02/08/2021
In this gripping novel set in a Bolivian mining village in the Andes, Sullivan (The Bitter Side of Sweet) effectively portrays 12-year-old narrator Ana and the oppressive demands she faces. Ana and her sarcastic, sickly brother Daniel, 11, dream of education and opportunity beyond their desolate mountain of Cerro Rico. But their abusive father insists Daniel leave school to work in the mine alongside him, and tensions mount when Daniel falls ill and Ana goes to work in his stead. Angering Mami and Abuelita, Ana also incurs the wrath and suspicion of her fellow miners, who believe a female working in the mine will bring bad luck. When a section of the mine caves in, killing Ana’s father while Daniel remains missing, the miners’ superstitions seem proven. Sullivan sketches the stifling setting of the mine and town, skillfully crafting memorable characters and close relationships, especially between Ana and Daniel and Ana’s best friend, Victor. The narrative, which occasionally leans too much on historical exposition, presents a largely negative view of Bolivia. But Sullivan approaches tough topics, including child labor, economic pressure, and repressive gender roles, from a resonant, believably young perspective, balancing Ana’s precarious struggle to survive with hope. Ages 10–up. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary. (Feb.)
Praise for Treasure of the World:
★ “Rich with memorable characters and streaks of brilliant writing, as in the author’s previous works, Ana’s story takes readers on an arduous and ultimately rewarding journey that illuminates a fraction of the human toll behind the profit-driven pursuits of a materialistic world. Heartbreakingly splendid.” —Kirkus, starred review
★ “Utterly riveting. . . [O]ffers a view of complex family dynamics and child labor that is shocking and powerful.” —School Library Journal, starred review
“Gripping . . Sullivan effectively portrays 12-year-old narrator Ana and the oppressive demands she faces…skillfully crafting memorable characters and close relationships. . . Sullivan approaches tough topics, including child labor, economic pressure, and repressive gender roles, from a resonant, believably young perspective, balancing Ana’s precarious struggle to survive with hope.” —Publishers Weekly
“Sullivan, who addressed child labor in the cocoa industry in The Bitter Side of Sweet, here exposes the tragedy of child miners forced to leave school to help support their families by working in the "mountain that eats men."...Readers are left with...hope…but the dire plight of all these families is abundantly clear.” —Booklist
02/05/2021
Gr 5 Up—Twelve-year-old Ana lives on a mountain called Cerro Rico in Bolivia with her parents, brother, and Abuelita. They are descendants of the Incas who were enslaved to mine the mountain for gold hundreds of years ago. To the locals, Cerro Rico is called the "mountain that eats men." Ana and her brother's shared dream of escape through education comes to an abrupt end when their angry, abusive Papi decides that it is time for Daniel to become a man of the mines. Daniel, already frail with respiratory problems, becomes sick after two days. When Ana volunteers to take Daniel's place so that Daniel can recover, Papi is unwilling, but the family needs the money. The other miners view Ana's presence as a bad omen. When there is a cave-in several weeks later, Ana is blamed instead of the poor working conditions. Her Papi was killed in the disaster and Daniel is missing, presumed dead. Ana will not accept that Daniel has died and enters the mine alone one night to search for him, thus endangering her own life. The arduous life of mining families is vividly drawn. Their existence is bleak, with long hours worked in dangerous conditions for little pay. Historical context is provided via memorable, often intense conversations between characters. Readers will be drawn immediately to Ana's voice and her resilience. VERDICT This utterly riveting first purchase offers a view of complex family dynamics and child labor that is shocking and powerful.—Brenda Kahn, Tenakill M.S., Closter, NJ
★ 2020-11-27
Hoping to escape the harsh labor that binds her Bolivian mining village to the mountain called Cerro Rico, 12-year-old Ana risks life and soul to unchain herself and her family.
For Ana and her sickly younger brother, Daniel, cherished school days come to a premature close when Papi, a man filled with meanness, forces Daniel to join him in the mines. Daniel, however, doesn’t last long, returning sick on his second day. Brave Ana volunteers to take her brother’s place until he can recover, much to the disapproval of Mami, Abuelita, and, particularly, the other miners, who deem her appearance in the mines a bad omen. The dreaded misfortune comes in the form of a cave-in: Papi dies and Daniel goes missing. Though everyone believes that Daniel is dead, Ana doesn’t give up hope and secretly enters the mountain one quiet night to find him, ending up lost, disoriented, and on the verge of death. But when she returns to the land of the living, she finds her world forever altered. The bittersweet splendors in Sullivan’s latest offer an intense meditation on community, child labor, and ancestral roots, among other themes. Rich with memorable characters and streaks of brilliant writing, as in the author’s previous works, Ana’s story takes readers on an arduous and ultimately rewarding journey that illuminates a fraction of the human toll behind the profit-driven pursuits of a materialistic world.
Heartbreakingly splendid. (author’s note, note on language use, glossary) (Fiction. 10-14)
