The year is 1747, and Katie O'Toole's family home is raided by Native
Americans. Two young men (whom she knows as Swaya and Hector) who accompany them
are from a different tribe, on a search for a Creature of Fire and Ice whom
Swaya has seen in a vision and who he says will save their people. Swaya
believes that Katie is the creature in his vision. With little to keep her with
her family, Katie agrees to go with them when the rest of the captives are
ransomed home.
This is a difficult book to review without spoiling. At times it was a
frustrating book, as the characters often didn't think or thought too much and
upset themselves more than necessary (and I am deliberately trying to avoid
specifics here). But I enjoyed the way that Katie's journey was not only about
her journey across the country and her discovering what her place in her new
life was to be, but about her overcoming the hardships of her past life in
Philadelphia. I did find the ending a touch unsatisfying and am unsure of
whether or not a sequel will be forthcoming. On one hand, the purpose for which
Syawa and Hector went to find the Creature of Fire and Ice remains unclear. On
the other hand, the growth of the characters appears to have been achieved, and
perhaps the original mission was a detail to set the journey in motion.
Although none of the places where I have seen this book promoted or reviewed
have considered it a YA book so far, I think that it would also have appeal to a
high school audience. Although Katie is old enough to live an adult life in her
time, she is only seventeen, and perhaps some of her angst makes more sense in
light of her age and will be less aggravating to people closer to it.
Final Grade: B