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Woman of a Thousand Secrets
by
Barbara Wood
The Bestselling Author of The Blessing Stone and Daughter of the Sun
She came to them from the sea, and to the sea they returned her. . . . A story of sacrifice and survival in the New World.
Tonina lives an idyllic life on a small island in the Caribbean hundreds of years before Europeans discovered it. But she has always been an outsider among her people. Unlike them,
...morePaperback, 496 pages
Published
September 2nd 2008
by St. Martin's Griffin
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Reviewed by Amber Gibson for TeensReadToo.com
WOMAN OF A THOUSAND SECRETS is a saga of one woman's journey in the New World, long before the Conquistadors' time.
Tonina, delivered to Pearl Island as a baby by dolphin spirits, considers Pearl Island her home, though she has always been an outsider. As much as she wishes she could fit in with the Islanders, there has always been something different about her, and the time has come for her to leave Pearl Island and find her o...more
WOMAN OF A THOUSAND SECRETS is a saga of one woman's journey in the New World, long before the Conquistadors' time.
Tonina, delivered to Pearl Island as a baby by dolphin spirits, considers Pearl Island her home, though she has always been an outsider. As much as she wishes she could fit in with the Islanders, there has always been something different about her, and the time has come for her to leave Pearl Island and find her o...more
Toninia is washed up on an island in the Caribbean in the year 1323 in a little basket and soon adopted by an elderly couple who cannot have children and think that god has rewarded them with this baby. As Toninia grows up, it is apparent she does not look like the other islanders who outcast her for being different. When she is nineteen, her parents on a ruse, ask her to go in search for a magical flower on the mainland thinking they are giving her back to the sea where she belongs, and that i...more
Barbara Wood disappoints me for the first time. I was excited about this novel as it takes place among the Tainos and the Mayans in the days before Columbus. Tonina is abandoned on an island as a baby and raised by the natives despite her obvious differences. At 21, they send her off on a "quest" for a special flower, hoping she will find her real tribe. She ends up in Mayapan and meets a ball player and a one eyed midget and this crazy fantasy like adventure starts. It strikes me as t...more
Tall and lean and light skinned, Tonina has always been an outsider among the dark, stocky people of Pearl Island. Her parents found her floating on the sea in a basket, and now that she is 21, unmarried, and unlikely to be (considering her differences), they send her on a made-up errand to the mainland, hoping that she will find her people. What she finds is one harrowing adventure after another. Believing that she is seeking a healing red flower, Tonina makes her way to Mayapan, heart of Mayan...more
The year is 1323 and this historical novel begins on a small island off of the coast of Cuba called Pearl Island. Tonina is twenty-one years old and lives with her Grandparents, but she is not related to them. When she was a baby she was found floating in a watertight basket by the islanders and has been raised among them. Unfortunately, as much as her foster Grandparents love her they cannot protect her from being ostracised from the rest of the group because of her differences. They are short ...more
Woman of a Thousand Secrets is a well researched historical epic revolved around Tonina, who is found floating down a river in a basket as an infant. She is raised by a childless couple until she comes of age and the couple knows they must send her off the island to find her real people. On a ruse that her grandfather is gravely ill, Tonina is sent away to find a red flower that will cure him. She always assume she will return to the island. Little does she know that in her search for the red fl...more
Not having much knowledge about Central American geography, or history, or the mythology of the peoples native to that region, I can only assume that Barbara Wood has done her research. And if you want an easy-to-read primer on any of those subjects, this would be a great book to read.
If you're looking for really great characters, though, this is probably not the book for you. For the first two-thirds of the book the two main characters go back and forth every few pages between "...more
If you're looking for really great characters, though, this is probably not the book for you. For the first two-thirds of the book the two main characters go back and forth every few pages between "...more
Simple, easy reading. Not so complex that you can't put it down and walk away, but not so simple that you want to leave the book. Love scene is a bit too descriptive, but short.
I like the main character, Tonina. She is sent on a quest to find a flower, and ends up finding what her heart truly desires, her true destiny. It is set against pre-european arrival in the America's, which for me, is not a very visited history, and so that was unique and intriguing. It seems to be well researched hi...more
I like the main character, Tonina. She is sent on a quest to find a flower, and ends up finding what her heart truly desires, her true destiny. It is set against pre-european arrival in the America's, which for me, is not a very visited history, and so that was unique and intriguing. It seems to be well researched hi...more
Woman of a Thousand Secrets was a great read but in a beachy-no sex kind of way. I mean, I got to page 334 and had to stop. No sex yet between the Caribbean island girl and the Mayan ballplayer hottie! Come on! I think kids will give up way before I did. This novel really reminds me of some 600 pg mammoth paperback I read years ago about the early Americas. It's epic in that the main character is on a journey to find a flower to save her adopted father. The white people haven't arrived ye...more
This is a first of this author for me but I will be looking to read more. Wood is known for her historical fiction set in unusual settings. This one finds the tribes of Mexica searching for their native homeland. The journey starts out in Mayapan and ends when the People of the Sun find their ancestral home and have earned the right to call themselves by their rightful name - the Aztec.
It started a bit slow however I was soon caught up in the setting, characters, treachery, and anci...more
It started a bit slow however I was soon caught up in the setting, characters, treachery, and anci...more
rarewly have i decieded that i can't read past the first 40 pages of a book. This one had a lovely cover, great plot synopsis on the back blurb and was so improbable. The writing just bothered me.
A girl baby found abandoned in a watertight "Moses" basket washes ashore on an island and is raised by the natives, but is always different than the locals, reaches adulthood and is sent back to "the Mainland" which is Guatemala/Yucatan. In two days in the new land, after...more
A girl baby found abandoned in a watertight "Moses" basket washes ashore on an island and is raised by the natives, but is always different than the locals, reaches adulthood and is sent back to "the Mainland" which is Guatemala/Yucatan. In two days in the new land, after...more
This book is a bit slow for Barbara Woods. It has a cookie cutter storyline. Not one of her best.
It is a story of a baby that is sent adrift in a basket to save her life. She is found by a couple on an island and takes her as their own daughter. Unfortunately, the girl grows up not looking like her people and having social challenges. To save her from danger her parents send her on a quest. She thinks she is off to find a healing flower but in truth.... they are hoping she will...more
It is a story of a baby that is sent adrift in a basket to save her life. She is found by a couple on an island and takes her as their own daughter. Unfortunately, the girl grows up not looking like her people and having social challenges. To save her from danger her parents send her on a quest. She thinks she is off to find a healing flower but in truth.... they are hoping she will...more
Betty Slowinski
added it
Excellent book. The story takes place in 1323 in the Caribbean and Central America. The central character is a woman who is on a quest and it shows her strength and determination against insurmountable odds. It shows how her mission changes on her journey but she remains true to herself. I found it a spellbinding book - hard to put down.
Anne
rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
every fan of novels acting long, long time ago.
Her novels always new adventures, even though they may have (for the first time I think) connections to another one of hers. Always telling stories, legends, sagas that you would never have expected like that, interwoven lifes, people you expect to be evil, showing as the good ones in the end - and the other way around! Love her talent and telling of every single story!
Tori
added it
2008- Although Wood does a great job evoking a time and place, I felt the book was about 100 pages too long. Plus, everything tied up a little too neatly in the end. On the other hand, it contains lots of interesting information on ancient Native American cultures.
Picked it up in a hotel en route. I found the whole story so extremely far fetched and naively told that I didn´t have the nerve to finish it.
I really enjoyed this book. I had it read before it was even due back at the library, even with all my farmville activities on facebook..lol
This is the first time I have read a book written by Barbara Wood and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved learning about the ancient Mayan culture, the Tainos and Aztecs! Well done research! Very interesting! Definitely look forward to reading other books by this author!
rose
added it
The book was O.K. and in spite of the title about the early meso americans. With some teasers about what if....
I read the Nook ebook version of this book. It is available to be 'loaned' once if anyone is interested in borrowing it from me.
This takes place in mid 1300's in the Carribean. Tonina is an island girl who falls in love with Kaan. Very good.
giving 3.5 stars. I liked it but it didnt catch me enough for 4 stars. some parts were pretty dragging too
I enjoyed this book but it was a little long and drawn out for me. i will try another book by this author.
The best book by Barbara Wood that I've read so far. An excellent writer of historical fiction. I love a book that can teach you a lot about history and keep your attention. I love a book with a strong female lead and this has exactly that.
A bit of fantasy .... not my fav
most enjoyable
Yikes, hoped this would be a fun, easy read.... but I had to put it down about 40 pages in because it was so poorly written that I couldn't take it anymore.
Too long with a few uncomfortable moments that did not lend themselves to the story at all. Completely unnecessary dialogue with information dumps that were too involved. The premise was a nice one and the spin on historical fiction are the only reasons this gets even two stars.
absolutely love all of these epic adventures
This is not the kind of book I normally choose to read but it really was an interesting book and I liked it. I would recomend it.
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Barbara Wood is the internationally best-selling author of eighteen novels, including Sacred Child. Though born in Lancashire, she now lives in Riverside, California.
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