An 8-year-old girl from Mill Basin hosted a book-launching party to celebrate the publishing of her first novel.

Anaya Willabus has read more than 500 books and recently turned her adventures in her family's homeland of Guyana into her first book, "The Day Mohan Found His Confidence."

"It was the feeling of confidence that was growing. It was a feeling of belonging somewhere in the sense of appreciation by the other children," she say about Mohan, the main character in her book.

The six-chapter, 45-page book takes the reader on a trip to South America to learn of the many challenges that Mohan faces at home and school.

 

"He's the hero. He's happy. He feels confidence and he does something that he loves to do," Willabus says.

And like Mohan, with the right support and the courage to believe in herself, Willabus accomplished her goal.

The writer says this is just the first of many goals she wants to achieve. She hopes to write a new book every two years.