La ciudad de las bestias (City of the Beasts)

From Publishers Weekly
Adventure seekers will find plenty of thrills in Allende's first novel for young readers. When 15-year-old Alexander Cold is sent to stay with his eccentric, gruff grandmother, Kate, while his mother is being treated for cancer, he is more than a little reluctant to accompany Kate on a writing assignment in South America to search for a legendary nine-foot-tall "Beast." However, once the expedition down the Amazon begins, Alexander's doubts are pushed out of his mind by more immediate concerns, such as keeping an eye on two suspicious members of the party: a native named Karakawe and Mauro Cari as, a wealthy entrepreneur. After Alexander's mysterious encounter with a caged jaguar, another teen, Nadia, explains its importance to him, and begins calling Alexander "Jaguar." This marks the beginning of their somewhat surreal journey: the two teens are kidnapped by the "People of the Mist," a tribe possessing the power of turning invisible, and enter a mountain to discover the mythical city of El Dorado and the enigmatic "Beasts." Reluctant readers may be intimidated by the thickness of this volume, but the plot moves at a rapid pace, laced with surprises and ironic twists. The action and outcome seem preordained, cleverly crafted to deliver the moral, but many readers will find the author's formula successful with its environmentalist theme, a pinch of the grotesque and a larger dose of magic. Ages 10-up. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10-Combine a magical world, mystical shamanic adventure, and feisty and eccentric characters with a fast-paced eco-thriller and you have Allende's first book for young adults. Set in the lush and treacherous Amazonian rain forest, this is the story of 15-year-old Alexander Cold and 12-year-old Nadia Santos. While his mother is in Texas for chemotherapy treatment, Alex is spending the summer with his emotionally distant grandmother, who has been hired to find and write an article on the "Beast" that has been terrorizing the jungle. Partially funded by a suspicious businessman, the party includes a self-centered professor, several photographers, a government doctor and soldiers, a few native Indians, and a guide, C‚sar Santos, who brings along his daughter. Alex and Nadia become good friends, and together discover their own inner strengths through visions and shamanic journeys with the local tribe. The plot is as thick as its jungle setting. There are dangers such as the terrifying humanoid Beast that kills with huge claws, anacondas, natives with poison dart arrows, and an untrustworthy member of the expedition. The story is a struggle between good and evil, filled with surprises and adventure. Put this title on your "If You Liked Harry Potter" lists, and Allende may just find new fans. Though this is a rather hefty book, it is a real page-turner with hope for more, as Allende leaves readers with, "Until we meet again-."-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, ORCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
In a style reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Isabel Allende takes listeners to an Amazon jungle that might well have come from the pages of AMAZING STORIES. Fifteen-year-old Alexander is sent to stay with a less than pleasant grandmother. Grandma is about to go off with the International Geographic to track down the elusive yeti, and Alexander is obliged to go along to the rainforest whether he wants to or not. He befriends a local girl named Nadia and shortly thereafter is kidnapped by Indians. As the story rockets from one adventure to the next, Blair Brown delivers a superb narration. Without her even, gentle inflection, this might well go off the scale of believability; however, her mellifluous voice is a pleasure to listen to, and she has a skillful knack for creating memorable characters that helps create credibility. Brown adds just what this story needs. D.G. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. Acclaimed author Allende's first YA novel, part thrilling survival adventure, part coming-of-age journey, blends magical realism with grim history and contemporary politics in a way that shakes up all the usual definitions of savagery and civilization. Alex, 15, has been wrenched from the safe boundaries of his California home to accompany his journalist grandmother, Kate, on an International Geographic Expedition deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle. They are searching for a legendary beast, a gigantic, possibly humanoid creature that has been glimpsed in the area. The setting is more than background here: it's the heart of the story. The Indian People of the Mist, who have lived in the region since the Stone Age, are now threatened by adventurers and entrepreneurs who want the land and its riches. There's some plot contrivance as Alex and a local girl each go on a vision quest to save the Indians; and some expedition members seem like caricatures--the buffoon anthropologist, the idealistic physician, the hard grandma. But the characters are also funny, angry, and needy, and they surprise even themselves. Caught by the young characters and their wild adventures, readers will race through this for the story, then stop and think about the issues of wildness, survival, and the nature of beasts and humans. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description

Alexander Cold, es el joven quinceañero a quien se le presenta la oportunidad de hacer el viaje de su vida. Después de una triste separación de su familia, Alexander se reune con su audaz abuela, embarcándose juntos en una expedición al peligroso y remoto Amazonas. Su misión y la del resto del equipo -que incluye un célebre antropólogo, una doctora, y un guía local con su hija Nadia- es documentar al legendario Yeti del Amazonas, mejor conocido como "La Bestia".

Bajo el denso manto amazónico, Alexander se asombra al descubrir mucho mas de lo que jamás hubiese imaginado. Con la fuerza del jaguar, el animal tótemico que encuentra dentro de sí, y el águila, guía espiritual de Nadia, ambos jóvenes son guiados por la invisible Gente de la Neblina en una apasionante e inolvidable aventura que los llevará a su gran descubrimiento final ...

En una deslumbrante novel llena de aventura, la célebre escritora Isabel Allende, lleva a sus lectores por el misterioso recorrido de dos jóvenes y su búsqueda interior en este viaje épico, lleno de realismo máfico, al corazón del Amazonas.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Alexander Cold, un joven de quince anos esta a punto de embarcarse con su temeraria abuela, en el viaje de su vida. Una expedicion de la International Geographic se dirige hacia la remotas y peligrosas tierras salvajes de Suramerica para documentar al legendario Yeti del Amazonas, mas conocido como "La Bestia." Alex y su amiga Nadia descubriran que el impenetrable mundo de la selva tropical esconde mucho mas de lo que jamas hubieran imaginado. Con la fuerza de sus dos animales totemicos -- el jaguar para Alexander, y el aguila para Nadia -- ambos jovenes se embarcan en una apasionante e inolvidable aventura que los lleva al descubrimiento de ...

FROM THE CRITICS

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