Product Description

Siki is an orphan of the Black Mountain Apache. Her mother was killed by Mexicans three years ago and her father lost in an ambush the winter before that. When Siki witnesses the brutal murder of her little brother Tazhi, she vows to become an Apache warrior and avenge her brother's death.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108148 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Tanya Landman runs Storybox Theatre, a touring puppet theatre for children, with her husband Rod Burnett. She is the author of the junior novel Waking Merlin (978-1-4063-0250-9) and its sequel Merlin's Apprentice (978-1-4063-0201-1); Flotsam and Jetsam (978-1-84428-119-0) and its sequel Flotsam and Jetsam and the Stormy Surprise (978-1-4063-0280-6); and The World's Bellybutton (978-1-4063-0089-5). Tanya has two children and lives in Devon.

Customer Reviews

Apache by Tanya Landman
I loved 'Apache'. This is an enthralling tale, and also a powerful insight into the injustices suffered by the native American peoples. Siki's story is compelling, touching, awful and beautiful. It holds a message of endurance and bravery. What I most liked about the central character is that she is a strong young woman succeeding - excelling - in a man's world. In that sense it has a contemporary aspect especially important for teenage girls to think about. When I was reading this book, I was comparing Siki's controversial life choice with the recent news story of the one female marine captured and held hostage in Iran, who also happens to be a young mother. Are these women unnatural to want to fight for their people's rights instead of staying at home to carry out their domestic duties? Or are they being true to themselves? This and many other thought-provoking issues are explored in Apache - our attitudes towards the health of the planet on which life depends, and the destruction of traditional peoples and their world views.

All this is presented in a poignant and poetic style through which we hear the voice of the Apache people. Landman's writing is first-class, authentic and lyrical. I was especially drawn to the way that Siki has premonitions and other-worldly visions which connect her to the spiritual and natural landscape. 'Apache' is an exciting story with lots of twists and turns in the plot which kept me on tenterhooks until the unexpected denouement. Thoroughly recommended!

An astonishing story
I definitely judged this book by its cover - it's the most affecting, haunting, beautiful photograph. And in this case my gut feeling was absolutely right. I really couldn't put it down. It is fiction, but the way the author writes about this tribe of native Americans makes it very real, and sometimes almost unbearably so. A young Apache girl has to find a way to come to terms with the loss of her family and she takes the most challenging route - essentially she becomes a warrior, focused on having her revenge. There is something terrible about her, yet I was cheering her on all the way. It's hard not to draw parallels with contemporary issues of persecution and inter-racial hatred. This story will live with me for a long time.

Outstanding!
This is the best book I've read all year! It reminded me of Lian Hearn's Across the Nightingale Floor. A terrific, moving story of bravery and survival as white settlers invade North America in the 1850s. Siki is an Apache girl who becomes a warrior, seeing things she wishes not to see but powerless to prevent them. There isn't a wasted word in over 300 pages. Well done Tanya Landman - but how did this not win the Carnegie??