The Lost Island of Tamarind by Nadia Aguiar

She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. 12-14)Īdventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.Įlisa-Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle-has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a diversion. Besides the mostly off-stage issue of a parent’s severe illness there’s not much here to challenge most readers-driving, beer-drinking, divorce, a moment of surprise at the mothers smoking medicinal pot together. In the background the two mothers renew their friendship each year, and Lauren, Belly’s mother, provides support for her friend-if not, unfortunately, for the children-in Susannah’s losing battle with breast cancer. Belly’s dawning awareness of her sexuality and that of the boys is a strong theme, as is the sense of summer as a separate and reflective time and place: Readers get glimpses of kisses on the beach, her best friend’s flirtations during one summer’s visit, a first date. Han’s leisurely paced, somewhat somber narrative revisits several beach-house summers in flashback through the eyes of now 15-year-old Isabel, known to all as Belly.īelly measures her growing self by these summers and by her lifelong relationship with the older boys, her brother and her mother’s best friend’s two sons. Spunky kids, perilous pursuits and marine mystery make for a smashing good read. As she bounces from one adventure to the next, Maya forgets all about having a normal life and longs just to have her family reunited.

In breathtaking succession, Maya and Simon encounter carnivorous vines, flying fish, treacherous pirates, a mad zoologist, giant turtles, warring soldiers, a tribe living in treetops, a mysterious lady riding a jaguar, singing mermaids, giants and a glowing substance called ophalla.

During a freak storm, Maya’s parents are washed overboard while winds propel the Pamela Jane to Tamarind, an unknown island populated by fantastical plants and creatures. Until recently Maya loved life at sea, but now all she wants is to live with her grandmother in Bermuda, go to school and have friends. Maya has lived her 13 years aboard the Pamela Jane sailing through the Caribbean with her marine biologist parents, her brother Simon and baby sister. Stranded on a lost island, a teen faces nail-biting adventures searching for her missing parents in this fantasy cliffhanger.

The Lost Island of Tamarind by Nadia Aguiar