Meet local author Matthew Readling at book signing Saturday

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Matthew Readling has crafted a tale about a boy, a pirate and a tortoise in a story meant for young adults, but that also captures the imaginations of grown ups.

“Benton Johnson and the Tale of Tu’i Malila – Part 1” is the story a boy that gets lost in the South American Jungle where he learns that the pirate Black Bellamy is trying to drink the life force of Tu’i Malila, a tortoise with the power of the ages inside her.

‘Reader’s Favorite’ calls it a “well-writen, entertaining and exciting story that will grip you to its intriguing end and leave you desperate to find out what happens next in Part 2.”

Readling says the book has a lot of actual history in it including the tortoise, Tu’i Malila, who was a gift to the Queen of Tonga from Captain James Cook in 1777.  Tu’i lived to be over 188 years old.

You can meet Readling at a book signing Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Wilmington from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The book is available at www.amazon.com.