Reviews - La ciudad de las bestias

La ciudad de las bestias by Isabel Allende

556 reviews for:

Alexander's mother has cancer, so his mom and dad are headed from LA to Texas to get treatment. Alexander is sent to live with his crazy grandmother, who isn't your typical cookies-and-hugs grandmother. Instead, she's a writer for International Geographic and spends her days globetrotting and discovering culture. She's dragging Alexander to the Amazon in search of the elusive Beast - the Amazon's version of the Yeti. On the way, he meets a girl who lives in an Amazonian village and learns more about the Amazon and its people than he could have ever imagined.

I really enjoyed this book! I will say, from the description, I had no idea what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying this story. While I know this story is fictional, it seemed incredibly fantastical at points - and then I started thinking about what little I know about the Native Americans in the US, and much of this lines up with what I understand their worldview to be. So in some ways, this story was an interesting glimpse into the indigenous world view by those who truly rely on the land for their lives.

For enjoyment, I'll go 8 of 10. It was a quick read but an enjoyable adventure novel and different perspective into someone else's worldview. While 400 pages, it's a really quick read. I finished off the last 150 in about an hour last night. So I'll go 4.5 of 5 for readability. Also, I think the YA rating is mostly due to length. I think your average 9 or 10 year old could probably read this book content-wise if the length wasn't an issue for them. I'd almost lean more middle grade. Check this one out! I'll have to look for the next one in the series and see if I can find it!

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