He was alive because he was a hunter.When fourteen-year-old Jordan and her younger brothers learn they'll have to ride a rickety plane home for the holidays, they're a little scared. But when it crashes on a wild and deserted peninsula in New Zealand, they are completely terrified. And injured. Worst of all, they're completely alone. Or are they? Whose voice is Jordan hearing telling her what to do next?Two hundred years ago, a hunter, Jordan's age, slave to Maori warriors hunting for the Moa bird, is in a dangerous spot, as well. He has the gift of sight, but what is the strange silvery bird that he sees crashing into the sea? And who is the girl with golden hair who is in trouble? He needs to escape the warriors, but he is driven to help the girl. If she will only listen. . . .In this suspenseful, captivating book, renowned author Joy Cowley brings two very different worlds together, giving us a rare glimpse at the remarkable human spirit that connects us all. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 4-8-In 1805, Hunter, a Maori teen who has been enslaved by the leaders of a rival tribe, has a gift "of seeing things that were hidden." He is forced to lead his captors' warriors to one of the last surviving moa. Along with his vision of the bird's location, he sees a "canoe- with wings" and white children in distress, images that tie into the story's alternating plot of three siblings trying to survive a small plane crash on a remote New Zealand beach in 2005. The eldest, nearly 14-year-old Jordan, has recently become interested in examining her family's mixed ethnic background and reclaiming her Maori heritage. She receives messages across time and space from Hunter, who knows her by her Maori name, Marama. He provides her with the information that allows the siblings to find shelter and food, cope with life-threatening injuries, and make a much-needed fire. In the end, Hunter escapes his captors and the youngsters are rescued; readers also discover that Hunter is the children's ancestor, hence the reason for communication over a 200-year barrier. Alternately exciting and mysterious, the novel has highly appealing elements that are likely to grab fans of adventure/survival stories such as Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (Macmillan, 1986), and time-slip fantasies like Philippa Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden (Yearling, 1990).-Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 5-8. Is there such a thing as an ancestor guardian angel? Cowley plays with the question in this survival adventure about Hunter, a runaway Maori slave in New Zealand in 1805, and Jordan, a mixed-race teenager in 2005 who wants to explore her Maori ancestry--even though her parents couldn't care less about that genealogy stuff. After the plane Jordan and her two younger brothers are on crashes on a wild shore, Hunter risks being caught to save her. Jordan feels Hunter's presence like a voice in her head as he guides her to food and shelter. Is he her ancestor? The contemporary story is livelier than the mystical contrivance, and Hunter is too reverential. But New Zealand writer Cowley, who is researching her own Maori roots, weaves in fascinating history, and the two survival adventures are told in tense alternating narratives that add to the compelling rescue drama. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.