Tag: middle-grade

5 out of 5 stars

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Brief Synopsis

It’s October 1922, and fourteen-year old Danny Hawthorne is determined to uncover the truth about the Yeti. During a family horseback trip through the Himalaya foothills of Nepal, Danny and his younger sister Rachel are isolated by an accident in a remote valley. Here they encounter tall strangers in animal-skin clothing who are neither ape-like nor quite human. Are these creatures responsible for the legend?

The children are escorted to an ancient, uncharted city, and invited to stay for a few days. They watch a horseback competition, learn archery, and even teach local youths to play football. Communication is possible thanks to the creatures’ telepathic skills, which begin to rub off on the children. Every century, this community entrusts a few, select humans with far-reaching secrets, and the two are now given the opportunity. Danny and Rachel’s departure for home is delayed when an old, inter-clan feud erupts, and again when winter storms arrive early.

Meanwhile, their parents organise search parties to find the missing children. The city is spotted by plane, and Nepali forces prepare to move in after the first thaw. However, Danny and Rachel are sympathetic toward their hosts, and must devise a way to preserve the lost civilisation, while also ensuring a Hawthorne family reunion.

A unique children’s book, City of the Yeti is a fantasy novel aimed at readers aged 10 and upwards. Set in the evocative and mysterious mountains of Nepal in the 1920s, this book takes a refreshingly different and compassionate look at the Yeti, and the consequences of human encroachment on their territory. (Source: Goodreads)

Review

The City of the Yeti by Robert A. Love is the first book I read after joining NetGalley. It was excellent.

I absolutely loved this book. From the moment I started reading it, I couldn’t hardly put it down. Every spare moment was spent reading this amazing story. I fell in love with Danny and his sister, Rachel, almost immediately. Their adventures and discoveries were well-timed and well-written.

This book had a well-executed plot line. The pace was steady, neither too fast or slow. There was just the right amount of adventure and excitement without having you on the edge of your seat every moment, which is something I don’t personally care for, so I was thrilled with the balance in this story. The characters were well-rounded, developed and realistic. I felt like I really got to know those important to the story and to know enough about the others for it to seem realistic and not fake. I also felt that the descriptions of the settings were “just right”. They weren’t too wordy, describing every detail until nothing was left to your imagination. And they weren’t too sparse, leaving you to wonder if what you were imagining was true to the author’s vision.

The only real criticism I have of the book is that occasionally, the dialogue became much less formal than what they would have used in 1922 Britain or British families. However, the target audience of ages 8-12, aren’t going to really notice that.

Unfortunately, this book was published by a British publisher and is not as easy to find in the United States outside of the large online stores like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I had to special order it through my local independent bookstore, but it’s completely worth it!

I would highly recommend this to all adventure enthusiasts, not just children and teens. I think this book could appeal to adults as well, as long as they can get passed the point where they think children’s literature isn’t for them. In fact, I liked it so much that I ordered a print copy of the book even tho’ I had the e-book!

(I received a free e-book of this title through NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review. This in no way affected my rating of the book. All opinions and conclusions are my own.)