Night Wings
Grade 5-8&ndash;Thirteen-year-old Paul Fortune, an Abenaki with a long line of military service in his family, goes to live with his stoic veteran grandfather while his parents are serving in the Middle East. Paul and Grampa Peter have subtle, nonverbal ways of communicating with one another, which comes in handy when bad guys arrive, kidnap them, and force them to search for mythical treasure on a journey up Mount Washington, one of the coldest and most dangerous spots in the northeast. Darby Field, the ringmaster of the group and the sinister host of TV'sForbidden Mysteries, has specifically sought out Grampa Peter, who is known for his scouting skills and expert knowledge of Native legends, including Pmola's treasure. Although scenes of the large, dark, birdlike Pmola menacing the group are frightening, the real scare here is actually the evil and occasionally violent Mr. Field and his cohorts, who have pillaged cultural treasures around the world. Using Paul's keen birdlike sense of smell and sight, and employing military tactics and strategy, Paul and Grampa ultimately prevail over the villains. The intriguing Native lore, the realistic teen narrative, and cliff-hanger sentences that build suspense at the end of each chapter are signature Bruchac and will captivate readers.&ndash;Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.