Walk the Web Lightly: A Novel

Ages 13 to 18

Fourteen-year-old Naya’s artist family can secretly see time, but she wants to be a doctor. To win her dream she has to rise to Grandmother’s challenge—but someone who’s after their secrets is rigging events and getting in her way. Good thing she’s too smart to get caught. Right?

Naya’s family is all about heritage: their art, their traditions, their secret ability to see time. They expect her to follow in their footsteps, creating art and keeping their powers concealed. But she wants to be a doctor—and you can’t do that if you’re hiding all the time! When a chance to go to medical science camp comes up, her family disapproves, but Grandmother challenges her to a contest: if she can weave her soul wrap before the camp begins, she can go; if she fails, she has to say good-bye to her science dreams for good. With all of the knowledge of time at her fingertips, Naya is sure she can win. But someone is rigging events to learn her family’s secrets—and it turns out that what she doesn’t know could jeopardize everyone she loves.

About the Author

Mary Pascual is a writer and artist who believes finding magic is only a matter of perspective. She loves stories about characters with heart and fantastical settings that are more than meets the eye. She grew up in California and enjoys reading, art, traveling, exploring outside, and building elaborate stage sets for Halloween. Writing has taken her on a number of unexpected adventures, including working in high tech, meeting psychics, interviewing rock bands, and even once attending a press conference for Bigfoot. She got hooked on reading adult science fiction and fantasy in the fifth grade; in retrospect, much of her reading material was completely inappropriate (which probably explains a few things). She lives with her husband, son, and assorted demanding cats in San Jose, California.