Historical Middle-Grade Fiction Mayan Style

Mayan village in Legos. My oldest child's project.

I'm gaining a steadfast appreciation for writers of historical fiction, especially writers of historical fiction for children. In my last post, I talked about Stone Lions by Gwen Dandridge. We finished that book, and we're now reading The Well of Sacrifice by Chris Eboch.

Goodreads listing

Eboch doesn't pull many punches in describing the blood-letting ritual and the more grotesque aspects of Mayan culture while still painting a relatable main character. We're only a few chapters into it, but my children are experiencing the Mayan culture in a way they've not gathered from the Mayan sites they've actually visited.

Copan ruins in Honduras

The depth of research Eboch, and illustrator Bryn Barnard, put into the story must have taken years and sleepless hours of vetting everything that went into the book. And writing about a society whose customs were often violent is not an easy topic to pull off for a middle-grade novel. I'm so glad Eboch managed it, however, because it enlivens this part of history for my children, pulling them into a culture and era so far removed from their own.

I've been working on my own 80s era middle-grade novel--it makes me want to swallow my teeth to think the 80s are now considered historical--and it has kept me awake sorting and resorting the details and plots in my mind. Not to mention the links, notes, etc. that I have to collect. And that's for a "history" I actually (mostly) lived through! 

My new heroes are historical fiction writers for children. 

I'm looking forward to digging further into Eboch's books. I'm surrounded by Mayan history, but only in fallen stones and broken pottery. This book is giving me a way to visualize the people behind the tumbled temples and pottery shards. We'll see if the ending is as compelling as the beginning, but so far, so good. 

Have a great week.