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Book Reviewed by:From Pura Belpré honoree David Bowles comes a young adult epic about one of the greatest minds of the Americas (honored to this day on Mexico's 100-peso bill).
1418 – Pre-Columbian Mexico
Fifteen-year old crown prince Acolmiztli wants nothing more than to see his city-state of Tetzcoco thrive. A singer, poet, and burgeoning philosophical mind, he has big plans about infrastructure projects and cultural initiatives that will bring honor to his family and help his people flourish. But the two sides of his family, the kingdoms of Mexico and Acolhuacan, have been at war his entire life – after his father risked the wrath of the Tepanec emperor to win his mother's love.
When a power struggle leaves his father dead and his mother and siblings in exile, Acolmiztli must run for his life, seeking refuge in the wilderness. After a coyote helps him find his way in the wild, he takes on a new name – Nezahualcoyotl, or "fasting coyote" ("Neza" for short).
Biding his time until he can form new alliances and reconnect with his family, Neza goes undercover, and falls in love with a commoner girl, Sekalli. Can Neza survive his plotting uncles' scheme to wipe out his line for good? Will the empire he dreams of in Tetzcoco ever come to life? And is he willing to risk the lives of those he loves in the process?
This action-packed tale blends prose and poetry – including translations of surviving poems by Nezahualcoytl himself, translated from classical Nahuatl by the author. And the book is packed with queer rep – queer love stories, and a thoughtful of pre-Columbian understandings of gender that defy the contemporary Western gender binary.
Acolmiztli was a real historic figure, better known today as Nezahualcoyotl, the name he used as ruler of Tetzcoco. He was a celebrated warrior, architect, and poet, as well as part of the Triple Alliance that became the Aztec Empire. Bowles is wonderful at bringing his perspective to life. The world in which Acolmiztli lives is integral to the book's fast-paced, exciting plot, from the religion that guides him, to the complicated interplay between family and political ties, to the class divide between the main character and many of the people he meets while on the run...continued
Full Review
(626 words)
(Reviewed by Katharine Blatchford).
In David Bowles' novel The Prince and the Coyote, Prince Acolmiztli is forced to flee his beloved city of Tetzcoco after it is overrun by enemies. Acolmiztli, later known as Nezahualcoyotl, was a real historic figure still famous today, and his city was one of the most important in the Aztec Empire.
Tetzcoco (also spelled Texcoco or Tezcoco) is located in the Valley of Mexico, to the east side of Lake Tetzcoco. The region was inhabited by a diverse population of Nahuatl-speaking tribes who migrated to the area after the collapse of Toltec power in the 12th century. The specific group who made Tetzcoco their capital and controlled most of the eastern part of the Valley were the Acolhua.
Advances in agriculture, such as the ...
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