Walks In Beauty (Hardcover)

~ Rising Moon Editors (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10. This tale of teenage angst is placed in Navajo Country, but is never really comfortable there, despite the inclusion of detailed descriptions of ceremonies and frequent phrases in the Navajo language. Anita, 15, experiences the first yearnings of romance and an expanding sense of responsibility and community. She shares her mother's continuing grief and anger over the departure of her father four years before. She strives to understand herself and her classmates, as well as her grandparents and their generation. Historical atrocities suffered by the Navajo are listed briefly, explaining one young man's anger, but are not really dealt with sufficiently. Nor are the historical successes mentioned. The controversy between those wishing to develop the land and others who believe in a simpler, more traditional lifestyle is mentioned often but never discussed in depth. Readers in search of an innocent romance may enjoy this story, but shouldn't wait for any real conflict. The most crushing blow for Anita is a fight with her boyfriend, after which she must survive (for five pages) having a beautiful new dress but no date for the prom. Fiction readers wishing to experience life in Navajoland would do better to stretch a bit more and try Tony Hillerman's many mysteries.?Darcy Schild, Schwegler Elementary School, Lawrence, KS
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-9. A New Mexico reservation is the setting for this coming-of-age story about 15-year-old Navajo Anita Whiterock. Preparing for her ninth-grade graduation and making plans for high school and beyond, she struggles with a familiar list of female adolescent problems, including worries about popularity, boyfriends, prom dates, and troubled family relationships. But culture clash is the underlying problem Anita must face. Working at her school's new TV station, she is drawn to the powerful, fascinating "Anglo" technology but repulsed by much of the lifestyle she sees on trips to town. What lies ahead for her and her friends? Is it possible to follow the Navajo way in the late twentieth century? Although the story suffers from a slow pace and predictable plot--complete with a climactic moment during Anita's graduation speech--it still offers middle-school and junior-high girls an appealing heroine with whom they can identify and an intriguing glimpse into contemporary Navajo life unavailable elsewhere. Jean Franklin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 182 pages
• Publisher: Rising Moon (March 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873586670
• ISBN-13: 978-0873586672
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,287,551 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Anita's World, March 4, 2002

A Kid's Review

In Anita's World

Anita is a young Navajo woman who getting ready to graduate. She is dealing with a lot that is happening in her life.
Her sister doesn't want to have her Kinaalda ceremony. She thinks it is going to be boring. She has to make this ceremony as fun as possible for her sister. Her new boyfriend doesn't approve of her best friend, so her and her boyfriend. They get in a fight because he doesn't want to give Anita's friend and her date a ride to the prom. The prom gets crashed Jim Manygoat's brother, which is Anita's friend's date.
To get a better picture of this story you should read this book!
I really enjoyed this story it really gives you a lot of information about how the Navajo clans were treated, how hard they had it, and how badly they were treated. I thought that it was really great how Anita wanted to fix all the problems that were going on in her life and with her family and how she let things go after all the years they were bugging her.

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice read, June 11, 2005

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This novel is appropriate for ages 10-14. Walks in Beauty by Hazel Krantz is the story of Anita Whiterock, a Navajo teenager who walks between two nations - that of the Native American and of mainstream America.

Four years after her father left for Albuquerque, Anita continues to mourn the loss. She is angry with him and doesn't believe he loves her. Her anger spills over into her relationship with her mother, causing a strain. Anita is also experiencing, at age fifteen, the first blush of romance with all the typical problems and obstacles.

Walks in Beautyis a well-written novel that gives readers a brief look at the Navajo life. Its pace is slow and the story is sweet in its own way. And that sweetness makes it so refreshing in an era where gritty and edgy stories reign-even if readers even if we'd rather read a sweet story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Content of the book, April 5, 1998

By A Customer

Set in the hauntingly beautiful Arizona Navajo Reservation, WALKS IN BEAUTY tells the story of 15-year old Anita Lonetree. Anita feels isolated because her father deserted her mother and moved to Albequerque. She also doubts her father's love. She clings to her one friend, Michelle, also an outsider because her father, an attorney, moves mostly in the white world. During a sandstorm, Anita connects with Timothy the runner. As Tim's girlfriend, she now has status, but Tim doesn't like Michelle. As Anita confronts her problems, she experiences Navajo customs...a First Laugh Party and her sister's puberty Kinaalda celebration.