by L. A. Banks
Stella and Frank Weinstein (neither possesses any special supernatural talent, but their son has the Tactical gift) = Uncle Dan’s parents; Allie’s grandparents. They are dorm resident advisors at the school.
Marjorie (a White Lighter by birth) and Richard Berkfield (a healer by gift) = Aunt Krissy’s and Uncle Bobby’s parents; also Hyacinth’s grandparents. The whole family fought evil in the compound together. They are also dorm resident advisors at the school and don’t go out on campaigns against the dark side anymore.
Guardian Talents/Gifts:
Olfactors (taste/smell superiority—destiny: trackers.)
Audios (superior hearing—destiny: point walkers for a team.)
Clair-Vs (superior second sight—destiny: team seers/psychics.)
Tacticals (touch sensitivity—destiny: team security barriers, emit strong electromagnetic energy, can levitate items and power zap predators.)
Stoneworkers—Can feel where someone has passed by a natural stone object or touch that object to supercharge it to gather information from it.
Dragon Painters—Can use organic material to paint with and bring that image to life.
White Lighters and White Wizards—Can use the natural energy found in organic material to ward off predators with white light zaps.
Neterus—Have all the above abilities, plus the gifts of healing and walking between dimensions in energy whirls.
TEEN READER’S GUIDE
Shadow Walker
By: L. A. Banks
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The information, activities and discussion questions that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Shadow Walker. Please feel free to adapt these materials to suit your needs and interests.
WRITING AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
STRANGE PHENOMENA
There are many metaphysical principles discussed in the first section of the book—everything from auras to clairvoyance. See if you can come up with a list of extrasensory phenomena. Go to the library or online to find a definition of these different items. What does aura mean? What is a chakra system? What is clairsentient, clairvoyant, etc.?
Look up the word cryptozoological. With friends or classmates, make a list of creatures that might be subjects of cryptozoological examination, such as the unicorn, the mermaid, werewolves or Mojo the dragon. Individually or in small groups, research, prepare and present an oral report on one creature or one of the various skill types that the kids in Sarah’s school are grouped into.
From the viewpoint of Sarah or another character, write a new chapter for the novel in which you describe your first encounter with any of the mysterious creatures. Where are you when the encounter begins? What do you see, hear, smell and experience when you meet the creature? How does the encounter end?
Brightly colored walls and murals in the hallways of the Temt Tchaas Academy create wonderful atmosphere for the events that take place within Shadow Walker. Images of flooding water are also in the text. Use pencils, watercolor paints or pens to draw your own scene inspired by a scene from the book.
Learn more about the Egyptian symbols and ancient Ghanaian symbols. Learn what they mean and then see if you can match up their meaning with different personality types in your class.
What is the strangest symbol or creature you have ever seen or the most unusual experience you have ever had? Write a short essay or story describing this, beginning with the phrase “I would never have imagined…”
Imagine the book as a movie—draw a movie poster for it to promote the best part of the story. (What was your favorite scene?)
LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS
What hints do we have that Sarah is becoming a group leader? What things does Sarah do that would make her a leader among her friends? What character traits do you feel make a good leader?
In what ways was Sarah a stronger leader than her brother? In what ways was she weaker?
Make a list of all the characters in the novel engaged in learning lessons. Beside each character name, note what they learned, what they needed to change about themselves and who, if anyone, helped them.
What role does Valencio play in the group? How is his personality important? What role does Wil play in the group? How is his personality important?
In the character of Tami Rider, write a monologue in which you talk to yourself about your best friend’s request that you stop taking dares. Perform your monologue for friends and classmates.
Consider what we learn by the end of the book—that things are not always as they seem. Discuss stereotypes and how we sometimes inaccurately think things about others because of their clothes, people they hang around, maybe because of their religion or ethnic background. How was Stefan misjudged? Describe a time when you or a friend misjudged someone without getting to know them.
ARCHITECTURE
Name the pyramids located on the Giza plateau. Look them up online or in the library.
There was actually a bunker created beneath the Greenbriar Hotel in West Virginia by President Dwight Eisenhower. Look up information on the cold war and on President Eisenhower, and see if you can find out any information about fall-out shelters.
The teens briefly escape into a small Amish town. Learn about the Amish culture online or at your library. What do they believe about farming, about technology and self-sufficiency (define that word)?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
The opening chapters of the novel describe Sarah’s encounters with nightmares and with her family/friends. How do these chapters help readers better understand Sarah? How do the dark and other natural elements (like the landscape) described in these chapters become important motifs throughout the novel—especially the forest?
What do Sarah, Tami and the boys discover in the dark outside the family compound? How does their discovery relate to Sarah’s ongoing fear?
Explain Sarah’s long-held view of the compound as a safe and peaceful place. Is Sarah’s sense of calm created by the family or her relationship to the place, if so how? Does everyone feel this way about their home—discuss the different perspectives amongst the students? Do you think the presence of something scary at the compound changes Sarah’s perspective, if so how? Who or what can truly disrupt this serenity?
Once Sarah and her compound siblings get to school, things change. List all the new things they have to encounter and why this adjustment is so hard. What about fitting in is so difficult for them?
What major rule do the older students break, and is it dangerous to do that in any way? Why is Sarah so nervous about following the crowd?
Do you think Sarah was right to confess what she knew to her grandmother?
Who is Professor Raziel and what is he to Sarah? Look up the words mentor and protégée and write out the definitions. Do you think Sarah’s dad was right or wrong to do what he did? (Even if you think he is wrong, can you make a case for why he might have acted the way he did?) How would you have felt if you were in Sarah’s situation?
What do you think about Sarah’s little shadows?
Do you think being a Shadow Walker is basically a good or bad thing? What other formal and informal groups or societies operate within the novel? Can Shadow Walker be read as a study of the dynamics and loyalties at play between individuals and groups? Why or why not?
What is your reaction to Tami’s jealousy of her best friend? In the end, do you feel that each person who did something unfair should be forgiven? Why or why not? List who you can forgive and why, as well as who you could not trust in the future and why. Which teachers, too, would you forgive or trust, or not?
About the Author
L. A. Banks has written more than 42 novels and contributed to 23 novellas. She writes in the genres of romance, women's fiction, crime/suspense thrillers and paranormal lore. In addition to a busy writing schedule, she is a proud member of The Liars Club, is a board of trustee member for the Philadelphia Free Library and serves on the Mayor's Commission on Literacy. Ms. Banks is a graduate of The
University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program with a master's in fine arts from Temple University. She is a full-time writer living and working in Philadelphia.
Look for book 2, Shadow Seekers, sometime in 2011…
www.NeteruAcademy.com
Copyright © 2010 by Leslie Banks
Cover copyright © Carl Graves
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from LA Banks.
Edition: December 2010
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART ONE – BOOK I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
PART TWO
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
PART THREE
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Neteru Compound Glossary of Terms
Neteru Compound Family Tree
TEEN READER’S GUIDE
About the Author
Coming in 2011
