Your Child Abroad: a travel health guide
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Times Educational Supplement
Himalayan Kidnap
Himalayan kidnap is about teenage brothers, Alex and James, who are on a hazardous journey taking a package to their parents in Nepal. They later find out this package contains a ransom to free their parents from the Maoists, a group that opposes the Nepalese government. The book is gripping and the descriptions of the jungle and the wildlife they encounter make you feel that you are there too. On their way, they meet many people some of whom are helpful but they are unsure who they can trust. After avoiding various wild animals, they fall down an unclimbable hole and end up in a vast cave system. Will the squabbling siblings escape?
I thought that the book was extremely good, well-structured and fast moving. I enjoyed reading it so much that I found it hard to put down. I would recommend it for anyone who likes adventure books that don’t drag on, especially if they like wildlife too. It would be good to read to younger children and there are some excellent illustrations as well. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Deri C-H, aged 13
Himalayan Hostages
This is a great read for pre-teens (or anyone young at heart) interested in Nepal, wildlife, or simply adventure! From run-ins with poachers and bears in the jungles of Bardiya, to struggling to survive in a mountain cave, to canoeing down the Karnali River, James and Alex (the protagonists) seem to find adventures wherever they go.
As an American journalist who grew up in Nepal myself, I loved the details in this book about wildlife, Nepali cultures, and politics / social problems. The book deals with a terrible time in Nepal's history - the Maoist civil war, when many ordinary people were stuck in the crossfire between rebels and the state security forces - without simplifying complex issues too much. The book's protagonists view the world from a unique vantage point as "Third Culture Kids." Wilson-Howarth, the author, shows her fondness for Nepal and Nepali people, and also demonstrates her lively imagination and story-telling ability!
Peter Gill