A young girl's struggle to change her destiny set against the destruction of the Aztec empire.In the golden city of Tenochtitlan, Emperor Montezuma rules with an iron rod and people live in fear of the gods. Itacate, a girl born under an ill-fated sky, is destined for a life of submission and domestic drudgery. But when her father, a goldsmith, discovers her talent for his craft, she starts to work as his apprentice, a secret she must keep in order to protect the lives of herself and her family. But danger awaits as Spanish strangers invade the city. And when Itacates work comes to the emperors attention and she falls in love with a stranger, her life takes an even more perilous turn. Can Itacate change her destiny and survive in this harsh new world?

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

This book is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed. This book was published in 2015 by Walker Books Ltd .

Tanya Landman has written numerous books for children and young people including the Sam Swann series, Apache, The Goldsmith's Daughter, Mondays Are Murder and the beautiful picture book Mary's Penny. Tanya lives in Bideford, Devon. Visit Tanya at www. tanyalandman. com.