Mountain of Fire is set in a village on the slopes of Mount Merapi, an active volcano in Indonesia. A brave young girl and her brother encounter incidents by night and by day in their community as they find hidden treasure, discover their future and try to stay safe!
This was a very interesting book to my 9 year old and myself as it goes beyond the typical middle school tween fiction (with mostly americanised lingo) that we usually find in the library. We enjoyed the new voice of tweens who were growing up in a Javanese culture with different concerns and a different life, that was closer to nature and the supernatural. While they were in a different setting, common themes surfaced- dealing with the mean kids, building a sense of self-worth and staying out of trouble with adults. All in all, it was a fast-paced, partly mysterious and exciting read.
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