The Last Snake Runner

This book has everything!!!! Time travel, suspense, Native American folklore and history, woven together in a story that sweeps you away from the first page to the last. Little's depiction of the Snake Clan and the Acoma resistance was mesmerizing, the brutality of the Spanish Conquistadors was haunting, and the struggle for Kendall to reconnect with his heritage was gripping. I felt myself carried back in time, just like Kendall. Buy this book, but be careful, because once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down.

This is a wonderful book that weaves together brilliant threads of a boy's search for answers to unacceptable changes in his life. His Native American heritage leads him to the reservation and a subsequent sci-fi journey through time back to his ancient ancestors. Little's handling of one of the more chilling chapters of Native American history -specifically the fascinating culture of the Snake Clan and it's tragic fate at the hands of the conquistadors-is powerful and beautifully written. A fascinating book not easily forgotten!

Gr 6-10-A sequel to Enchanted Runner (Avon, 1999), this book stands on its own as a work of historical fiction and a time-travel story. Kendall, 14, has rediscovered his Native American roots in New Mexico at the Acoma Pueblo, ancestral home of his mother's family. He is the last of the Snake Clan, a long line of warriors and mystics responsible for carrying out the yearly ceremonies that propitiate the gods and bring rain. In his modern existence, he is struggling to deal with the death of his mother. When his father remarries, the teen cannot accept the woman, and he flees into the desert. Transported back to 1598, he becomes part of the vibrant life of the Acoma people, who live on a mesa and farm the surrounding land. The tribe's interaction with a group of Spaniards outfitted in armor results in tragic and devastating consequences, with Kendall a participant, witness, and one of the few survivors. The violence and brutality are powerfully portrayed in this action-filled story. Details of everyday life on the mesa and the people's strong spiritual connection to the land are what make this book stand apart from many other time-travel stories. An author's note explains that the historical events described are based on an eyewitness account by one of the Spanish soldiers. The novel succeeds as a fast-paced adventure and as a meditation on the consequences of a clash of dissimilar cultures.-David Pauli, Hillsboro Public Library, OR Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Before I read this book, I was intrigued by the time travel aspect of this story, but what became the most gripping part was the history of the now extinct Snake Clan and how they became that way. Ms. Little's research is exceptional and she weaves the ficitional character of Kendall so beautifully into the real tragic story of the Snake Clan. What would become of him kept me turning the pages. Her characterization is wonderful. I felt like I really knew the people in this story. And her ending is perfect--just what you would want it to be. I can't wait to read it to my students. This story of the Snake Clan is not well known, but this book and her epilogue brings real understanding to the history of all Native Americans and the Spanish Conquistodors of the 1500's.

Before I read this book, I was intrigued by the time travel aspect of this story, but what became the most gripping part was the history of the now extinct Snake Clan and how they became that way. Ms. Little's research is exceptional and she weaves the fictional character of Kendall so beautifully into the real tragic story of the Snake Clan. What would become of him kept me turning the pages. Her characterization is wonderful. I felt like I really knew the people in this story. And her ending is perfect--just what you would want it to be. I can't wait to read it to my students. This story of the Snake Clan is not well known, but this book and the author's note brings real understanding to the history of all Native Americans and the Spanish Conquistadors of the 1500's.