White Feather and Teresita: A Southwestern Adventure Tale

A stolen religious object, fascinating historical background, diverse personalities, legends, mysterious beings... all the elements that I usually enjoy in a story are definitely present in Marlene Chavez Hawkes’ “White Feather and Teresita.”  The quest those two young people from very different background, a Christian Spanish girl Teresa and a Pueblo Indian named White feather, find themselves on is one of great importance. If they are unable to discover the truth, the consequences could be more than simply dire. Another Pueblo Rebellion would be unthinkable and immensely devastating, so it is imperative that they find the stolen figurine of Baby Jesus and prove that the local Indians were not the perpetrators of the crime. The quest is all-encompassing and dangerous, and it brings them in contact with many fascinating people and entities, most of them extremely dangerous. Who is there to help them? What is the real truth?

While I greatly enjoyed the author’s imagination and the interesting, if somewhat convoluted story, interwoven with fascinating bits of folklore and history, I still found myself strangely detached throughout this reading episode. I realize that reading is a deeply personal and individual experience, and very often it is simply a matter of not connecting with the author’s intent, which does not mean in any way that the book was poorly written or bad. I had to go back and re-read certain passages of the book before I found what I believe was the reason for my utter disengagement. Despite the fact that the writing was clearly competent, I never got truly engrossed in the story, and even less “lost” in it. There was a great emotional distance between the happenings in the book and me, which I mainly attribute to way too much explaining, and maybe simply way too much of everything. A preface and a prologue? Every Spanish word explained in parentheses, time and again? I simply could not connect and never did really care. I wanted to be shown, not told. I wanted to be thrown in the story, and discover its frame and background through the telling of it. I wanted to feel it and smell it and see it. That never happened.

I would nevertheless recommend “White Feather and Teresita: A Southwestern Adventure Tale” to readers who enjoy a blend of history, adventure, and fantasy; particularly to those who have a keen interest in New Mexico.


White Feather and Teresita: A Southwestern Adventure Tale
Marlene Chavez Hawkes
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432777692
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/11)