City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende
Alex Cold Adventures: Book 1
Audience: Middle School
Rating: B+
Synopsis:
Alex Cold’s life is in turmoil. His mother is very sick, maybe even dying, and his father decides to ship Alex across the country to his grandmother’s house. But his grandmother, Kate, is far from the traditional cookie-baking, sweater-knitting, Grammy. In fact, Kate decides to bring Alex along with her on an expedition into the Amazon rainforest, in search of a mythical creature called ‘the beast.’ This book is full of danger, adventure, description, realism, fantasy, and tells an important story about protecting the natural resources of South America.
(Spoiler Alerts! ) The book has beautiful descriptive parts and fast-paced action sequences. I will admit, the description got to be a bit much at times. It’s a long book, and sometimes I just didn’t want to read any more about what the tepui looked like, or the foliage of the rainforest. One of the times where the long-winded prose really annoyed me was Nadia’s journey to get the crystal eggs. The whole chapter just seemed too full of illustration and too skimpy on plot advancement.
The book also has a huge cast of characters! It was a little tricky to keep them all straight at times. My overall favorite character was Leblanc. He is hilarious! I love how he refers to himself in third person and never seems to notice when the other characters make fun of him. Leblanc is such a stereotypical blundering, pompous professor, who wishes he were an adventurer. I think he’s great!
Kate is a great character too. She’s so unusual as the rough, gruff, grandmother who is careful not to show any sentiment. Her brave attitude is the perfect foil for wimpy Leblanc.
The real magic of this book is how its plot draws attention to the plight of the South American Indians and the rainforest. The crimes that Allende describes in her book are real and tragic. I applaud her for using her skills as an author to make people more aware of the need to protect the rainforest and its people.
Questions:
What is the greatest change Alex has made since leaving California?
Do you think he will have trouble fitting in when he returns?
Will Alex and Nadia ever see each other again?
Why do you think the author wrote this novel?
Keep reading!
-Paige
Buy City of Beasts from Amazon
Brooke Says:
I think Alex and Nadia will see each other again because they had become very close with eachother on the trip. Also, the author didn’t put the exact words they’d meet again, but he described that they would.
Goldilocks Says:
I think Alex and Nadia will see each other again someday, but not anytime soon!
Janie Says:
I think Alex will have trouble getting used to life back in California. After all the excitement in the Amazon and all his amzing adventures, he will probably be bored in California. I don’t think anyone will believe his stories with the people of the mist.
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende | Turning the Paige Says:
[...] Of course Alex and Nadia get themselves caught up in the middle of the conflict! This book, like The City of the Beasts, is full of real environmental and cultural information and keeps your interest with an adventurous [...]
Forest of the Pygmies by Isabel Allende | Turning the Paige Says:
[...] they are fighting to save a tribe of Pygmies from their enslavement within a Bantu village. Like The City of the Beasts and Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, they go on a journey that is part physical world, part spiritual [...]
draginslayer71booklover45 Says:
I loved loved loved loved this book, did i meantion that i also love this book!!!
poetryhaterguy Says:
i think this book need a little better topic than rainforest indains. i also think that how they were away from kate and stuff for so long is weird but oh well hope the second book is better.
GEORGINA Says:
I found the book really enticing and easy to read. I have now chosen to base my English speech on this wonderful book. I really loved the detaIls added in the story as well as the adventure into the beasts caves. The characters were amusing and added a real flavour to the book. I recommend reading this story as it is just brilliant!!!