Walker of Time
Booktalk:
Imagine entering a cave located in a desert of the Southwest. A feeling
passes over you that this is not your first time here. Great thunder
sounds. It rolls over you after entering the cave along with a feeling
like being on a roller coaster. A flash of light and next thing someone
rouses you with water, someone unfamiliar. This stranger, young like
you, is talkative and friendly, instantly likable yet different. He
becomes your fellow traveler.
This is what happens to Walker, a fifteen-year-old Hopi boy who seeks
out the cave at the wish of his dying Uncle. His uncle, Walker's only
family member, is now gone, leaving him with a deep grief and a backpack
that has always been with them.
At the cave, Walker meets Tag, a twelve-year-old boy who came to the
cave to bury his Boy Scout compass as a joke for his archeologist father.
Join them on their adventure as together they discover firsthand the
mysteries regarding what happened to the Sinagua, the ancient peoples
who lived in these desert cliff dwellings.
Experience grief, fear, anger and love along with Walker and Tag as
they build friendships and meet many fascinating characters on their
journey. Walker develops an understanding as to why his Uncle was so
determined to teach him both the ways of the Hopi along with those of
the Whiteman.
In the story, each boy is faced with difficult choices, particularly
about personal responsibility and the way of peace. The boys discover
that time does not change the fact that, as human beings, we each are
born and eventually die. What we become in our lifespans is based largely
upon how we handle ourselves, especially how we handle our strong emotions
and our reactions in various situations.
Readers who are interested in the mysteries of ancient peoples will
enjoy this work of historical fiction and the science fiction element
of time traveling in this book. Walker of Time by Helen Hughes
Vick won an ALA Best Books for Young Adults Award in 1994. Read it.
You will not be disappointed!
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