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Summary: Review for Heart of a Jaguar
Review: Heart of a Jaguar By Marc Talbert"It's literally heart stopping"-Lydia By Lydia
I think that Heart of a Jaguar is a good novel. It tells the tale of a boy, Balam, waiting to become a man. When a drought plagues his village, everyone tries to bring rain. However, the rituals are a bit sordid, so I would recommend this to mature readers.
This book depicts what happened in the Post-Classic period of the Mayas. Rituals in the book are not made up, but quite real. Mark Talbert did a good job of studying and preparing for the book. He was well ready to write the book.
The author's note is helpful because it sets the location, two days away from Chichen Itza. However, the tone buttered you up. This was a good book, but could have had a few lighter points.
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Summary: Heart of a Jaguar Review
Review: Heart of a Jaguar is a fascinating book. You don't know what's going to happen until the end. You have to keep on reading. This is a book that opens excitingly and holds you interest all the way through. It is beautifully crafted and written.
The exotic jungle setting and the Mayan everyday life are different and give you a taste of a unique culture. Through this book you live the life of a 14-year-old boy. The adventure is stunning, and if you read this book, you'll experience it too. The characters add to the story. The plot is dramatic and you won't be just reading, you'll be living it too.
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Summary: Heart of a Jaguar Review
Review: Heart of a Jaguar is a superb book for young adults. Though there is some blood and fighting explained in great detail, it is a tale of great interest. This book explains about a boy, Balam and his hardships. Balam, a descendent of the Maya, has trouble finding his place in his village. He is not a boy, but not yet a man. His village, along with many others is experiancing a great drought. Over all, Heart of a Jaguar is an extrodinary tale of a boy who is asked to make the biggest desion of his life. This novel is geared for young adults, and contains some mature material and violence.
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Summary: Heart of a Jaguar
Review: Heart of a Jaguar is a very good book. It gives very graphic details. The plot is a little weird. The book has good info on the Maya on how the Maya lived. I think that you would have to know a bit about the Maya before you read it. I would suggest this book to somebody interested in the Maya.
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Summary: Gory, and not the best book either
Review: Heart of a Jaguar is about Balam, a Mayan boy. His village is experiencing a severe drought. They give a lot of blood to the gods, but it still doesn't rain! In the process of giving blood, there are some very disgusting parts. Meanwhile, strange things happen to Balam. A fish from Xibalba (the underworld) appears, and he meets his dead twin brother and mother. Eventually, they decide someone must be sacrificed. I didn't really like this story because some parts were disgusting, and I didn't like the plot either.
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Summary: Heart of a Jaguar is an excellent, compelling book
Review: Heart of a Jaguar is an excellent novel. You won't be able to put it down. It opens in a scene of high intensity, then slows down a bit. For the most part, Heart of a Jaguar has non-stop action, but is never so intense it prevents you from enjoying the book. Balam, the main character of the story, slays a jaguar at one point, and this is a very exiting part to read. The story goes into some detail of this, but not so much to gross the reader out.
This book is a must-read for anyone at all interested in the Maya, and recommended reading for anyone else. It is fast-paced, exiting, and compelling. You should definitely read this book.
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Summary: Weak Plot Hurts Mayan Novel
Review: Heart of a Jaguar is well written with reasonably good descriptions, but does not have a good plot. On the back of the book, it talks about how the city is having a bad drought and they try sacrificing a dog, but it doesn't bring rain, and will they ask Balam to make the greatest sacrifice of all? When I read this it told me exactly what would happen in the end, but I won't give it away. None of the stuff on the back of the book happened until some time near the end. Random events occured up to the ceremony that weren't that important to the story. This book is accurate with what the Mayan culture was like, but has a very bad plot. Also, this book gets very descriptive with the bloody descriptions when it is not incredibly important. Overall, I didn't really like this book
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Summary: EAGLE school review (a student)
Review: Heart of a Jaguar was a fun book to read, but I wouldn't reccomend it to anyone who doesn't like violence. This book is not gory except for a few scenes which are really bloody. I gave this book 2 stars (I would have given it 2.5, but I can't) because I am not a gory and bloody person. The book is a good read (about 210 pages). I liked most of the book, but some was not my favorite(the bloody parts). Heart of a Jaguar is about a boy who lives in a village around the time of the Maya. His village is near Chichen Itza. The main problem in the book is the village is having a drout. The village needs water to grow maize and the gods won't provide rain. They do may rituals and sacrifices but it isn't enough. Balam kills a Jaguar but it may not be enough. Will the Jaguar bring rain and what will happen to Balam? Read Heart of a Jaguar to find out.
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Summary: Heart of a Jaguar rewiem
Review: I really like this book. Marc Talbert, the author, does a good job describing the characters and the setting. I really like how the characters are in this book, for example, the main character Balam a boy going to man hood wants to please the gods. If you would like to read about the Mayas, Heart of a Jaguar would be a good book for you. I would also recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure. This book has some violence, which is scary; because of the sacrifices people do in this book.
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Summary: Heart of a Jaguar: The Review
Review: I think that Heart of a Jaguar is a very good novel. There are only a few places that it could be improved. Especially in the fight of the bachelors, it was a bit too gruesome. The violence in the fight could have definitely been removed. Even though that probably happened in the Maya civilization, Marc Talbert did not have to include it in the book.
Heart of a Jaguar was a very vivid book, especially in the dreams of a young boy. Marc Talbert was able to create a very real story that was very clear and plausible (within the Mayan empire). The ending was very detailed also though it was expected.
The author's note in the beginning sets the scene of the story very well. The book takes place two days away from the collapsed Mayan city. The book is written about the 1200s in the Post-Classic Mayan period. It greatly develops the story of the novel and prepares you for this excellent book.
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