Mia's Stand

Sixteen year-old Mia Murphy finds herself in a world not her own. Very frightened, she wanders into a village of trolls, where she’s beaten and jailed with the intent of being tomorrow’s dinner. She escapes with the aid of a small, fast-flying little drop of light and is led to a small cottage belonging to Finnegaff the Sorcerer. The little light turns out to be the fairy Belemeriath, a comic relief of the story.
Mia learns she has been selected by Saa, the force employed by the wizards of Morrah, to perform a task vital to its replenishing. And that she, too, is a wizard, and can thus execute unearthly feats of magic. Mia cannot return home. She’s stuck on Morrah until she completes this vital task.
Finnegaff escorts her to Marigaff’s Farm, a wizard training camp. Mia also learns the task assigned her is to carry the Book of Life to the Glen of Giants to read it and replenish Morrah’s sustaining power. This has happen every four hundred years. On her travels with Finnegaff as her guide, she must select, aided by Saa, one representative from each of the sentient species of Morrah to accompany her. The dark sorceress Eringaff, turned evil by the renegade elf wizard Gaff, seeks to seize the Book of Life which, will cause the balance of Saa to shift and allow Gaff world domination.
Embarking on her journey, she is guided by Saa to select each representative as they pass through their respective countries. She picks mostly teens. Finnegaff, though always kind and wise, does not quite know how to handle teenagers and, as teens do, they play on this.
Each selected representative possesses particular talents, though most are not wizards. Romessee, a member of a race of nomadic people, can feel other’s emotions as if her own. She is a member of Shadowlight Stand, stand being a synonym for tribe. Romessee refers to their little group as Mia’s Stand. The name sticks. Zim, a three-foot praying mantis, can fly and write very fast. Strongwind the centaur is powerful and fast, and eventually overcomes his prejudices toward mantids. Macca the dwarf is a novice wizard, though she’s very young and untrained. Caithya, a sylph, can broadcast fear and cause hysteria to her enemies. Belemeriath the fairy is a flirt (regardless of species) and a show-off, hyper, talks constantly, and is lots of fun. At first Mia can’t stand him, but after a bit he becomes very dear to her. His is the fastest species on Morrah, and he’s very stealthy. Others are a dragon who breathes fire (what dragon doesn’t) named Cwyth, who can telepathically communicate with Mia; Geramel, a tomboy soldier who has defected from the dark sorceress’ army, has attitude, brains, and brawn. She can feel when others are lying. Carameth, the incredibly handsome, kind elf is quiet, knowledgeable and has connections. A gentle romance develops between the two.
The romance is squeaky clean, as is the entire writing, and meant to promote good morals. Many other moral issues are addressed and overcome: prejudices, differences, value of life, bullying, abuse of power, compassion, the reality of war, respect for nature and more. Comedy is prevalent; a few parts are sad, and action is frequent.
Throughout Mia’s travels, she and her stand are faced with many obstacles. They are harassed by the dark sorceress Eringaff and her minions, the darkhounds. Battles ensue, some large, some skirmishes. Mia often is the key in the turn of battle. They must pass through the Land of Lost Memories, where ghosts can take their souls and make them one of their own. A black cloud falls on the party, making the air thick and not breathable. Mia combats this with extraordinary wizardry. Through magic, Mia defeats a gigantic amoeba-like creature that incinerates everything in its path. Obstacles are around every corner, and Mia, though strong willed and fearless, is none the less modest about being the heroine.