The Ancient One
   T. A. Barron
  1994 TOR A Tom Doherty Assocs Book NY USA
   ISBN: 0812536541


When Kate arrives in Blade, Oregon for a quiet vacation with her aunt, she discovers a tense logging community, an uncommunicative aunt & a magical Lost Crater, where a grove of timeless redwoods thrive. Suddenly the roar of chainsaws & trucks is everywhere, tempers flare & very strange things begin to happen.

This teenager whose Grandfather has just died, loves to be in her Grand-Aunt Melanie's company, though this year her aunt & Chuck & Chuckles, her pair of ducks seem different. Kate lives for softball though she's finding herself becoming quite poetic about the puddles in Oregon & the rain that comes in a variety of sizes.

Then, she's attacked on the way back from the post office, the mail she went to collect is stolen & her aunt gets a visit from a desperate logging boss. At last her aunt gives Kate some answers to her many questions.

Meanwhile, on Kate's wanderings she comes across a crater where a misty, breathtaking lake ripples serenely, surrounded by really old, undisturbed redwoods beckoning to her to explore.

When she falls asleep at the base of one of those silent giants Kate seems to be dreaming except that she's sure she's awake. That's when the really weird things start: she meets someone who is distinctly familiar & yet alien; she comes across people who speak in a strange language she can understand.

From then on Kate walks between two worlds: one where logging companies are ready & eager to decimate the last known stand of Oregon first growth redwoods & a place where people have lived, untouched, for centuries.

I deeply enjoyed this read! T. A. Barron has created a wonderful magical tale of discovery, loyalty, coming-of-age & bravery. A moving & enlightening adventure.
(08/22/99)

Rebecca