From School Library Journal
Grade 4–8—This story unfolds in alternating chapters, written from the viewpoints of two young members of an Amazonian tribe. On their 13th birthdays, Takunami boys must face a rite of passage into manhood, guided through danger by a spiritual connection with their fathers, whose identity remains a secret until after the trial. Though they have lived very different lives, Tirio and Luka are both preparing for this mentally and physically demanding test. Considered weak because of his disabled foot, Tirio was placed on the river in a "corpse canoe" by his mother at age six and rescued and adopted by an American anthropologist. Now almost 13, he feels drawn back to his village and longs to prove himself a Takunami man. Though Luka has been training for the test his entire life, he wrestles with unexpected events that threaten his success. A clever plot device links the characters and their personal struggles together. The setting is strikingly described and provides a vivid backdrop for the action. The language, rituals, and beliefs of the Takunami are well developed, and will have many readers looking for further information about them. Youngsters may feel duped to discover, in an appended author's note, that the tribe is imaginary, "based on an idea, and not a representation of any known Amazonian people." Nevertheless, this is a fast-paced and remarkable adventure story with surprising twists along the way.—
Genevieve Gallagher, Buford Middle School, Charlottesville, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
In this debut novel, winner of the Ursula Nordstrom Fiction Contest, a boy with a malformed foot is cast off by his remote Amazonian tribe, the Takunami. Sara, an American anthropologist, rescues 6-year-old Tirio, adopts him, and brings him home to Miami. As Tirio approaches his thirteenth birthday, he begins to hear inner voices, a phenomenon that he knows is common among Takunami boys as they prepare for the soche sente tente, a grueling coming-of-age test in which young men are guided through a dangerous jungle by spiritual communication with their fathers. When Sara and Tirio return to the Amazon, Tirio plans his own secret soche sente tente, hoping to meet the father he never knew. Alternating with Tirio’s story is a plot about another young Takunami boy who is also training for his soche sente tente, and the end connects the stories with a moving surprise. The vivid setting, imagined cultural particulars (Nelson invented the Takunami), and magical realism will captivate readers, as will Tirio’s complicated, shifting emotions of rage, abandonment, belonging, and love. Grades 6-10. --Gillian Engberg
