Mac in the City of Light

by Christopher Ward

Fourteen-year-old California girl Mackenzie, known as Mac, goes on a school trip to Paris where she meets up with an old musician friend of her dad's, Rudee Daroo, who now makes a living as a cab driver. Rudee reveals that some of the greatest monuments in Paris are being either destroyed or stolen and that the city is slowly becoming darker.

Mac finds herself in league with a crew of crazy cabbies and their friends as she tries to right these wrongs. She encounters sinister, shadowy characters who live in the Paris underground, a philosopher gendarme, a gypsy who can dance people into dream states, and gargoyles come to life. From dodging her school group to a heart-stopping encounter atop Notre Dame Cathedral, Mac needs all the resources she can muster to help Paris remain the "City of Light."

Genres: Canada, Young Adult

200 pages, Paperback

Published February 19, 2013

About the author

CHRISTOPHER WARD has written songs for Diana Ross, Hilary Duff, Wynonna Judd, The Backstreet Boys, Tina Arena, Amanda Marshall, Roch Voisine and many others. His best-known song is the worldwide #1 hit for Alannah Myles, "Black Velvet." He received the Juno award for Songwriter of the Year in 1990.
In 1984, after a stint in the Second City Touring Company, Ward helped launch MuchMusic as Canada's first VJ. As a songwriter, Ward contributed twenty songs over four seasons to the soundtrack of the hit CTV series Instant Star, as well as writing songs for both Degrassi feature films, the new Degrassi: The Next Class and Cirque du Soleil's show Banana Shpeel. His songs have been performed on Idol shows around the world. The author lives in Toronto, ON, and Los Angeles, CA.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and light-hearted story! But everything is also a little too unrealistic and convenient for the main character Mac.
A quick and easy read!
3.5/5

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun romp through Paris through the eyes of 14-year-old Californian girl Mac, who ends up on a crazy adventure to save the City of Light from going permanently dark, with the help of a ragtag group of French cabbies. Fast-paced and full of laughs, although a bit too predictable in parts. Full review to come in Quill & Quire.

[McG · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was underwhelmed by the story. Too muddled for me and not enough of a connection with the main character Mac. To me it's a bad combination of Cody Banks, City of Ember, and Lizzie Maguire. The conclusion was a little anitclimactic and I just can't reccommend it.

[Margaret Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light-hearted, quirky and magical. A whirlwind adventure through the City of Light.