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Overview
Think you have issues? Try these on for size:
- Your parents are separated, and Dad's already taking vacations with his new girlfriend.
- You and Mom share a small apartment in a gang-ridden neighborhood.
- You go to school with a bunch of spoiled rich kids.
- You have recurring nightmares about a creepy jaguar.
- You're hearing strange voices and worry you may be going crazy.
- Your big quinceañera "surprise" is finding out you're a curandera, or witch.
- ... and as if that's not bad enough, your psychic powers land you smack in the middle of a kidnapping case involving an ancient Mayan statue . . . and it's up to you to solve the mystery.
Meet Martika Gálvez, the Latina Nancy Drew of the new millennium.
Editorials
KLIATT -
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2006: This combines all the eerie spookiness of the TV show Medium with Mayan history and modern-day California culture. As Martika celebrates her quinceanera she has strange dreams that disturb her—she worries she is becoming mentally ill. It's a relief, then, to discover that in her father's Mayan heritage, there is a lineage of women who have psychic powers—in fact, a great-aunt lives nearby and can guide her to develop her own gift. This aunt is a consultant to the LA police, and becomes intricately involved in the plot when Martika gets embroiled in an effort to rescue a kidnapped teenager and also recover a sacred Mayan artifact—a sculptured jaguar. This is a story that is thrilling, spooky, and filled with responsible, trying-their-best teenagers. It's a fine debut novel from an author with a background in acting and screenwriting. Greene is a native Angeleno of part-Mexican heritage, and this is a story that celebrates that cultural background. Spanish words and phrases—with descriptions of family life and food—are included to give readers a sense of the rich cultural mixtures many American YAs experience. Reviewer: Claire RosserChildren's Literature -
Martika is a poor but hardworking teenage girl. She helps her mother clean houses for money and devotes much of her spare time to studying. Life for Martika is already challenging but her problems are just beginning. Martika has reoccurring nightmares that are so realistic that she wakes up questioning her sanity. Suddenly Martika begins to experience strange visions involving a local rich girl who was recently kidnapped. That is when Martika's mother decides to tell her the truth about her family history. Traditional medicine women with special psychic abilities have been in Martika's family for generations. With the help of a recently discovered great-great aunt, Martika learns not only about the special powers that she has inherited, but also how to use these powers in a positive way. Martika discovers that her strange visions are not really a problem after all, especially when she learns how to use them to rescue the kidnapped girl. This is an entertaining and exciting book with a realistic heroine that readers will be rooting for.School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up-An intriguing mystery by the L.A. Law actress and songwriter. While Mexican-American Martika prepares for her quincea-era in a tough section of Los Angeles, she begins to have vivid and frightening nightmares that always feature a jaguar. She also dreams about a rich girl who has been kidnapped by a shady art collector; Martika is able to experience what abducted Jennifer Colton feels. With crisp dialogue liberally sprinkled with Spanish words, Greene portrays the coming of age of an unusual teen. Martika discovers that she is one of a long line of Mayan curanderas, or witches. Her growing and unusually strong powers help her to eventually solve the kidnapping case. Los Angeles is vibrantly described, with its sharply divided communities, the prevalence of drugs, and a sly bit of commentary on the residents' often superficial priorities and morals. Martika's story combines a traditional mystery told from multiple perspectives, magical realism of the Mayan world, a girl's inherited powers, and a statement on value systems. While Martika's telekinetic and pyrokinetic powers add unusual flavor to the tale, she is in many ways a typical teen. Greene introduces the tale with information about the ancient and current Mayan cultures, and the importance of magic, talismans, and shape-shifters. This unusual mystery is sure to attract teens, and should encourage them to find out more about Mayan culture.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
Combining ancient mysticism with urban Los Angeles, author Greene, formerly an actress on L.A. Law, introduces novice crime-fighter Martika Galvez. As the teen Latina with the cat-like eyes approaches her 15th birthday, her strange dreams increase in frequency and strength. When her mother's wealthy employer, a shady car dealer who operates in the black market, sells an unusual jaguar statue stolen from a Mayan temple to the wrong buyer, resulting in the kidnapping of his teenage daughter, Jennifer, Martika believes that her dreams are connected. Under the guidance of T'a Tell'n, the barrio "witch," Martika learns that she is a descendant of a long line of Mayan curanderas, or female shamans. While discovering such abilities as telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis and shape-shifting, Martika begins to put them to use to save Jennifer and recover the statue. This jaguar snores, not roars, as flat, stereotyped characters and a storyline that reads like most primetime television dramas ruin a great premise. (Fiction. YA)Book Details
Published
July 1, 2006
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers,U.S.
Pages
240
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780060763534