Beneath Caaqi’s Wings

by Rich Shapero

Can a band of adolescents fashion a new social order?

Jema, the cheerful and well-liked teenage daughter of the Governor, spends summers with her family and a group of children at a jungle retreat far from the capital. She and Kris, the Chancellor’s daughter, have been best friends since childhood.

When their parents are called away to quell an uprising, a terrible fire erupts and the children have to face the challenges of survival on their own. Rangi, elected leader, imposes his recklessness on the tribe; then a troubling rift between Kris and Jema gives way to a more violent one between the boys and girls.

As the conflict deepens and the barbarism of the jungle threatens to resurface, a strange parrot visits Jema, whispering cryptic utterances in her ear, daring her to shed her childish assumptions and do what the jungle requires to become a woman . . .

With fable-like resonance and unflinching vision, Beneath Caaqi’s Wings imagines the tribulations of a teenage society without adults, and suggests how the passage into adulthood demands a confrontation with darker impulses that lurk inside us all.

Genres: Fiction, Amazon, Fantasy

200 pages, Hardcover

Published July 10, 2023

About the author

Rich Shapero’s novels dare readers with giant metaphors, magnificent obsessions and potent ideas. His casts of idealistic lovers, laboring miners, and rebellious artists all rate ideas as paramount, more important than life itself. They traverse wild landscapes and visionary realms, imagining gods who in turn imagine them. Like the seekers themselves, readers grapple with revealing truths about human potential. All of his titles—Beneath Caaqi's Wings, Dissolve, Island Fruit Remedy, Balcony of Fog, Rin, Tongue and Dorner, Arms from the Sea, The Hope We Seek, Too Far and Wild Animus—are available in hardcover and as ebooks. They also combine music, visual art, animation and video in the TooFar Media app. Shapero spins provocative stories for the eyes, ears, and imagination.

Reviews

[Dani Elliott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good god- this was one of the worst, most racist pieces of media that I’ve had the misfortune of reading. I think I would have been less offended if Rich Sharpero came to my house and shot me in the face himself, honestly. This isn’t a book- it’s a poorly researched manifesto.

[Reader Views · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Beneath Caaqi’s Wings,” a novel by author Rich Shapero, offers young adult readers a new version of looking at the question of whether a group of teenagers can survive on their own and create a new life when they have lost everything… their families, their homes, and their way of life.

In “Beneath Caaqi’s Wings,” readers are introduced to Jema, a normal teenage girl in the village who is liked by everyone and learning to fall in love. Jema is the Governor’s daughter but spends her summers with her family and a large group of friends in a small haven that is far away from the capital and her father’s work and problems. We also met Kris, who is the daughter of the Chancellor and Jema’s closest friend. They and their families have known each other since they were small children and there is no one that Jema feels closer to.

When all the parents must leave to go back to the capital due to an emergency, the children are left on their own and a catastrophic fire erupts which destroys the village and the few adults that remained. As the group elects a leader in Rangi, a reckless teen who cares more about his own power than his new charges and a break begins to occur in the close relationship between Jema and Kris, this new group must try to figure out how to survive in their new world in the jungle.

Throughout all of the conflicts, danger, and learning, Jema is visited often by a very strange bird, Caaqi. As he whispers in her ear ideas about how she will need to change her beliefs and do things that a woman must do to survive, we get to see Jema change and grow up as she attempts to help herself and the others.

Rich Shapero gives the readers a new vision of the hardships and threats that face a society with no adults for guidance and he does it with amazing imagery in his writing. This story shows that there are always dark urges in each of us that we must carry and learn how to deal with in order to survive and make things safe for those around us.

The characters in this book, from the most prominent to the secondary, are so very well-written. It is easy to feel a part of each of them as we read and to be proud of them or scared for them as they move forward in this new world. In addition, the wonderfully descriptive writing takes each reader to the village, jungle, or even to talk to this amazing bird, as if we are actually a part of the story and in these locations.

“Beneath Caaqi’s Wings” is an extraordinary story and I would recommend it for young adults and grown adults both. It definitely gives the reader a chance to look into themselves and wonder what instincts are in themselves and how they would be able to handle the tragic situation that these characters find themselves in. I enjoyed it immensely and I think that you will as well. I am looking forward to what Mr. Shapero will come up with in his next book. 5 Stars!!

[Alex]

I want to preface that this is just my personal opinion and books are so personal and speak to everyone differently. I found it hard to read and get through. Some of the descriptions bothered me. It was very Lord of the Flies adjacent and was difficult for me to read about children descending into chaos. Not my cup of tea.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, although found it disturbing at times because the actions of the characters reflected those of many people we come across, no matter their age. The story is reminiscent of the book, "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, with the interesting twist of throwing girls into the mix of boys. The suspense builds as we see how friendship, trust, jealously, envy and betrayal fling the characters to a thrilling climax.

[Becky Clip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers and Rick Shapero for a free copy of this book courtesy of goodreads giveaway. Unfortunately, this book was not my cup of tea. The writing was well done, I just simply could not get into/follow the storyline. I would definitely still be interested in trying other books written by Rick Shapero as he is a very talented writer.

[David Zandona · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s like lord of the flies but they’re teenagers and it’s incredibly problematic and uncomfy

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF’d after 12 pages. Disjointed writing and racist descriptions. What does a “native” person look like? What’s an “Asian look”? Ugh.

[Allison Damico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave off a very lord of the flies meets fable vibe where all the children are left to fend for themselves after an uprising which many adults left to deal with and then a rampant fire. They are battling nature, the jungle and most importantly themselves. The appointed leader Rangi is pretty unlikable and it had me supporting Jema wanting her to take charge but also grappling with the fact that they are just kids. Caaqi is a bird that whispers to Jema about growing up and surviving the current situation which leads me more into a fable. Rich Shapero really immerses us in this book with his use of descriptive language and imagery and I enjoyed the way he writes (just not the overall structure).

There is some digital art on YouTube that I found interesting as well that you can see how the author dreamt up the scenery in the book. It was interesting to put what I thought the book took place vs. the authors. Each chapter is given its own animation.

Wanted the chapters to be broken down way more. It felt like the chapters went on far too long when there could have been logical breaks within them. I felt like this made me not want to pick up the book as often because I needed to set aside a good amount of time. I personally like to finish chapters before setting the book back down since there should be a reason it was all contained within that one chapter. I think with some editing of the chapter length I would rate this higher. #goodreadsgiveaway

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was just fine, like not bad, it was pretty ok.

Some of the writing was a bit clunky and didn’t flow well. There were scenes that didn’t make much sense and were kind of confusing. If a writer is supposed to paint me a picture of a scene this one painted more of a a vague representation of one.

For the main characters the characterization was alright, they weren’t exactly dripping with personality. Most of the characters actually had no characterization at all to me they were essentially just names in a book.

I did think the premise was interesting. It’s clearly inspired by lord of the flys and I always liked that genre of premise. The story was interesting and it did make me want to see what was going to happen next.

I think that it also did a good job with characterizing Rangi as a complete psychopath and did a good job with portraying a descent into savagery.

Frankly to me the most interesting part about this book is its origin.

Enough reviewers have already talked about how weird this author is look it up if you’re interested.

[Jetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Rich Shapero's Beneath Caaqi's Wings. The writing is lyrical and beautiful, and the story is both a suspenseful page-turner and also very thought-provoking. Teenagers and younger children are left without adult supervision when a fire kills their parents and consumes their summer houses on an island that consists of mostly jungle, destroying the life they have known. They have to survive and imagine a new society without adults, but factions soon form along gender lines and things devolve quickly. All the while a mystical winged creature communicates with the true leaders among the teenagers, urging them to "grow up" by doing what seemed before the fire to be unimaginable (no spoilers!) ... The setup for this story is similar to Lord of the Flies, but where it goes is different and very imaginative. I highly recommend that you read Beneath Caaqi's Wings and see for yourself!

[Alexa Bowdler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in a giveaway and throughly enjoyed it. I would round this rating up to 4.5 and one of the big reasons was the amazing digital art that went along with the story. I read the book first and watched the videos as soon as I finished. It was a really cool experience I haven’t had before. I read another review that compared this book to the Lord of the Flies but with both genders and a mix of ages, and I would agree with that. If that wasn’t your cup of tea…this book won’t be either. I will say there was nothing overtly graphic in this book, and even darker scenes are described with very ethereal writing. This book, as short as it is, definitely requires a little contemplation, and I’m interested to dig into some of its metaphors. If you’re on the fence about reading this one, I would suggest watching the digital art videos first. The tone of them matched the story well.

[Donna Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the story was interesting- how would adolescents survive, thrive and grow when left alone without any adults remaining? I enjoyed witnessing the survival skills kick in but didn’t enjoy the violence. As time goes on, power struggles begin and evil is left unchecked. I skimmed over the detailed violent scene near the end of the book - I didn’t really enjoy that part. I also wasn’t moved by the interactions with Caaqi, the parrot. It was a character I didn’t really connect with - I must have missed some deep meaning. If I’m honest, I didn’t want to work that hard at analyzing its meaning.

[Angie Waller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won a copy on Goodreads giveaways. I enjoyed the story but not so much the writing. A couple of times the story was hard to follow exactly what was happening. Loved the growth of characters that’s always important in a story. Chapters were way longer than I like chapters to be. But that’s just me. I like to be able to end my reading sessions which sometimes are only 10 or 15 min at a chapter. Wasn’t able to do that with this book. But I did enjoy the story overall.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I want to thank the publisher for sending me this arc through goodreads. This is not something I would have normally picked up myself.
They being said the writing is beautiful and the story is late turning but it’s not necessarily my flavor.
I think the authors writing is lyrical and I would absolutely read another one of his books. This story just wasn’t for me.

[lalunenoire · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is victory in survival.

Caaqi speaks to us in our voice, the voice of our children, of our parents - calls upon us to experience change - to witness our shortcomings and overcome them. The Storm. A wild existence of Fire and Rain, madcap, descending.

A special word of appreciation goes to TooFar Media Books for providing an opportunity to review.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving this 3 stars because I don’t really know what to think… the characters were disturbing, but I kind of get where they were coming from?? I’m walking away from this Goodreads giveaway win questioning what I would do if in this situation, and also why I just spent the last few hours subjecting myself to this.

[Jadon Stronge · Rating 5 out of 5]

probably one of my top reads of the year.
@richshaperoauthor's so prodigously cryptic i had the thought that it reads like someone who's first language isn't english, yet has perfect mastery of it
im glad i saved most of this read for my vacation to the virgin islands. the setting perfectly complemented the context of the book

[Mike Cuesta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I picked it up from a local bookstore and did my best to enjoy this book, but I simply didn’t. It covers some serious topics from a children’s pov but it was hard to get through. Not upset I read it but I wouldn’t recommend.

[Sherry Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Rich Shapero that I have read and it won’t be the last! So good!!! It was a page turner from beginning to end!
I loved the characters, the suspense, and excitement!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coed "Lord of the Flies" meets "Survivor." Compelling with a disturbing end.

[Ellison · Rating 3 out of 5]

jungle dwellers have their town burn down in flames and all the adults are lost. the children aspire to survive, lord of the donner party flies.

[Deanna French · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I could really feel the characters. I would love to have found out what happened to the people who left, though.