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City of the Beasts
ALAN Review, Fall 2002 by Dail, Jennifer S
City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende Harper Collins, 2002, 406 pp., $19.99 Coming of Age/Friendship ISBN: 006050918X
Allende's debut young adult novel is packed with intense adventure and mystical elements. Alexander Cold finds himself on an adventure in the rainforest of the Amazon, where his grandmother is searching for the legendary beast that is terrorizing the native tribes. He forms a powerful friendship with Nadia, the daughter of another member of the expedition. Through his adventures in the rainforest, Alex grows as a person and comes to terms with problems he experienced at home. Suddenly, in the midst of life-and-death adventure, his everyday adolescent problems seem trivial. Not only does he gain a new perspective on his daily life, but also he learns to confront and manage the emotions he has concerning his mother's illness.
Allende does an excellent job of capturing readers from the beginning. This fast-paced novel takes readers on Alex and Nadia' s adventure with them, where they meet a variety of characters and encounter great mystery and intrigue.
Jennifer S. Dail
Florida State University
Copyright Assembly on Literature for Adolescents -- National Council of Teachers of English Fall 2002
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