Publisher's Synopsis
In this fun YA fantasy, the Goldflaks are intelligent, humorous, and adventure-loving fantasy creatures that live in a kingdom in the bowels of Mt. Rainier, a volcano in Washington State. They are beautiful, but decidedly not human, being covered in brightly-covered fur, sporting seven eyes positioned around their heads, and with very short stature compared to humans (about 2-3 feet high), althugh physically much stronger. Their communication sounds like high-pitched screeching to human ears. Queen Keely of the Goldflaks has often perched on the top of the mountain, looking out over the brilliant lights of "the City of Towers" - Seattle. She has heard many fantastic tales of the city, and the "hairless ones" - humans, who live there. Her fantasy adventure is to travel there, to see these wondrous sights for herself, and finally makes up her mind to go. King Basgow tries to reason with her - the hairless ones are dangerous and unpredictable, with fearsome weapons - but she won't be denied. The King reluctantly forms a little band, and they set out on their dangerous, exciting, hilarious journey. Amanda Yellow Eyes is a 12-year-old Native American street kid in Seattle, with an adventure fantasy of someday escaping the indifferent concrete, metal, and machine city, and living on the mountain. She is a character unique in YA fantasy, who has been taking care of herself for a long time, with her alcoholic father and her wise grandfather both gone. Her father had brought her to Seattle, from the reservation in Montana, 3 years ago, with his own adventure fantasy of finding exciting, high-paying work and quitting the booze. She ended up taking care of him for several years, until he died recently in a bar fight. Her only friend now is a former Speech Pathologist, now street alcoholic, named Frenchy, who sometimes helps her survive. Amanda is very street-smart and resourceful, with a strong will and sense of adventure. But she has never had a family, and yearns for a real home, with people who care about her, The Goldflaks endure their perilous and difficult journey out of their mountain kingdom, through the treacherous caverns, past the Lake of Demons, braving the giant predatory birds called Floks, finally exiting the mountain, and thence to the city. There, knowing nothing of human machines, culture, or behavior, they bounce from one encounter with perplexity and potential disaster to another, in the meantime causing a minor panic in the streets, when the humans don't know what to make of these "aliens." It is in the Seattle Center, during the Folklife Festival, that Amanda encounters the Goldflaks in one of their moments of peril, and rescues them, in a clever way worthy of the best fantasy fiction. From that point on, they work together to navigate their way out of the city, with many close calls, and with Amanda working hard to learn how to communicate with them (she succeeds with American sign Language, taught her by Frenchy). They slowly develop mutual trust, and Amanda returns to Goldflak with them. Arriving there after much drama and bonding, they find a new and mortal threat to all of Goldflak, and the human valley below. A few other humans are drawn into their new quest, including a couple and their teenage son, Taz, and a female explosives expert named Marty. Together they brave the caverns and creatures of the mountain, to reach the blocked lava caves, where presssure is rapidly building up. It's giving nothing away to say that their fantasy adventure succeeds in restoring the lava flow and saving the day, and that the Goldflaks and humans embark on a mission to understand instead of fear each other. And Amanda finds her family. The Goldflaks and Amanda are unlike any other characters in young adult fantasy, or any fantasy fiction for that matter, and their adventures are funny, engrossing, and moving. Young adults and adults alike will enjoy sharing the lives of these fantasy creatures.
