Unbroken

by Bill K. Underwood

Young Felipe Ferrer’s life is turned upside down one day in 1518 when Hernan Cortes rides into the Ferrer stable yard in Cuba. Cortes is planning his expedition to Yucatán and is in desperate need of horses. When Felipe’s father refuses to sell, Cortes cheats him out of his prize stallion, Majesty, and sends Ferrer to debtor’s prison. To save Felipe from the prison, Ferrer arranges for Felipe to go along with Cortes as Majesty’s groom.
Thus begins the greatest challenge of Felipe’s young Get free, get home, save the family farm and exonerate his father. Along the way he will deal with bullies, thieves and a Mayan king. He will save a prince, save a girl, and save a horse.

Genres: Adventure

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2018

Reviews

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see this listed on Amazon as a children's book but I felt it was better for young adults and older. Adults of any age will find the historical research meticulous and fascinating and particularly if you have visited the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. My husband and I have climbed some of the those ruins and this well written story brings to life the culture and lifestyle of the Indigenous Mayans.

The young Felix is a well drawn and lovable character and the reader roots for him all the way as he works fearlessly towards the goal of having his father released from prison. A fascinating adventure that has the reader gripped from start to finish.

[Janet DeCastro · Rating 3 out of 5]

MG - ADULT, HISTORICAL FICTION, CUBA, 1519, SPANISH CONQUISTADORS
"GOLD - GLORY - GOD" (in that order!)
I enjoyed the story of young Felipe (1/2 Taino and 1/2 Spanish) from Cuba who is thrown into the situation of having to save his Father, the Farm and a stallion named Majesty from the wrath of Cortes, on his way to find gold in the Mayan region of the Yucatan Peninsula. The history of actual events and people are couched within the fictional story. Interesting!

My problems with the story are: Young Felipe is too wise for his age. His "voice" is that of an adults. There was no character growth as he is able to solve problems beyond his years. Felipe is the main POV character - but POVs are mixed within scenes. I read the Pbk version - font size is small and lines are single or 1.5 spaced with very little white space. This might discourage a younger reader, even though the content is appropriate for the tween reader. I liked the fact that Felipe's "talent" was his ability to speak multiple languages, taught to him by his Mother and Father - and this helps him to "save the day!"

[Terry]

BTSYA / Teen Reader (16): I didn't really like the book. I almost fell asleep (not going to lie). I liked the beginning of the book the most when there wasn’t any stabbing or being locked in the jail cell like prisoners. There were a lot of Spanish words with no translation, so some of the sentences didn’t make sense to me. Even so, I would say that it isn't a book I would read often, but it is informational.

[Ella Montei · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me awhile to get into but about halfway through it go more interesting.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbroken

The author blended a wonderful mix of history, horses and a well written cast of characters with a good storyline.