Namelok is a young Maasi warrior that is the link between the old ways of her father, and the new ways of their home. Trying to delay the rituals that will mark her--literally as a woman--she does everything in her power to stay a child. When changes start happening, she must keep them a secret from everyone, like the secret of the mother and baby rhinoceros she has found. A wonderful look into the traditional world and the things that threaten it--for better or worse, Kessler, again has made a thoughtful and interesting story that teens will enjoy.

twelve-year-old Namelok is thrilled when she finds a mother black rhino and her new baby in the bush while collecting firewood for her Maasai tribe. she vows to protect them, visit them, and—most important—keep them a secret so that poachers will not try to hurt them. but when her initiation into womanhood threatens her secret visits, Namelok must say good-bye to her beloved animal friends. before she can, though, she makes a horrifying discovery, one that sends her on a harrowing journey into the bush in a search for poachers, which soon becomes a desperate struggle for survival.

[Kessler] writes with authority about both the wildlife and the cultural struggle. (Booklist, starred review)

...intriguing survival story. (School Library Journal)

Cristina Kessler lives in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

Imprint: Puffin
Distributor: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Publication Date: 07-19-2007
Pages: 224
Measurements: 7.76in X 5.06in X 0.60in X 0.39lb