Captive Spirit - Book Review

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Captive Spirit by Liz Fichera (e-book)

What is it about:
Sonoran Desert. Dawn of the sixteenth century.
Aiyana isn't like the other girls of the White Ant Clan. Instead of keeping house, she longs to compete on the Ball Court with her best friend Honovi and the other boys. Instead of marriage, she daydreams of traveling beyond the mountains that surround her small village. Only Honovi knows and shares her forbidden wish, though Aiyana doesn't realize her friend has a secret wish of his own...
When Aiyana's father arranges her marriage to a man she hardly knows, she takes the advice of a tribal elder: run! In fleeing, she falls into the hands of Spanish raiders and finds herself being taken over the mountains against her will. Now Aiyana's on a quest to return to the very place she once dreamed of escaping. And she'll do whatever it takes to survive and find her way back to the people she loves.

What did I think of it:
I must confess I wasn't too impressed by the start of the story which felt unnecessarily complicated in my opinion, but once Aiyana gets kidnapped by the Spanish raiders the story picks up and soon I was caught up in Aiyana's hardships. The story is for Young Adults, but older readers will enjoy it as well I think. I especially like all the details about the life of Aiyana's people and of the other people she encounters on her forced journey. It could have been a bit longer in my opinion though and in particular some of the obstacles in Aiyana's path could have been dragged out a bit more to create more tension. That being said: It was an enjoyable read.

Why should you read it:
If you like Historical Native American stories you will most probably like this book.

* I got this book for review from the publisher through Netgalley