The Black Mountain A Quick Reads Book

A Quick Reads story set in eighteenth-century Tenerife, under the shadow of a vast volcano that is on the brink of eruption.May, 1706. Ana, a young Spanish woman, lives in a small town on the north-west coast of Tenerife with her mother and twin younger brothers. The town is in the shadow of the mighty volcano, the symbol of Tenerife, which divides the green north from the dry south of the island. Most of the townspeople make their living from the sea, but Ana's family are winemakers and are struggling to keep their business after the death of Ana's father.The folklore of Tenerife says that the ancient people believed the devil lived inside the black mountain, but there has been no eruption for thousands of years and no one believes it is a threat.Then, when tending to the vines, Ana notices that the water in the lake has changed colour. A few days later, when she climbs higher into the mountain, she notices that some of the flowers and shrubs have died. The famous blue bird and the lizards have disappeared.It will be a race against time for Ana - and her two friends, an old man who has seen an eruption on another island, and a boy whose disabilities mean he is ignored by the other children - to persuade the town that they are in danger and should flee before the volcano erupts and destroys their world. Will they listen?