Bringing the Boy Home by N.A. Nelson

The cover was the first thing that made me want to read this book, with the scary-looking yellow eyes of a crocodile staring out at me (I later discovered that this crocodile is actually called a caiman, which is just as terrifying and dangerous), but it was the story that kept me reading. This book is about 2 boys from seemingly different worlds who have something magical in common. Luka has never been out of his hidden rain forest village and has suffered the humiliation of not completing his soche seche tente, a test of manhood. Tirio, with his disabled foot, was sent out of his hidden rain forest village in a death canoe when he was just a small boy -just a small boy alone to face the terrible caimans and other jungle predators! But Tirio is lucky; he is found by an American scientist named Sara, who has taken Tirio to live with her in California. As each boy nears his 13th birthday, their lives begin to magically and mysteriously change and collide. Review by Loretta Eysie