Defenders of the Scroll by Shiraz

There is a place where you should fear the shadows

A teenage boy
A dark wizard
A mystic scroll
...and the fate of a world hangs in the balance

When Alex "the Axeman" Logan is pulled from his world to help young princess Dara save her kingdom from the Shadow Lord, he thinks there has been a mistake. He's a teen guitar player close to failing 11th grade, not some defender of the realm, All he has are some school books, his wits, and his love of fantasy movies. Overnight his life is history.

Alex must confront the Shadow Lord and his minions when he is thrust into a land that has changed from a magical paradise to a barren, hopeless, helpless realm invaded by a dark army. But Alex is not alone. He has the help of Dara, a magic scroll, and a band of unlikely companions drawn from his own history books: a hardened Roman Legionnaire, a swift Japanese Samurai, a mighty African Warrior, a fiery Amazon Archer, and a spirited Shaolin Monk.

Can Alex become more than he believes and lead his small band of Defenders to the Hall of Shadows, the birthplace of the Shadow Lord?

The fate of the realm and everyone in it rests on him.


Reviewed by my daughter Lauren:
My mom gave me this book to review because she thought it was a story I would find exciting and I must say she was right! It's a great story about hardships, and friendship. It's full of magic, and spells and potions, and pirates among many other things.
My favorite character was Maya because she was brought up to dislike men, but as the story flowed, her feelings changed. The main characters were Alex (who was from this time period), and Dara (the daughter of a powerful wizard and king). Thats all I will tell you for now.
If you like action and adventure, then you've got the right book. It's a fantasy world if you think about it. That is why I did a "U Gotta Read" review.