Tree Girl [Hardcover]

Ben Mikaelsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2004

They call Gabriela Tree Girl.

Laj Ali Re Jayub in her native language of Quich#233;. Gabi climbs trees to be within reach of the eagles and watch the sun rise into an empty sky. She is at home among the outstretched branches of the Guatemalan forests.

Then one day from the safety of a tree, Gabi witnesses the sights and sounds of an unspeakable massacre. She sees rape and murder -- the ravages of guerrilla warfare. She vows to be Tree Girl no more.

Earthbound, she joins the hordes of refugees struggling to reach the Mexican border. She has lost her whole family; her entire village has been wiped out. Yet she clings to the hope that she will be reunited with her youngest sister, Alicia. Over dangerous miles and months of hunger, thirst, and the threat of more violence from soldiers, Gabriela#146;s search for Alicia and for a safe haven becomes a search for self. Having turned her back on her own identity, can she hope to claim a new life?

This novel is based on a true story told to the author one night by the real Tree Girl in a secure safe house in Guatemala.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10-In her remote Guatemalan village, 14-year-old Gabriela is known as Tree Girl for her habit of fleeing to the forest and climbing high to escape the world. When guerrilla warfare comes to her area, her life is changed forever. Soldiers eventually discover the small school she attends, beat and murder her teacher, and shoot the other students. Tree climbing saves Gabi from that massacre, and she is away from home when her village is destroyed and nearly all of her family members are murdered. In the course of her flight north to a Mexican refugee camp, she again hides in a tree while soldiers rape and murder the inhabitants of another village. After arriving at the camp, Gabi cares for two elderly women and her one surviving sister and eventually founds a school. Her concern for others helps her recover from the trauma of her experiences. This is a graphic portrayal of the worst of civil war, based on one refugee's story. The author's anger that the U.S. government trained and supported soldiers who committed such atrocities is clear. Details of Guatemalan life are woven throughout the book, but it lacks the sensory descriptions that would allow readers to visualize the setting. Still, the action moves quickly, and Gabi's courage and determination are evident throughout. Readers not put off by the violence should find this an instructive and satisfying survival story.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. "Every living human I had ever known was gone." Based on a true story, this disturbing novel of civil war in Guatemala tells of mass atrocity through the first-person narrative of Mayan teenager Gabriela Flores, who witnesses the Latino soldiers' torture, rape, and massacre of Indians, including her own family, before escaping to a refugee camp in Mexico. Without sentimentality or exploitation, the story brings readers up close as Gabriela finds the strength to face survivor guilt and stay alive to bear witness. The facts are never simplistic. Gabriela's world before the soldiers come is happy, but far from idyllic, and although she feels strongly about her heritage, she's "not imprisoned by it." A historical note would have been helpful; there are no dates or specific officials' names. But the U.S. government is clearly indicted for arming and training Latino soldiers to fight the "Communist" guerrillas and drive the Indios from their land. The prose is clear, direct, and graphic, and many readers will want to find out more and talk about it with adults. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rayo; 1 edition (April 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060090049
• ISBN-13: 978-0060090043
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,472,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Mikaelsen has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writers Golden Spur Award. His novels have won critical acclaim, as well as several state reader's choice awards. These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown, Petey, and Touching Spirit Bear. Ben's articles and photos appear in numerous magazines around the world. Ben and his wife, Melanie, live in a log cabin near Bozeman, Montana, with a 700-pound black bear they have adopted and raised.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Eye Opener, December 12, 2004

By 

VA Teacher (Leesburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tree Girl (Hardcover)

This is a heart-wrenching book (based on a true story) that not only shows us how strong young people can be, but also how the US involvement in other country's problems is not always what we think it is.

I found this book inspiring and educational. I loved the description of life as a young Mayan girl and her family. This book also demonstrates the strengths that good teachers give to their students, especially those teachers that listen to their students' ideas. The book also gives a personal peak into life in a refugee camp.

I spent 2 years in Guatemala in the Peace Corps just as the war was breaking out. I could easily picture every scene in this book. However, this book has some graphic violence that would not be suitable to young readers yet is educational to the rest of us.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, July 22, 2004

By 

Book reviewer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tree Girl (Hardcover)

OK, this is a really good book, very well written. However I would not recommend this for anyone under 15. They say ages 9-12. But I am sorry, this book deals with very serious issues that would really frighten children of that age. This book is very graphic and includes, torture, killing, and rape. These are things that are described in detail. I would not recommend this book to anyone under 15. Otherwise this is a very good book for older teens and adults.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Story from Guatemala, August 2, 2005

By 

Marcia L. Walsh - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tree Girl (Hardcover)

This is a compelling story of a girl who loses most of her family to the brutality of soldiers. She then witnesses the murder of an entire Guatemalan village, and decides to make her way to a refugee camp in Mexico.

I always enjoy Ben Mikaelsen's work, but this story was especially captivating.