#445 - #JTAG Journey to Ancient GEMS

by Garima Gupta and illustrated by Rukaiya Hira Wala

“#JTAG Journey to Ancient GEMS” by Garima Gupta and illustrated by Rukaiya Hira Wala. Published by Book Street Publications. A magical travel tale set in the futuristic world that has been drastically changed due to the pandemic.

The year is 2035. It has been a long time since the pandemic broke out. “Safe is Better” is the approach that is rampant in most urban areas around the world. People and children especially are staying indoors mostly to keep themselves safe. The world is facing strange problems now. Children all around the world are shrinking. And nobody is able to stop this. Scientists and doctors are clueless and don’t seem to figure out the root cause for this phenomenon. They are trying to at least slow down the shrinking for now so that the children manage to survive till a remedy is found. Disaster lurks nearby on the horizon with hardly any time left. It is a ticking time bomb and the doomsday prophecy predicts just a month before children will shrink to the extent that they cannot survive any longer.

Hope is not lost completely. A group of four children are trying their best to overcome this ordeal. They have written a computer program using Sanskrit chants to invoke the only mathematical god of numbers called Kharva who is supposed to have the solutions for all problems be it in the past or future. Despite the initial glitches, they manage to make Kharva appear in front of them. To their surprise, they find that they will have to go on a dangerous mission in quest of high energy GEMS (super charged objects with high concentration of Geo Electro Magnetic energies) whose combined healing powers alone can save the world now. Despite the risks and challenges that will come along, the children decide to take up the mission with zeal and determination. Krish, Radz, Devi and Param along with Krish’s daddy Vasu embark on a monumental journey that takes them to an ancient temple at a special location, prehistoric caves, a deserted village and a high altitude monastery in a remote region in their quest for the GEMS. They face all kinds of  challenges, setbacks, betrayal and even risk their lives while they fight against time which is ticking away towards doomsday. Read the engrossing story to know if the children can find the GEMS and manage to save the human race from going extinct by protecting the children around the world.

The story has a good mix of magic, science fiction, adventure and history. My nine year old was glued to the story as he wanted to know how it would progress. He was intrigued by the plot set in the future and everyone still confined indoors due to the pandemic. At first the shrinking of the children was also quite intriguing for him as he only knew that children grew. It was quite unnerving to imagine a world where the children had never gone to school or travelled, drones delivered food from restaurants, cars came with in-built buttons to sanitise them every time they went out and so on. He wanted to know about the places that the children would have to travel to. He knew only about one of the places in detail as he had read about it in a couple of books. The five GEMS described by Kharva and their colours reminded him of the prayer flags that we recently saw during our trip to Sikkim and their significance. The adventure was dotted with unexpected surprises, twists, betrayals and setbacks keeping him on the edge of the seat as we read. He kept cheering for the children as they made their way through each hurdle in their path.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 9 and above.

Disclaimer - We received this book from the author, Garima Gupta, for review. Thank you for sending across the book Garima!