Forest of the Pygmies

From Booklist
Gr. 8-11. In the final installment of the trilogy that began with City of the Beasts (2002), Alexander, now 18, acknowledges that he feels "vaguely ridiculous, as if he were in some Tarzan movie." Unfortunately, that sums up what's disappointing in this story. Alex and his friend, Nadia, travel to Africa on a new International Geographic expedition with Alex's tough grandma, Kate. In the jungle, they help to save primitive Pygmies from slavery and annihilation by a savage, ridiculous tyrant, who wears a necklace of human fingers. Eventually, in a David versus Goliath chapter, a Pygmy warrior defeats the powerful ruler. Allende's narrative, translated from the Spanish, does show some diversity in Africa, and she individualizes a few local people, especially the women (including a fiercely independent Kenyan pilot). But the constant use of convenient magical realism removes all tension from the plot. There is never any doubt that the amulets and totems will help the good guys win. What will hold readers are the close encounters with elephants, crocodiles, snakes, and gorillas. Forget the people. Hazel Rochman
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Book Description

Alexander Cold knows all too well his grandmother Kate is never far from an adventure. When International Geographic commissions her to write an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa, they head -- with Nadia Santos and the magazine's photography crew -- to the blazing, red plains of Kenya. Days into the tour, a Catholic missionary approaches their camp in search of his companions who have mysteriously disappeared. Kate, Alexander, Nadia, and their team, agreeing to aid the rescue, enlist the help of a local pilot to lead them to the swampy forests of Ngoubé. There they discover a clan of Pygmies who unveil a harsh and surprising world of corruption, slavery, and poaching.

Alexander and Nadia, entrusting the magical strengths of Jaguar and Eagle, their totemic animal spirits, launch a spectacular and precarious struggle to restore freedom and return leadership to its rightful hands.

ANNOTATION

Eighteen-year-old Alexander Cold and his grandmother travel to Africa on an elephant-led safari, but discover a corrupt world of poaching and slavery.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Alexander Cold knows all too well his grandmother Kate is never far from an adventure. When International Geographic commissions her to write an article about the first elephant-led safaris in Africa, they head -- with Nadia Santos and the magazine's photography crew -- to the blazing, red plains of Kenya. Days into the tour, a Catholic missionary approaches their camp in search of his companions who have mysteriously disappeared. Kate, Alexander, Nadia, and their team, agreeing to aid the rescue, enlist the help of a local pilot to lead them to the swampy forests of Ngoub￯﾿ﾽ. There they discover a clan of Pygmies who unveil a harsh and surprising world of corruption, slavery, and poaching.

Alexander and Nadia, entrusting the magical strengths of Jaguar and Eagle, their totemic animal spirits, launch a spectacular and precarious struggle to restore freedom and return leadership to its rightful hands.

The final installment of Isabel Allende's celebrated trilogy of the journeys of Jaguar and Eagle soars with radiant settings, spirits, beings -- and the transformation of an extraordinary friendship.

About the Author:Nacida en PerÚ, Isabel Allende se criÓ en Chile. Algunos de sus libros, La casa de los espÍritus, De amor y sombra, Eva Luna, Cuentos de Eva Luna, El plan infinito, y mÁs recientemente, Paula, raducidos a mÁs de 25 lenguas, encabezan la lista de bestsellers en varios paises de America y Europa. Isabel Allende reside actualmente en California.

Born in Peru, Isabel Allende was raised in Chile. She is the author of the novels Portrait in Sepia, Daughter of Fortune, The Infinite Plan, Eva Luna, Of Love and Shadows, and The House of the Spirits, the short story collection The Stories of Eva Luna, the memoir Paula, and Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses. City of the Beast is her first novel for young readers. She lives in California.

FROM THE CRITICS

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