Fantasy she wrote.

KARACHI -- Heartlessly calling print medium 'a dead medium,' young people today have started to part ways from books and literature, reading mostly on digital platforms that don't always inspire or provide knowledge in the way that books do. In Pakistan, reading has a rich history, but for several decades there hasn't been a book that can hold the attention of 13 to 19-year-olds, an audience that loves mythological tales, intense drama, fairytale love stories, and the battle of good against evil.

As teenagers, we read Harry Potter, Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Sindbad and many others. But, today young adults cannot name any story they really enjoyed reading snuggled up in bed. But, a few weeks ago, I came across a book and I thought that things might just improve.

My colleague recommended a young adult fiction book called The Noble Beast by Sara K. Ghaus, a relatively new author. Its cover took me back to my school days, as at the first glance, it reminded me of The Chronicles of Narnia. On the book cover sat a majestic and intimidating lion against a dark background, head rested on a treasure chest with an apple in it. Intriguing.

The author, Sara K. Ghaus is a young and beautiful Pakistani-Canadian housewife, who began her passionate journey for this novel in 2012, and some 463 pages materialised in 10 years. A little bit reluctant to read the book at first, the young author became my inspiration to finally pick up the book and read it.

The story is about a girl Aeras who lives in Canada, but has roots in the northern areas of Pakistan. The carefree, loving and friendly Aeras, enters a world of magical chaos, when she meets Ayzel. The two fall into a series of incidents that are intriguing, interesting, questionable, nostalgic, and at times a little childish, but perfect for entertaining a certain age group. Several aspects of the book are praiseworthy and retained my attention, despite the fact that I read it during the exciting week of FIFA World Cup knockouts.

Character development is a primary factor that makes a story stand out. To build a strong narrative, there has to be a multi-layered protagonist as a central character that does not have to be all good, but must have a mixture of emotions, positive attributes, and also some negative aspects. If you really think about it, nearly all successful or popular characters are created with lots of grey in them, not stark black or white.

In The Noble Beast, the story begins with the character...