds the friendships in a way that it can’t be shattered. It’s a powerful journey, but one that begins with a simple sense of curiosity challenging the possibility that there’s something more, something beyond the possible.

Teresa L. Shaw’s middle grade chapter book, The First Flame, is the first book in a new series. This fun-filled story is full of adventure and fantasy, told mostly in a notebook style, in the third person from each of the five main characters’ points of view, almost shared in point form. There is lots of dialogue, which helps develop the characters, the setting, and the plot progression, making the story move along quickly. The theme of courage is mixed with the mounting tension as the story is full of action and adventure. Overall, this is a great read with lots of anticipation for future installments in the series.

In The First Flame by Teresa L. Shaw, five twelve-year-olds separated by thousands of miles learn that their notebooks have started talking back to them. Kezbah, a Navajo girl in Arizona, receives mysterious messages, as do four other children whose lives seem far removed from her own. A common promise gradually brings them to Superstition Acres, a secluded ranch in the shadows of the mountains of Arizona. Their discovery there hints that their extraordinary link is rooted in a story that spans generations. When the notebooks call them back again, another adventure unfolds in Arizona's canyon country, where the land is filled with mementos of those who came before. As the journey continues, the children begin to wonder what has brought them together and where they are being led.

Teresa L. Shaw’s The First Flame is the first book in a wonderful new children’s adventure series, building an excellent foundation for the journeys to come. There are loads of magical happenings, with each strange signal making the mystery more exciting. Out of all the characters, Kezbah is easy to adore. There’s a real determination beneath her curiosity, and we see this when she takes the lead in testing the shared signal as a storm gathers. The dialogue between the five friends is excellent, with their individual personalities bringing a wonderful sense of humor to the journey. Their witty banter is brilliant when the old horse refuses the easier road to Globe, while Saki suspects he already knows the way. With wonderful descriptions of Arizona, young readers will enjoy this book.