Revenge of the Aztecs: A Story of the Jazz Age ANNOTATION
In 1923, fourteen-year-old Alicia Martinez is cast in an important silent movie role by her best friend's father, but near-disasters on the Hollywood set seem to be directed at her, and almost anyone could be responsible.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Young readers will be captivated by these novels that span history-changing events from the founding of Jamestown to World War II and beyond and that enrich their reading skills and knowledge of American history.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Children's Literture
It is 1923 in Hollywood, and Alicia Martinez, age fourteen, is tapped for the movie role as the daughter of an Aztec high priest in a movie about Cortez. An orphan who has been taken in by oil company millionaires, Alicia is discovered by the head of Galaxy films. Like many young actresses before and since, Alicia discovers that movie making and movie stars are not as glamorous as they might at first appear. A series of accidents convinces Alicia that someone is bent on injuring her, although she can't imagine why. After she is kidnapped, driven to a remote mountain cabin, and then let go, the truth comes out. The story is fast-paced, but as contrived and superficial as the Revenge of the Aztecs film in which Alicia acts, although both the book and the film have the trappings of "historical research." Neither the copies of 1920s movie posters or a car advertisement included at the end of the book have much relationship to the story, nor does the brief timeline on the cover. Part of "Jamestown's American Portraits" series. 2000, Jamestown, Ages 9 to 12, $5.95. Reviewer: Linnea Hendrickson
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