A Gift for Ampato

by Susan Vande Griek, Mary Jane Gerber (Illustrations)

During a time of hardship in her Inca village, Timta, one of the chosen maidens, is picked to be the sacrifice offered to the gods on Mount Ampato, but she is not happy to be the one selected, unlike her friend Karwa, in a story about the mummy of a young woman from Inca times discovered in 1995.During a time of hardship, Timta is picked to be sacrificed on Mount Ampato, in a story about a mummy from Inca times found in 1995

Genres: Historical Fiction

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Leanne Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As soon as I discovered there was another novel out there with a girl protagonist that took place during the height of the Incan empire, I was excited to read it. The author did a great job of researching and incorporating her knowledge of the Incans into the book. There is a lot of Quechua sprinkled throughout, and I wonder if it might be confusing for readers who aren't familiar with the language. The Quechua glossary in the back is comprehensive, but flipping back and forth throughout a book can get frustrating. I was bothered by what seemed to be un-Incan attitudes (Anpato doesn't want to be sacrificed, the older woman Riti is angry with the gods and what has happened to her), but in the Author's Note, the author acknowledges that these characters are behaving in ways that probably aren't in keeping with the Incan ways. The character development is sparse, but then again, it is a short book.

[Lady Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such an odd book. Although a children's novel, the focus is on a young Incan girl who is chosen to be a sacrifice to the gods. She doesn't relish her role and spends much of the book worrying about it. She is saved in the end... from an interesting source.

While I enjoyed the true historical facts of an archaeological find back in 1995, that appear in one page segments throughout the story, and the unusual setting (or at least I haven't come across many children's novels that focus on South American history), overall I found the story rather ridiculous and I really can't think of very many, or any for that matter, children who would devour this story. It just wasn't fleshed out enough for a story that focus on such a gruesome topic, and wasn't light hearted enough for such a short and simply written story.