Talon, come fly with me

Review by John Nuetzel. Author

Review of TALON, Come Fly With Me

By Gisela Sedlmayer

I am not normally a fan of young adult fiction. But my mind was captured by Sedlmayer and her skillful means of drawing a young mind into her mold and sending it out into the world again with confidence and purpose. We write for the young with three aims. We educate them, we entertain them and, above all, we inspire them. The TALON series does all that.

TALON is a rich tale set in the Peruvian foothills of the majestic Andes. It is a classic story of a young girl hobbled by a birth disorder and who bears all the associated negative esteem. Her family is kind and supportive but there is much wanting in her young life. Matica’s condition is compounded by her being a cultural anomaly, the daughter of Australians transplanted among the Peruvian indigenous as she questions her worth and her place in the world around her.

The author draws on nature and its character to make Matica aware of her latent, innate talents and to give her a newfound and enviable identity, an identity celebrated by all around her and which ultimately leads to her unconditional acceptance among the local people.

Sedlmayers use of the birds and animals to string her lessons imparts a kindness and device to instill a respect for life to any age for the world around us and its fragile inhabitants. TALON is a well constructed, parent friendly work with digestible chapters, each bearing a soft lesson.

Rarely do I read a work that would not only fulfill the three aims above but I believe that TALON would inspire a young person to consider, no, aspire to write as well. These works showcase the fun, the zeal, the satisfaction of storytelling.

I only wish that my grown up daughters were children again so I could read the TALON series to them at bedtime. As it is, I’m a thousand miles away from my grandchildren so that will have to wait for the golden moment yet to come.

Arlington Nuetzel, Gosnell, Arkansas USA author of The Low January Sun, Murder in March Commons, Telephoto, 2027, New Madrid, Missouri and The Bower Bird and Other Stories