Feathers in the Fire

Feathers in the Fire plays on the primative human fear of the humanoid monster, depicted by the evil Amos. Amos becomes evil and twisted because of his childhood--his father's refusal to recognize him and the fact that he was almost put to death just after birth. This mirrors Janie Gibson's birth circumstances in The Maltese Angel, but Janie gets to have a happy future, not the tragic, if well-deserved ending of Amos. A gritty, great read.

I read this book in only a few days. I could not put it down. The characters of Davie, Molly, Jane, and especially Amos were written so vividly that I could imagine them in my mind as I was reading. The boy Amos was so cruel one minute and so loving the next, I was always amazed that the ones around him were taken in so easily, but then his handicap made him pitiful and they wanted to love him. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read.