The Quetzal Skull: A Review

By request, I am re-posting my review of The Quetzal Skull. The original post first appeared on the Writers In The Sky blog, May 2, 2011.


Book Title: The Quetzal Skull
Author: Margaret Gill
ISBN: 978-1432768669
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui



There is much good to be said about Margaret Gill’s writing and The Quetzal Skull in particular. To begin, Margaret knows how to weave a delicious story that will captivate her youthful audience as well as those adults that enjoy reading the Young Adult Fiction genre of books. The Quetzal Skull follows, Narwhal, as part two in a series.

Superbly written, The Quetzal Skull, relates the continuing tale of Gray, a young man on the verge of discovering his deepening psychic gifts and his place in the world as a shaman. After his brush with death, in Narwhal, Gray goes to the mainland to attend art school. He intends to study art that is, but it seems once again fate and prophecy have a plan for Gray which is outside of his understanding and control.  Kidnapping is the least of the lengths his enemies will go in their efforts to maintain their drive for power and control. They perceive Gray as a threat to their plans and won’t stop coming after him until they have eliminated the threat he poses. Follow Gray around the globe into the heart of myth and mystery, as he strives to solve mysteries locked in the distant past and fulfill his destiny.

Margaret does an excellent job of depicting and explaining concepts of psychic energy work and shamanism that accurately portray the teachings, methods and practices of modern and historic shamanic practitioners. She is able to capture in words and through story telling the atmosphere of time and place, which combine to create a flavor of danger and increase tension. Her research and insight into traditional shamanic roles and practices, as well as into the healing or mystical properties of certain herbs and the political intrigue used in her story, is to be commended. There is much to be learned, about our world and its societies,  which she has cleverly revealed in the story or used as a device to develop her plot.

Exciting and enlightening, full of physical and spiritual dangers, The Quetzal Skull takes Gray and the reader on an adventure of thrilling proportions. Discover wonder and mystery in the crystal skull of Quetzal. A cast of memorable characters waits for you. You won't want to put this book down.



If you would like to contact the author write to . . . author@margaretgill.co.uk

Also by Margaret Gill . . .




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A Review of the Youth Mystery, Sudden Moves

Kelli Sue Landon

Today, I would like to share my review of the youth mystery, Sudden Moves, by author Kelli Sue Landon. This is Kelli's first novel.

Synopsis:
When Katie Brashers announces to her friends that she's headed to Orlando, Florida, for spring break, no one thinks twice. But when school resumes and Katie is nowhere to be found, her sixteen-year-old classmate and friend, Michelle Martin, grows suspicious. The school staff claims that the family moved to Florida, but Michelle doesn't buy it. First, Katie never said goodbye to her devoted boyfriend, Brad; and second, Katie still has a treasured family book Michelle gave her to read-a book Katie promised to return. Something doesn't make sense. Michelle and her best friend, Tami, team up with Brad to investigate the family's disappearance, but it's not easy. Not only do they have to dodge Michelle's demanding, nosey mother, but they also have to sneak around the neighborhood while avoiding arrest for trespassing. After talking to neighbors and looking inside the house, they still have nothing but circumstantial evidence. Michelle is about ready to give up-until she takes her dog for their daily walk and uncovers a concrete clue. The clue leads her closer to the truth, but also thrusts her into dangerous circumstances beyond her control. If she isn't careful, Michelle could end up like Katie-gone without a trace.

Review:
 
Book Title: Sudden Moves
Author: Kelli Sue Landon
ISBN: 978-1426945847
Publisher: Outskirts Press

Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui


Michelle Martin is worried. Her friend Katie went to Florida for spring break and never came back. It isn’t just that Katie left without saying good bye. That was bad enough, but Katie never returned the book she borrowed and Michelle is going to be in serious trouble if her mom finds out she loaned it to Katie. Author Kelli Sue Landon takes this simple turn of events in a teen’s life and weaves a mystery that is sure to please her young adult audience.

The dramas surrounding friendships, infatuations, academics, family difficulties, and the teen culture depicted in Sudden Moves are all believable and set the stage well for the mystery that Landon unfolds.

There are a few plot twists and surprises in store for the reader that I don’t want to give away. I can share that Landon reintroduces us to kids we remember from high school, only Landon’s teens are living and dealing with all the pitfalls, social environment and pressures of modern day America.

Landon successfully writes the teen mentality, capturing all of the frustrations and inexperience which lead her young characters further and further into danger and along the road toward adulthood.
She places obstacles in their paths that many young adults face and yet she does so without depicting all the adult characters as either foolish, self centered or villainous. The adults in Sudden Moves have as many problems and quirks as the teens, but the author doesn’t treat them as cheap comic relief or with disdain, as is often done for television.

The book has a good pace, with plenty of rising action carrying the plot forward. There is a criminal element to the story, with some implied and mild violence that advances the plot. Teens fourteen and above will appreciate this book and relate well with its characters. There is a good amount of interaction between the main character, Michelle, and her parents –with several realistic and trust building scenes. Law enforcement figures are treated respectfully by the author.

Sudden Moves is above all else a mystery and Landon works hard to give her audience everything they need to make sense of and unravel the truth, right along with Michelle, about what happened to Katie.

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West to the Sun

This week our review focuses on childrens' fiction with a book about the pioneer experience on the Oregon Trail.

Book Title: West to the Sun
Author: Tom G. Good
ISBN: 978-1-4327-5162-3
Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc. 2010
Link to purchase: http://amzn.to/9vfQxZ
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui for WITS

In West to the Sun, author Tom G. Good weaves a story of the Oregon Trail, and the pioneer experience of Jeremiah Symons, an 11-year-old boy and his family. Good skillfully narrates the world and history surrounding the characters in a way that captures the readers imagination and carries the journey into visions and vistas outside of the modern experience. In his writing, the author successfully relates the hazards and dangers faced by our pioneer forefathers, exploring concerns, customs, needs, and desires that lay buried in our nation’s past and yet which have so deeply influenced the modern psyche. Good unearths and presents with wonder, surprise and no little amount of awe a fictional and yet historically accurate telling of the journey west for the enrichment of future generations.

Having myself experienced, at the age of nine, being uprooted from my home in modern day America and moved to the wilderness of Northern Canada, I could relate to the daily urgencies, the depiction of life hardships and ever present dangers related by the author. The story teller does not however, focus on the burning resentments, deep fears and the kinds of spiritual challenges an experience like this engenders in a child or the family dynamic. The main characters remain constant and unchallenged in their love for each other, their faith and in their sense of self. The voice of the narrative is more the voice of a wise father than a youth and so on occasion comes across as being a little too good, but the writing is skillful and the history sound. The real story in West to the Sun is that of the Oregon Trail itself, with the characters of Jeremiah and his family being a lens to look through and means of delivery.

This book is an excellent teaching tool for parents and teachers wanting to share with children the history and experiences lived by the courageous men and women of frontier America. With excellent written delivery of the preparation for the journey itself, accurate skillful portrayal of the social interactions between travelers and wagon train life, the difficulties faced and chance encounters along the way, this book offers valuable perspective and insight. Few children today have a comparative experience through which they can empathize or intuit understanding for the hardships experienced, wonders beheld and the demands such a journey would make on early pioneers. Thankfully, we have Tom G. Good’s skillful pen and talented imagination to breathe life into the telling.