Curse of the Ruins

World of Adventure #17

by Gary Paulsen

When their dad, an anthropologist studying the ruins of the ancient cliff dwellers at El Debajo, New Mexico, fails to meet them at the airport, Katie and Sam wonder if he has fallen victim to the ruin's reputed curse.

Genres: Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 1998

About the author

Gary James Paulsen was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

By the time Curse of the Ruins hit bookstore shelves in 1998, Gary Paulsen's World of Adventure series had nearly run its course. I suppose it's worth noting that the book is a bit longer than early entries, but only by ten pages or so. Thirteen-year-old Katie Crockett, her twin brother Sam, and their cousin Shala are on vacation to join Katie and Sam's father—Professor William Crockett—on an anthropological dig in San Marcos, New Mexico, where recent findings at the cliffs of El Debajo have the academic community intrigued. Fun and discovery seem to be ahead for the kids...but from the moment their airplane lands in New Mexico, the opposite occurs.

Katie's overnight bag is run off with by a stranger at the airport, and the police end up detaining the three kids by mistake, ruining their shot to catch the thief. What's more, the desk clerk at the Hotel Monterrey insists Professor Crockett never checked in; Katie, Sam, and Shala are stranded alone in San Marcos. Help of a sort arrives in Pepe, a younger Mexican boy they meet who has connections all over the city. He's willing to assist...if the price is right. Sam suspects Pepe is taking advantage of them, but at least he's moderately useful.

Piecing together clues from their own experiences and Pepe's contacts, Katie, Sam, and Shala deduce that Professor Crockett was kidnapped because of his work at El Debajo. An old legend maintains that rivers of gold flow beneath the site, and now a pair of criminals named Vasquez and Zamora desire it for themselves. A hidden map the professor left Katie leads them to El Debajo, but can four kids stop a pair of men who have already committed violent acts? Is Professor Crockett even alive for his children to rescue?

The story drags a bit despite its brevity, but has a good central theme: when people believe impossible tales of gold and riches just beyond their grasp, they often hurt others to make the fantasy come true. This may be the most common serious threat humans face, but good people can stand up and stop the villains. Curse of the Ruins feels cliché at times, but I might rank it at the higher end of the series, and fans of the author's shortest books will likely enjoy the read.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book I have read by him, but it was a quick read. I recommend it to everyone ages 11+.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun southwestern mystery.

[Orlando Godinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a good book to read if your bored.The genre of the book is adventure.I think this book is alright because its not that good and bad to read.The setting of the book is at san Marcos Mexico.

Katie,sam,and shala are cousins and they went to meet shalas dad at san Marcos and reserved a hotel there but shalas dad wasnt there.They were walking until a strange man stoped them and told shala if he could hold her purse.Shala said no,until the man grabbed shalas purse and ran away.Shala was chasing him until a police officer stoped her and the theif got away.

Shala told the officer why he didnt do something about the theif but didnt say anything and took them to the police station.The officer took them to to his office and sat down.Shala was mad and told him why he didnt stop the thief.The officer said they were in mexico now and said that they have to follow the rules.He let them go and met a little mexican boy.He knew everythinfpg around him.shala told him if he saw her dad but he wanted a dollar for th imformation so shala gave him a dollar.He said to go to the airport. So they went to the airport and there they found the theif and thought their kidnapped shalas dad.Im going to stop here so you can read the rest yourself.

This type of conflict is person vs person because the shala want to know what the theif wants.This book is really mysterious because shala wants to know what tne theif wants and was acting very weird.I like the book because its funny how the mexican boy wants a dollar to give imformation.I didnt really like the book because it had a witch that didnt have to do anything about the theif. I also didnt like how the police officer had to stop shala from the theif i felt like that police had to do something about it but i quess you have to read it for yourself.

I would rate this book 4 out of 5 because it didnt make some sense in some chapters.I would recommend this book to people who like adventure and mysterious books.This are the reasons why i didnt like it and also did like it.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've found something similar to the I Survived series here in terms of plot, pacing, and reading level. However, it was written around 20 years ago and this one especially includes some troubling representations of Hispanics and Native cultures. If I can find a different one in this series that avoids issues like that, I would recommend it to fans of I Survived.