Every living human I had ever known was gone. Based on a true story, this disturbing novel of civil war in Guatemala tells of mass atrocity through the first-person narrative of Mayan teenager Gabriela Flores, who witnesses the Latino soldiers' torture, rape, and massacre of Indians, including her own family, before escaping to a refugee camp in Mexico. Without sentimentality or exploitation, the story brings readers up close as Gabriela finds the strength to face survivor guilt and stay alive to bear witness. The facts are never simplistic. Gabriela's world before the soldiers come is happy, but far from idyllic, and although she feels strongly about her heritage, she's not imprisoned by it. A historical note would have been helpful; there are no dates or specific officials' names. But the U.S. government is clearly indicted for arming and training Latino soldiers to fight the Communist guerrillas and drive the Indios from their land. The prose is clear, direct, and graphic, and many readers will want to find out more and talk about it with adults.

Fifteen-year-old Gabriela survives the massacre of her village and subsequent journey to a Mexican refugee camp during the civil war in Guatemala. Based on a true story, this is a terrifying, sad, but ultimately hopeful novel. Readers who can get past the graphic but appropriate violence will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the costs of war.

Mikaelsen offers a chilling account of the Mayan genocide in Guatemala. Rumors of war and sporadic appearances of soldiers disturb the adults in Gabriela's small canton (village). Gabriela wants only to think about her upcoming quinceanera (15th-birthday ceremony) and climbing the trees she loves, but on the night of the party, soldiers steal her brother. The narrative voice falters at the beginning, distractingly full of hindsight, but improves by sounding immediate in the middle. War escalates quickly into rape, torture, and horrifyingly sadistic slaughter, with the peaceful Quiche (Maya Indians) totally at the mercy of Guatemalan soldiers. Gabriela's schoolmates and teacher are shot in front of her; her family and neighbors are murdered and the canton burned while she's at market. Escaping with one sister, Gabriela walks north to Mexico and eventually reaches a refugee camp. Lack of any author's note leaves this little-known, decades-long piece of cruel history (which the UN later ruled genocide) in a void. Still, a bitter and crucial story that needs to be told. (Fiction. YA)

Gr 6-10-In her remote Guatemalan village, 14-year-old Gabriela is known as Tree Girl for her habit of fleeing to the forest and climbing high to escape the world. When guerrilla warfare comes to her area, her life is changed forever. Soldiers eventually discover the small school she attends, beat and murder her teacher, and shoot the other students. Tree climbing saves Gabi from that massacre, and she is away from home when her village is destroyed and nearly all of her family members are murdered. In the course of her flight north to a Mexican refugee camp, she again hides in a tree while soldiers rape and murder the inhabitants of another village. After arriving at the camp, Gabi cares for two elderly women and her one surviving sister and eventually founds a school. Her concern for others helps her recover from the trauma of her experiences. This is a graphic portrayal of the worst of civil war, based on one refugee's story. The author's anger that the U.S. government trained and supported soldiers who committed such atrocities is clear. Details of Guatemalan life are woven throughout the book, but it lacks the sensory descriptions that would allow readers to visualize the setting. Still, the action moves quickly, and Gabi's courage and determination are evident throughout. Readers not put off by the violence should find this an instructive and satisfying survival story.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.