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Overview
Overview
"A ripping adventure with] a show-stopping finale."--Wall Street Journal
"The stuff of legends."--Attica Locke
"Powerful, sly, and often charming."--Daniel Woodrell
A New York Times Editors' Choice pick
The poignant odyssey of a tenacious young girl who braves the dangers of the Texas frontier to avenge her mother's death Early one morning in the remote hill country of Texas, a panther savagely attacks a family of homesteaders, mauling a young girl named Samantha and killing her mother, whose final act is to save her daughter's life. Samantha and her half brother, Benjamin, survive, but she is left traumatized, her face horribly scarred. Narrated in Benjamin's beguilingly plainspoken voice, The Which Way Tree is the story of Samantha's unshakeable resolve to stalk and kill the infamous panther, rumored across the Rio Grande to be a demon, and avenge her mother's death. In their quest she and Benjamin, now orphaned, enlist a charismatic Tejano outlaw and a haunted, compassionate preacher with an aging but relentless tracking dog. As the members of this unlikely posse hunt the panther, they are in turn pursued by a hapless but sadistic Confederate soldier with troubled family ties to the preacher and a score to settle. In the tradition of the great pursuit narratives, The Which Way Tree is a breathtaking saga of one steadfast girl's revenge against an implacable and unknowable beast. Yet with the comedic undertones of Benjamin's storytelling, it is also a timeless tale full of warmth and humor, and a testament to the enduring love that carries a sister and brother through a perilous adventure with all the dimensions of a legend.
"The stuff of legends."--Attica Locke
"Powerful, sly, and often charming."--Daniel Woodrell
A New York Times Editors' Choice pick
The poignant odyssey of a tenacious young girl who braves the dangers of the Texas frontier to avenge her mother's death Early one morning in the remote hill country of Texas, a panther savagely attacks a family of homesteaders, mauling a young girl named Samantha and killing her mother, whose final act is to save her daughter's life. Samantha and her half brother, Benjamin, survive, but she is left traumatized, her face horribly scarred. Narrated in Benjamin's beguilingly plainspoken voice, The Which Way Tree is the story of Samantha's unshakeable resolve to stalk and kill the infamous panther, rumored across the Rio Grande to be a demon, and avenge her mother's death. In their quest she and Benjamin, now orphaned, enlist a charismatic Tejano outlaw and a haunted, compassionate preacher with an aging but relentless tracking dog. As the members of this unlikely posse hunt the panther, they are in turn pursued by a hapless but sadistic Confederate soldier with troubled family ties to the preacher and a score to settle. In the tradition of the great pursuit narratives, The Which Way Tree is a breathtaking saga of one steadfast girl's revenge against an implacable and unknowable beast. Yet with the comedic undertones of Benjamin's storytelling, it is also a timeless tale full of warmth and humor, and a testament to the enduring love that carries a sister and brother through a perilous adventure with all the dimensions of a legend.
- Format: TradePaperback
- Author: Crook, Elizabeth
- ISBN: 9780316434942
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 8.20 x 0.80
- Number Of Pages: 288
- Publication Year: 2019
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A Great Texas Tale
DEBRA N. - 4 years 9 months agoAs a Texan, I enjoyed the reference to locations I recognized. Our book club spoke to the author via Zoom and she was fascinating, too! She really researches the historical details for accuracy.
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A sweet novel about two children surviving a very hard life.
Eva O. - 6 years 2 months agoThis “adventure tale,” the pursuit of a panther (mountain lion) that has caused the half-siblings of the story great harm, is recounted by the adolescent older brother, Benjamin. The story takes in the Hill Country of Texas during the Civil War, although the recounting takes place after the war as the law was bringing to justice individuals who had committed crimes against civilians during the war. Benjamin, at seventeen, essentially has sole guardianship of his half-sister, two years his junior. It is her strong will and obsession for vengeance, likened to that of Ahab’s for the whale, that precipitates many of the events of the story. Benjamin’s story is rich, and one can easily forget that there is a contemporary woman writing his words. A sweet novel about two children surviving a very hard life.