Tish Farrell

I am not even that big of a fan of the fantasy genre, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I thought the information was presented in a manner that is not condescending to young people. I also thought there were good suggestions that I could use to help my students improve their writing. Writing, good writing, is not necessarily the easiest concept to teach but I find the suggestions in this book are helpful and realistic. I just really enjoyed the style- I thought it was written in a way that would be appeal to a broad audience of students yet still manages to challenge advanced students.… (mehr)

Set in Guatemala, this is based on a true story of the discovery of a huge Maya painting in a cavern underground. It is the story of Rico, whose father was killed in the civil war and who must now look after his family. His sister sells her weaving to a 17 year old low life called Enzo who then takes them to the city and makes a huge profit from it. After a clash with Enzo, Rico storms off into the jungle to sulk, only to fall into a pit near some old Mayan ruins. While in the pit, he discovers a an enormous mural of one of the ancient Mayan gods. Rico is determined to protect this from the "stone robbers", men who tear out the old Maya artifacts and sell them to collectors in the city. However, the adult villagers, scarred by the civil war, are too scared to defend the discovery. So it is up to Rico, his sister and the other children in the village to set a trap for the "stone robbers".… (mehr)