Summary from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Emme Belrose has it all: four best friends, a horse of her own, a hidden tepee hangout, and a blossoming romance with tall and handsome Charlie. These friends also have a secret. They can move their spirits into animal bodies: an osprey, a mustang, a grizzly, a mountain lion and a coyote.
But when Charlie, who has a gift for seeing the future, has a vision of Emme drowning in the icy Yellowstone River, the Spirit Warriors must train their animal bodies to kill an enemy they know is coming… but know nothing about. Suspenseful, romantic, and awash in Native American magic, Spirit Warriors captures the tragic enchantment of the American West—and confirms the power of friendship.
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My Review
The author has managed to literally place you in the book where you can clearly see each detail, smell and feel the wind, and be a part of this wonderful story.
What we have?
Five best friends (Emme, Charlie, Bests, Lilly, Ollie all being in the middle teens), growing up in the freedom of the wild landscape. They find that they have a mission in life.
What the Mission?
They are Spirit Warriors, they can move their own spirit to share the body of an animal, then back to their own body. Each one bond with an animal (horse, bear, mountain lion, osprey and coyote), learned its movements and behaviors. When not inhibiting the animal's body he/she can play with his/her animal and visit their homes.
The set: the countryside Montana, USA. Where the children grew up with horses, farms and native traditions. The historical lessons involving the spirits of the ancestors bring a great flavor to the story.I liked the the Tempo of the life where a year is taken to built one tepee... so five yeas to build a circle of 5 tepees.And Who trained their horses to kill Rattle snakes.
The plot tolled by 16 year old Emme, the daughter of a Montana Rancher. Her group of friends include . Emme think she is ugly as she said: ''Gus and I were soulmates. Two beautiful souls trapped in ugly bodies." Same as Emma I care nothing about chickens, they are messy and mean-spirited creatures. If they find a sore spot or something else wrong with another chicken, they will eventually peck it to death. Her Dad says it is survival of the fittest, but she can’t understand why other bird’s imperfections should mean that they have to die.
Her Dad used to be an English teacher. He quit teaching to take over my grandparents’ ranch after her grandmother died and my grandfather became the town drunk. They don’t talk about that. Emma will discover a few surprising things about him, that will change her mind. Both her parent take care for a musical education she practiced violin and her brother Ben practiced cello.
Charlie the only true Native American in the group and the love of Emme. Tall and muscular with dark tanned skin and straight blackish brown hair that hung over his forehead.Who He wore jeans and no shirt. When he started talking about the Spirit Warriors, there were many people who thought he is crazy. His father left his mother and she couldn’t stand the stress of both things.,and started to drink more and more until she couldn’t remember that she had a son. His grandfather came to pick him and he had transferred to thier school when they were nine years old from the reservation about twenty-five miles away. At the first day he had a seizure. Because of Thunder (one of the 2 horses of Emme family) and his seizures, Emme knew how to treat him.
Charlie believe in the prophecies and spirits of Native American culture. What made him explain his seizures- “The Indian Health doctor calls them seizures, but they are really visions from the Spirit Warriors.” Mean - Charlie is a "seer" that gets visions of the future.He is telling to Emma - “I know who you are. I have been looking for you.”.... “You will die and I must help you to find a way back.” ... “I know about your dreams. I know how you wake up screaming. I know what you dream about.”...“I was sent to protect you.” Charlie hadn’t had any more seizures or visions since that day.
He believes that they need to join together as spirit warriors to fight an evil spirit. Machayiwiw that will come soon and will threaten the lives of the group. In purpose to be at their strongest they must join with animal spirits and use their strengths for the coming battle. Emma claim that sometimes he talks like a 40 years old and he has a wisdom more than an average teen his age should have.
Archie, the foreman on the Flying A Ranch and Charlie's Grandpa. He is the only one who understands Charlie's gift. Archie ran the ranch and worked with the thoroughbreds that Zach Arrington, the owner of the ranch, raised and raced. The horses there were beautiful animals, sleek and pampered, and Archie rode and trained them and they devotedly ran to him when he whistled. The horses were registered with the Jockey Club, and Archie submitted six name options for each colt before the Club decided which one the colt got to have.
With Archie the teenagers camp out in Tepees and learn the stories of The Native American ancestors.
Lilly is Emme's best friend, but she spends her time with her friends, avoiding going home to a father who constantly abuses her. She is thrown a life line by Oscar Hines who leaves his ranch to her upon his death. She is wiser to her own destiny than Emme can believe, and her cheerful character humbles those who know her.
Bets is the brainiac of the group who always asks questions and believes everything can be solved with science and logic. She can be very blunt and mean with what she says. Bets’s dad had a big building close to his house that he made his sculptures in.
Ollie skinny, optimistic and the funny one. Ollie is the the one who say, “Being an only child has privileges.” Who pretant that farts are “barking spiders.” He always the one to lightens up the moods . He was the one to named almost every horse that Zach Arrington owned and yet Zach Arrington had never even met Ollie. He is tech man of the group, he had all the latest technology and video games. He loved music and spent his allowance on music from obscure alternative bands that he loved to share. His parents have a busy lives, and they weren’t around much. His dad was a surgeon and his mom was a nurse who worked in the office with his dad.
Jack Arrington the newcomer. He arrived from Australia to live with his uncle on the Flying A Ranch. He befriends the group instantly. They trusted him and let him in on their secret lives. The group have a very close and supportive friendship which would be the envy of many teenagers, their dress code for the school prom is a prime example. Meanwhile the evil is drawing closer.
Ben Emme's brother with a mop of whitish blond hair falling across his forehead.. He is the talented musician in the family - play cello and violin. Even at his young age, he was better than his mom. Ben said that he could “see” music in the colors of the rainbow, fluctuating with the beat of the music. He could see the music before the next beat played in the colors in his head. He said that music made him feel things.
I also liked how close were their families (except for Lilly's). The adults trusted each other with their children and they protected all of the kids like they were their own. I loved how all treated and cared for Lilly, whose father was an abuser. The other parents took Lilly in, fed her, clothed her and provided for her.
The plot bring in a world of issues from the teen life. It talk about first love, first attraction, which makes it worth for teen and YA market. But it also raise the topics of abuse and homosexuality. This topics only gently raising from between the lines .
''..... I ran to the fire to help Archie cook breakfast. Archie took out his huge, black cast iron skillet. He carefully laid the bacon strips in a row and put the skillet over the fire. I put water in the coffeepot and cracked an egg over the water. I put the grounds on top of the egg. Archie taught me how to make coffee like that. The egg would catch and hold the coffee grounds and you wouldn’t have to drink the grounds. I nestled the coffee pot in the fire.....''
Camp Coffee
Definition: camp coffee - Place enough coffee into a pot of cold water. Place the pot on the stove or campfire. When steam rises from the coffee pot, the coffee is hot and ready.
Methods to remove the coffee grounds include
- wrapping the coffee in cheesecloth,
- dropping a raw egg in the coffee pot just before it's ready to drink (the cooked egg collects all the grounds),
- pouring a cup of cold water in the coffee pot (this causes the grounds to fall to the bottom of the pot so you can pour the hpt coffee off the top).
Egg Coffee
Long a tradition in Lutheran church gatherings of Scandinavian-Americans in the Midwest, egg coffee is a light, clear brew with absolutely no bitterness or acidity.
Egg drop coffee is an old fashioned way that coffee was made. It was a good way to make and get the coffee grounds to stay at the bottom of the pot. The egg would catch the coffee grounds and make them settle on the bottom of the coffee pot.
Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 9 cups water (to boil) plus 1 1/4 cold water
- 3/4 cup freshly ground coffee (medium to coarse grind)
- 1 egg
Preparation:
Bring 9 cups of water to a rapid boil in a saucepan or enamel coffee pot.
Meanwhile, stir together ground coffee, 1/4 cup water, and 1 egg (Note: diehard egg coffee lovers use the crushed eggshell as well, but it works fine to leave this out). The mixture will look like wet potting soil.
When water is boiling, carefully pour in the egg-coffee mixture, turning down the heat if necessary to prevent it from boiling over. Boil the coffee for 3 minutes. (Note: You’ll see that the coffee grounds will gradually bind together into a single mass that floats at the top of the pot).
After 3 minutes of boiling, immediately remove pot from heat and pour in 1 cup cold water. Let the coffee settle for 10 minutes; the “lump” of grounds will settle to the bottom of the pot.
Pour through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer into cups and serve. The flavor of the coffee grows stronger, without becoming bitter, the longer that it simmers.
Yield: 10 cups coffee.
About the Author
Newly published author! Nature lover and bird lover. Listener of alternative bands and music. Ivan & Aloysha, Mumford & Sons, The Civil Wars, The Fossil Collective, and Ryan Star (his music seems to fit my book for some strange reason). Science fiction fan, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and the incredible Harry Potter! MAJOR coffee addict (don't even get me started)!
Author Links:
- http://dellaconnor.com/
- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7460124.D_E_L_Connor
- http://www.twitter.com/del_connor
- http://www.facebook.com/DelconnorSpiritwarriors
- http://s1064.photobucket.com/user/nereyda1003/media/new/social%20icons/iconpinterest_zps6fcf02a7.png.html
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