Harley James and the Mystery of the Mayan Kings by Leah Cupps || Mayan-Centered Mystery

Harley James and the Mystery of the Mayan Kings

Will Harley Find the Missing Mayan Statue and Save the World?

Amateur cryptologist Harley James has just landed in the sticky jungle of Tikal, Guatemala—home to the famous Mayan ruins. She’s made a few friends, a few mistakes…and a ground-breaking discovery.

The legendary statue of the long-lost Mayan King.

Just as she is about to impress her father with her discovery, the statue is stolen. Right from her own room!
And what’s worse? The legend says if the statues of the three kings are reunited, they’ll bring back an army from the dead to rule the world.

Follow along with Harley as she tracks down the missing Mayan statue, solves a few riddles and stumbles upon a secret society that will change her life forever!

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Easy chapter book, perfect for reluctant or struggling readers
• Simple, easy-to-follow plot with an interesting mystery
• Lots of focus on Mayan culture
• (Though . . . you know, Mayans can be brutal sometimes.)
• Set in Guatemala
• Adventure with the promise of more adventures to come

Many thanks to Vision Forty Press and Rockstar Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This is one of those books that I picked up completely on a whim thinking that the littles in my library would love it. I obviously don’t read all the books my library gets for kids, but part of my job is recommending things, so I like to read some of the books. Mystery is a huge thing for my young readers, and I’m a pretty big fan of it myself, so this one seemed like a perfect fit. Plus, who can resist the Mayans?!

Harley James and the Mystery of the Mayan Kings is perfect for early or struggling readers, easy to read and filled with a compelling mystery. Plus, it’s set in Guatemala and focuses a lot on Mayan culture, which is always fun!

I had a lot of fun reading this book. The writing and plot is a little simple for more confident readers, but it’s perfect for young or reluctant readers who want a more adult story with simpler writing. The story certainly won’t be for everyone, because it focuses a lot on the Mayans who, if you’ve been living in a cave for the past millennium, can be just a teensy bit brutal. Like, human sacrifice brutal. (If you’ve been living in a cave for the past millennium, welcome, by the way . . . your timing could have been better, but at least it’s not 2020 anymore). For readers who can handle the darker content, the mystery and adventure is fun, and I think it’ll be a fun series.

Meet Harley James, daughter of a renowned archeologist and explorer in her own right. She’s been on adventures before, but none quite like the one she’s about to go on.

First, can I just say how much I love books where archaeology and (in rarer situations) paleontology are a focus? Characters that focus on one of those two sciences will almost always convince me to read a book. What can I say? Old passions die hard. Or, you know, not at all, in this case.

Harley James isn’t quite like your average kid, which is part of what makes her so interesting. In the ways that count the most, she is your average kid: missing her late mother, afraid of spiders and heights, and sometimes making the wrong decisions and getting herself grounded. However, I’d bet that most of us don’t get to travel the world on dig sites and study archaeology, right?

I feel like there are a lot of Indiana Jones type books for middle graders that feature male characters, so it’s nice to see one with a female lead. Middle grade readers will likely relate to Harley and, hopefully, also get swept up in the mystery with her!

Harley isn’t in it alone, though. She’s got a team of friends to help her, from her tutor, Jessica, to her best friend, Aly, to her very supportive father.

While I didn’t feel like I particularly grew to know any of these characters well, they do help Harley along with her adventure. Aly is probably the one who gets most screen time, mostly because she’s Harley’s best friend and the two do plenty of things together. Harley’s father is also there, doing his father thing with some terribly nerdy puns which I absolutely love, because I’m that kind of gal.

What would a novel be without some adversaries, too? Like the mystery British boy named Duncan who shows up to the dig and immediately starts acting rude. Harley believes there’s more to him than meets the eye. She’s just not sure what.

This book is set in Guatemala and focuses on Mayan culture, which I think is super cool . . . but also probably not for the faint of heart.

I think young readers will be interested to learn more about the Mayans and their culture. I certainly was! Despite already having a cursory understanding of the Mayan culture, I learned several new and interesting things. Nothing particularly graphic happens in this book, but there are mentions of human sacrifices, so that’s definitely a thing. Still, this introduces readers to some really neat aspects of the Mayan culture and beliefs.

One of the most interesting things about this mystery is the way it involves ciphers and codes that Harley has to crack in order to find clues.

I don’t think readers themselves will find it particularly worthwhile to attempt to solve the clues themselves before Harley (though, I suppose, they could attempt it). So that’s maybe not necessarily a draw for people who are looking for that type of book. However, Harley mentions several types of codes, a couple which I didn’t know about, like the Polybius square. I could definitely see a young reader (or, heck, myself) taking this newly learned cipher and writing things in code themselves. The code breaking was pretty simple but it was fun.

About Leah Cupps

Leah Cupps is an author, designer and entrepreneur. She came up with the idea for Harley James with her oldest daughter Savannah. Savannah had taken an interest in Mayan history and so the two of them worked together to come up with the idea for the first Harley James book; the Mystery of the Mayan Kings.

Leah lives in Indiana with her husband and three children. She is also the cofounder of Vision Forty Press, a small family owned publishing company.

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1 winner will receive a finished copy of HARLEY JAMES AND THE MYSTERY OF THE MAYAN KING
US Only.

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