Benton Johnson and the Tale of Tu’i Malila, Part 1 by Matthew Readling

The world is in grave danger and no one knows it, no human anyway—except for thirteen-year-old Benton Johnson. To make matters worse, he is alone and lost in a rain forest. Life was bad enough for Benton after losing his mom, but now, his world has turned beyond upside down. After falling from the boat on his Junior Discoverers' expedition, and becoming trapped in a South American jungle, he stumbles onto an ancient Aztec ruin and acquires the most incredible ability—though he soon wishes he had not. He learns that the demon pirate Black Bellamy is heading his way to drink the life force of Tu'i Malila, a tortoise with the power of the ages inside her. Then he learns that it is up to him to stop Bellamy. Life was ruthless, beyond unfair. If Black Bellamy drains Tu'i's life force he will become invincible and destroy the entire world. The hope of everything now depended on Benton and his small band of unlikely heroes. But how was he, Benton Johnson, a nobody from nowhere, supposed to battle such supernatural evil and save the world?