A summer in Guatemala....this definitely sounded exciting to Isaac and much better than spending it in summer school in Iowa. Isaac accompanied his mother to Guatemala and stayed with his aunt while his mother made a trip to Todos Santos to do some painting.
While his mother was away, Issac met another American boy who was bad news, but whom Isaac continued to befriend. The boys planned a trip of their own without actually telling anyone the truth about their destination. Their adventures as well as the adventures of Catherine made up most of the book...Catherine found things she wasn't expecting and Isaac did as well. The trip Issac and Bernie took was frightening to me....seeing the risks they took in a foreign country made my heart race.
Meanwhile, Catherine was enjoying herself and learning many things about the culture of Guatemala...both good and bad aspects. The book had vivid descriptions of the beautiful landscape of Guatemala and the lifestyles of its people. The characters were interesting and colorful.
The book took me a while to read not because it was difficult, but because I was afraid to see what was going to happen to Catherine and her son. It also was heart wrenching to learn how the citizens of Guatemala actually lived on a daily basis and how the leaders were so self-centered, corrupt, controlling, and superstitious.
Deborah Clearman is a very talented author...she has fantastic descriptions of characters, scenery, and emotions. You could feel the emotions of each character as they were dealing with the situation occurring at the moment......the well-described scenes and emotions made the book unique for me.
I truly enjoyed the book except for the fear factor that I brought on myself. :)
Also stop at Black Lawrence Press to view Ms. Clearman's video of the background for her novel...quite intriguing.
http://blacklawrencepress.com/ - go to the side bar and choose Authors.
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