Alexander Cold pemuda 15 tahun, suatu hari dia terbangun karena mendapatkan mimpi buruk ttg burung nasar raksasa menabrak jendela kaca rumahnya hingga pecah dan membawa ibunya pergi menghilang.dan dia merasakan mimpi itu sebuah pertanda buruk ttg keluarganya, Lisa Cold,wanita cantik dan periang yg tiba2 terserang sakit kanker yg menyebabkan dirinya tdk mampu berdiri dan hanya bs bergelung di kamar, lemas,dan kesakitan. Ketika ayah Alex, John Cold, menemukan pengobatan yang mungkin untuk ibunya di Texas, Alex dan dua saudara perempuannya diberitahu mereka akan dikirim untuk tinggal bersama nenek mereka. Saudara Alex bernama Andrea 13 thn dan Nicole 8 thn akan tinggal bersama Carla, ibunya Lisa sdgkan Alex harus tinggal bersama Kate, ibu ayahnya. Alex sgt keberatan dan marah dengan keputusan ayahya tersebut, mengatakan bahwa Clara sgt pandai memasak dan mengurus anak-anak, tetapi Kate tidak ortodoks. Alex memohon untuk diizinkan untuk tinggal bersama Clara, tetapi John mengatakan tiga anak akan terlalu banyak untuk nenek Clara. permohonan Alex pun ditolak, dia pun pasrah hendak dikirim ke New York di mana dia akan bertemu dengan neneknya sebelum perjalanan ke Amazon.namun Kate tidak menjemput Alex di bandara dan meninggalkan dia untuk menemukan jalan ke apartemennya sendiri. Ransel, flute, dan harta benda lainnya yang dicuri dalam perjalanan, dan Alex sangat marah dengan Kate. Tapi ketika ia tiba, Kate mengatakan bahwa dia belajar dari pengalaman. Kate adalah seorang penulis dengan majalah International Geographic. Dalam beberapa hari, Kate dan Alex adalah bagian dari kru bepergian ke wilayah Amazon. Perjalanan panjang menuju Amazon amat membosankan. Alex jg membenci makanan yang tersedia dan menghabiskan banyak waktunya lapar. Hal-hal menjadi lebih baik ketika dia bertemu dengan Pemandu, Cesar Santos, dan putri pemandu, Nadia Santos gadis lincah yg py berkulit madu serta ditemani Boroba, monyet hitam kecil, peliharaan Nadia. Alex dan Nadia segera menjadi teman dan menghabiskan banyak waktu bersama-sama.keberangkatan rombongan kecil ekspedisi tersebut banyak berubah beberapa peristiwa yg terjadi slm persinggahan mereka di Santa Maria de la lLuvia. selain anggota tetap sebelumnya, ditambah Nadia Santos bersikeras ikut, demikian jg Dr Omayra Torres, dokter cantik yg berniat memberikan vaksin bagi suku indian pendalaman, kapten Ariosto ditemani lima prajurit, Matuwe, pemandu berkebangsaan indian yg dipekerjakan oleh Cesar Santos serta Karakawe, org indian yg disewa sbg asisten Ludovic Leblanc selama perjalanan, pada suatu hari Alex dan Nadia yang tiba2 diculik oleh manusia-manusia kabut , suku asli dengan kemampuan untuk memudar menuju pemukiman mereka, jauh dari pedalaman Amazon yg tdk diketahui,memasuki hutan, mendaki puncak gunung yg curam, menerobos air terjun yg deras. Semuanya karena manusia-manusia kabut percaya bahwa kedua anak itu merupakan kunci dari misteri yg menyelubungi Amazon. bahwa bahaya ancaman RAHAKANARIWA-roh burung kanibal yg muncul saat awal kematian dan kerusakan, hanya merekalah yg menanggulangi oleh kekuatan jiwa totem Alex 'sang jaguar' Cold dan Nadia 'sang elang' Santos. si Jaguar dan Si Elang pun akan mengambil peran pemimpin dengan tanggung jawab, dan masing-masing melanjutkan pencarian. Mereka menemukan kota mistis di mana binatang hidup langka, Alex perjalanan sendiri ke dalaman bumi, mencari penyembuhan perairan bahwa janji dukun akan menyembuhkan ibu Alex. sdgkan Nadia memanjat ke bagian puncak , tempat menemukan sarang tiga telur indah dalam penglihatannya.pertama kali membaca novel pengarang Isabel Allende yg penuh kisah campuran etnik budaya serta konflik pribadi, namun sungguh menakjubkan dan petualangan. membaca novel ini terasa di amazon. tidak sabar membacanya selanjutnya nih.
Normally I don t read Young Adult fiction because usually the level of sophistication justifiably so is lower than I like to read. Not that I m always happy with adult fiction in that regard, for that matter! However, I do recognize the differences in target audiences. [return][return]But I couldn t resist this one. Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors; I have almost all of her books in translation and one in Spanish. Her work is superb. And this story is set in the Amazon basin, a region I ve visited a number of times and love. Allende dedicated the book to "Alejandro, Andrea, and Nicole, who asked me for this story". These, as it turns out, are the names of Alexander, one of the protagonists, and his two younger sisters. Clearly Allende meant the book as a story for young people to enjoy. I decided to buy it.[return][return][return]The story s main protagonists are two teenagers, an American boy, Alexander, and Nadia, a Brasilian girl. The heart of the action actually takes place in Venezuela, off the upper Orinoco River. The plot centers around the efforts of a party sponsored by the magazine International Geographic, which includes Alexander s grandmother who is a free lance writer of some renown, an eccentric anthropologist who is one of those all too common types who makes up theories to make him famous and then goes searching for the facts to back him up, a Brasilian female doctor, various army people, and a shadowy Brasilian entrepeneur who has made fortunes off of stealing lands (legally) from indigenous Amazon tribes. They are all on the search for The Beast, a legendary gigantic two legged creature that resembles the Yeti in many ways. Interestingly enough, in real life there have been reports on the river but east of the area in which Allende has set her story of a Yeti-like creature. It s quite possibly what Allende based her story on.[return][return]Naturally there is an encounter with a heretofore-unknown tribe of indigenous people, skullduggery, kidnapping, adventures to the heart of the jungle all with generous doses of humor (I can believe that Allende is well-acquainted with teenagers) and South American magical realisism to boot. What I particularly appreciated about the book was the Allende provided large amounts of information about deforestation of the Amazon and the illegal activities that go on there without either being preachy or intrusive. It s a great way of teaching.[return][return]I enjoyed the book it was fun. It s the first of a trilogy involving Alexander, his grandmother, and Nadia; the sequel takes place in the Himilayas.
What do You think about City Of The Beasts (2004)?
BeginningCity of the Beasts begins with the story of Alexander Cold, who is 15 years old and going through a family crisis. While his parents leave for Texas to try to treat his mother's cancer, Alex and his sisters are sent to live with their grandmothers. Despite his desperate pleading, Alex is sent off to New York City to stay with his eccentric grandmother Kate Cold,a reporter for International Geographic Magazine. His sisters, however are sent to live with their Grandmother Carla. Meanwhile
—Jane Odgers
Alexander Cold parte numa viagem rumo à Amazónia na companhia da sua avó, a excêntrica escritora Kate Cold, pois a mãe, doente de cancro, tem de viajar para fazer alguns tratamentos de combate à doença. É assim que somos transportados, pela mão de Isabel Allende, para a grande floresta da Amazónia, onde tomamos contacto com as tribos de índios selvagens e com a ganância também selvagem dos brancos que são capazes de tudo para obter riqueza e poder.Seguimos então Alexander e a expedição da National Geographic em busca da besta, um ser gigante, brutal e que emana um cheiro atordoante capaz de paralisar as presas. O objetivo da expedição é recolher dados para uma reportagem.É assim que Alexander conhece Nadia Santos, a filha do guia da expedição, e juntos viverão a maior aventura das suas vidas na companhia do Povo da Neblina.Este é um livro infanto-juvenil de fácil leitura e repleto de aventuras, ação e mistérios onde a autora transmite um importante alerta para o terrível drama da extinção das tribos nativas da Amazónia como consequência da exploração irracional e irresponsável praticada pelos brancos.É assim que percebem que o verdadeiro perigo não está na sanguinária besta, nem nos descivilizados índios, mas sim nos próprios brancos.- Com a idade adquire-se uma certa humildade, Alexander. Quanto mais anos tenho, mais ignorante me sinto. Só os jovens têm explicação para tudo. Na tua idade pode-se ser arrogante e não importa parece ridículo - replicou ela, secamente. (pg 35) Compreendeu que a felicidade consiste em atingir aquilo por que esperámos durante muito tempo. (pg 173)http://sigularidadesdeumaraparigaloir...
—Carol
Honestly, this book sucked. Majorly. Giving it two stars was generous, to say the least.The beginning was boring beyond belief. I had to read this for school, and my class and I begged the teacher to let us read another one. It had no interest for us, no appeal. I hated the grandmother, didn't know what to think of the main character, and was bored out of my mind by the language. When the main character was swimming with the dolphins, the story basically went, 'I was having so much fun. It was the best day of my life.', and then boom, on to the next boring-as-crap thing. I had to wonder if something was lost in the translation... The first half of the book had a snails pace, just prolonging our torture.The second half of the book picked up a LITTLE! It had a bit more magic and fantasy, a bit more interesting stuff going on. But I was still prevented from even beginning to enjoy this book because of the lack of descriptive language.I just hated this book. I would never in a billion years recommend it to anyone but my worst enemy. Maybe not even then.
—Alexa
