James Fielding was not at all happy when his parents decided to spend the summer in “the wilderness”, his plans had included girls and learning to talk to them, not nature. But once he got over his stubbornness he discovered that he enjoyed the wild. The landscape, the animals. And especially one deer, a magnificent stag that he comes across in a hidden valley, and over time, as he brings it food, grows accustomed to James’ presence. Not only does it tolerate him, it comes to greet him.

And then he meets Diane, a vision in a pink bikini, and suddenly he learns that maybe his summer plans to talk to girls might come to fruition after all.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder wrote over 40 books in her lifetime, 3 of which were named as Newberry Honor books, so I’m guessing that quite a few Americans might have heard of her, or read her books? I’d never come across her before this book, but I can certainly see why she was an award winning author.

It is, in many ways, a very typical “coming of age” story; boy meets girl and all that goes along with that. But it is also very well written, and it is very affecting.

James thinks of himself as very smart, smarter than he really is. And although the book is told from his POV, we can still see how much he is missing out, all the clues he isn’t picking up on, or maybe he is just choosing to ignore them.

At times it is a tad on the cliched side, and James certainly has some unflattering opinions of girls at times. But he is a teenage boy, and I think that Snyder does enough to show the reader that this is James’ opinion, and that he is often very wrong about the world.

Taking a quick look through the goodreads reviews I have to say I was amused by all the people commenting about the sexual aspects of the book. James is a 15 year old boy, and this is about his summer falling in love, so yeah, its going to come up. But nothing is ever described, and I think that even if younger children read it they won’t pick up on certain aspects that some adults might object to. Also, do none of these people remember being young themselves? Honestly, there is nothing wrong with anything in this book, stop being so prudish! ( )

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The themes are a little obvious to an experienced reader, especially given the cover. ?�I wish you could see it better than that tiny image... I'll try to take a photo and post it. ?áFor example, who is the fabulous creature? ?áThe stag? ?áThe huntress? ?áThe nature girl? ?áWho does the boy (the MC) want to tempt with that apple? ?áWhy is he fully clothed and the girls nearly bare? ?áIt all becomes very clear in this lower YA book. ?áA younger reader would probably appreciate it more. ?áI really liked several of the characters, and was intrigued by the setting (even though it, too, was almost stereotypical).


I'm glad I'm finally getting around to reading more of Snyder's extensive output, before they get so 'old' that libraries cull them." ( )

Much of the power of Zilpha Keatley Snyder's A Fabulous Creature comes with the subtlety she weaves through the landscape of the Sierra Nevadas.

James Fielding is less than thrilled his parents when his parents get the rare bout of “happy-boyhood theory”-itus and instigate a summer retreat in the wilderness. But he surprises himself with how quickly his apathy towards nature is quickly overturned by his discovery of its beauties… not least of which is a majestic stag. And what starts out as an observational curiosity with the resort next door becomes full-blown fascination when he meets the vivacious hottie Diane and a trio of kooky kids led by the puzzling girl Griffin.

Coming-of-age stories are a dime a dozen, but this is one of my favorites (incredibly obscure though it is). Why? I’ll let the New York Times* cover me on this one:

'It's a good book - not only because it pits the plastic people against the wilderness people and mixes the mythic and real, but because Snyder is true to her own story. She herself does not succumb to the expediencies of plasticity and artifice. In a richly symbolic texture, her settings of camp and wilderness become powerful protagonists. '

James thinks he’s a lot cleverer than he really is. And like with all her characters, Snyder exaggerates this tendency with specifics to both tap into our stereotype and develop it to represent something bigger. In her world, a deer is also a lord of the valley. A girl also a beast, human also nature, and a small victory also towering growth.

A lot of teenagers—hell—like a lot of people, are too cleverly detached by half. And as James learns to step away from this easy path, to really see meaning (in this case, in nature) and stand for it. And well, isn’t that what coming of age is all about? Choosing to become Someone. ( )