Annie Laura Smith (Children's Literature)
The reader travels on a suspenseful journey through the nineteenth-century American southwest as fourteen-year-old Siki becomes a warrior of her Black Mountain Apache tribe. She sets this course after witnessing the death of her little brother at the hands of Mexican raiders. She is taught the skills to be a warrior by the tribe’s greatest warrior, Golahka, a tough task master who puts her through rigorous qualifying tests. Her skills and determination grow during this training. The quest to become a warrior and avenge her brother’s death leads to her discovery about her own identity and is a testimony of how to deal with personal loss. The author captures Siki’s wisdom and courage through the first person point of view and immediately involves the reader in her mission. Inspiration for the story comes from historical accounts of a woman warrior who fought alongside Geronimo. The book was on the short list for the 2008 Carnegie Medal in Literature for children’s books. Their review noted that the book was “disconcertingly powerful, with a lasting emotional impact.” This assessment superbly defines this well-crafted adventure in historical fiction. 2008, Candlewick Press, $17.99. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 13))
This absorbing tale of a teenage Apache girl who becomes a warrior comes to readers from a British author fascinated by the subject. Landman did her historical homework well, her research including both primary and secondary resources and enabling her to tell the story not only of her protagonist, Siki, but also of the ultimately futile struggles of the Apache to save their homeland from encroaching invaders. She witnesses the deaths of nearly her whole family at the hands of Mexicans and vows revenge. More talented with weaponry than women's work, she enters training as a warrior and is accepted by most, but not all, of her male companions. The lively narrative is peppered with action scenes, all loosely based on historical events, and with Siki's speculations about her missing father. Her clairvoyant experiences become a vehicle for exploring the Apaches' religious beliefs. Constantly engrossing, this offering will engage young readers in a way no textbook can. (historical note, bibliography) 2008, Candlewick, 320p, $17.99. Category: Historical fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, July 2008 (Vol. 42, No. 4))
A dramatic story, with a dramatic cover, telling of an adolescent girl who chooses to be a warrior to avenge the death of her little brother when Mexicans attacked her Apache tribe. The first enemies are Mexicans, and then the white settlers coming through Apache territory become the Apaches’ enemies. The author is British and this is her first book published in America. She based the story of her heroine, Siki, on a historical figure, Lozen, “a woman warrior who rode beside Geronimo.” There is a bibliography of 16 sources for further research. Siki is something of a loner, an orphan whose father, mother and younger brother are dead. It is the savage death of her beloved four-year-old brother, which Siki witnesses hiding in a tree, which drives her to the decision to train to be a warrior. Her mentor becomes an older tribal leader, Golahka, who lost his wife and children in the same attack and understands Siki’s rage. The bulk of the story is Siki’s training and her experiences of warfare. Lurking in the shadows is a secret about Siki’s father, only revealed in the final pages, and this revelation is crucial to Siki’s identity. Hence the title becomes ever more important to understanding Siki’s story. Landman is careful in her historical details, but without using historical names and places. The major relationship, that between Siki and Golahka, is riveting and unusual. Reading this story, we learn a lot more about the Apache struggle for survival as their lands are threatened by Mexicans and then by white settlers. Siki is a memorable YA heroine. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2008, Candlewick, 305p. bibliog., $17.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Harolyn Legg (Library Media Connection, April 2009)
Set on the Arizona/Mexico border, Siki watches as the Mexican army kills most of the women and children of her Apache tribe. She is determined to avenge her mother’s and brother’s deaths by becoming a warrior and killing the Mexican responsible. Golahka, the head warrior, takes her under his wing and teaches her all she needs to learn about becoming an Apache warrior. Siki gets to avenge the deaths but finds out that her father, who the tribe thought had been killed in battle, is alive. Siki finds it hard to accept that her father is Mexican, not Apache. Rather than stay with him, Siki chooses to return to her tribal family, knowing that she will probably be killed by the same men her father lives with. This story is based on a book about Geronimo that the author read. Landman gives the reader a sense of the love for the land that Native Americans have and how they had to fight to keep their lands from being spoiled. I think both boys and girls will enjoy this work but you might have to do some booktalking to convince them. Recommended. 2008, Candlewick Press, 320pp., $17.99 hc. Ages 13 to 16.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2009)
After her little brother is murdered by Mexican soldiers, fourteen-year-old Siki decides to follow the path toward becoming an Apache Indian warrior. Her actions bring revenge but not peace as she struggles to understand violence, love, loyalty, and the mystery of her identity. Though its historical and cultural accuracy are suspect, the story itself is compelling. Bib. Category: Older Fiction. 2008, Candlewick, 312pp, 17.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Jenny Ingram (VOYA, December 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 5))
In the nineteenth-century American Southwest, fourteen-year-old Siki, an orphaned Apache girl, witnesses the murder of her four-year-old brother and vows revenge on the Mexicans who killed him. She becomes the sole female warrior in her tribe, trained by Golahka, whose wife and child were murdered at the same time as Siki's brother. Recognizing Siki's skill at seeing past and future events when she enters a landscape, Golahka chooses her to accompany the band of warriors on their revenge missions, the final one leaving Golahka dead and Siki pregnant with his child. The narration by Siki is awkward and unnatural, written as if the British author drew upon American Indian movies to write her book. In her afterword, Landman writes that she made no attempt to create an accurate historical novel, yet a bibliography follows, which will mislead readers about the credibility of the book. The audience for the novel is unclear; the protagonist is female, but the brutal nature of the story will not appeal to most girls. Teachers looking for a novel about the complex relationships among Mexico, the United States, and the indigenous nations in the American Southwest should look to Oyate (http://www.oyate.org) or to Native American Debbie Reese's blog American Indians in Children's Literature (http://www.americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com) for a better specimen. VOYA CODES: 1Q 2P J (Hard to understand how it got published; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2008, Candlewick, 320p., $17.99. Ages 12 to 15.