There are two central characters in Roderick O Grady’s book, and we see the story through their eyes, the same incidents from their different perspectives. One of these is Minnie, who has recently lost her mother and is struggling to reset her relationship with Dan, her mother’s partner. The other is Kaayii, a young Sasquatch, or Yeti or Bigfoot as they’re often known. Kaayii and his family have been forced into close proximity with Minnie and her neighbours due to forest fires and he too is trying to find a new way to live. Their stories combine and Minnie is able to learn new ways of being from her (enormous) friend and protector while Kaayii finds peace too. The setting for the story is the wild forests and mountains of North America and they’re beautifully described, an exhilarating breath of fresh air for UK readers, and the relationship between Minnie and Kaayii is full of the compassion, shared understanding and awareness of nature that characterises the best of these kind of stories (think The Butterfly Lion or The Scarlet Ibis). A story full of heart and wonder.
Minnie is alone, high up in her favourite tree, looking out over a distant forest fire. She and her stepfather Dan are stuck with each other, living in their small cabin at the foot of the mountain after Minnie's mother died.
When Minnie and her friend Billy discover four giant footprints on a mountain trail, Dan puts it down to hoaxers. But Minnie knows better. Kaayii is sitting at the top a tree watching the smoke from a raging forest fire that has forced him and his clan to move to this side of the mountain. He's not sure about the humans living down by the sea below. Gradually their parallel worlds entwine in a moving tale of grief and healing in a remote mountain landscape.
‘A compelling story of courage, protecting nature and finding your way. Minnie and Kaayii are both young, curious and brave in their own worlds. I adored this story and found it enchanting and full of hope. I loved the parallels to the story as well as the way they intertwined and became one.’ Erin Hamilton, librarian
Author
About Roderick O'Grady
After embarking on an acting career in London, Roderick O'Grady moved to New York in the nineties. After some success off Broadway and in the US soap 'As the World Turns' he returned home with a wife and two children. His stage play, 'A Foolish Fancy, How Not to get Ahead in the Theatre' was a Time Out Critics Choice on the London Fringe.
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