City of the Beasts

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Pancakes (Chapter 1)

2. His passport (Chapter 2)

3. International Geographic (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. He is unhappy because he thinks Kate is intimidating. He wishes he could go stay with his other grandmother, like his sisters are doing. (Chapter 1)

2. He angrily decides that he will prove that he is grown-up enough to get to Kate’s apartment by himself. (Chapter 2)

3. She gives him a flute that once belonged to his grandfather, who was a well-known flutist. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. Nadia (Chapter 4)

2. Mauro Carías (Chapter 5)

3. A snake (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. Alex’s preconceptions about the area are challenged when he realizes that Manus is a thriving modern city. He is also surprised—and dismayed—by the economic inequality he sees in the city. (Chapter 4)

2. He warns them that it can be fatally dangerous for outsiders to go into the forest looking for the Beast and tells them that there is a cannibalistic spirit-bird called Rahakanariwa causing trouble in the forest. (Chapter 5)

3. Carías and Ariosto are plotting to get rid of the tribal peoples in the area and profit from their land. They plan to use the International Geographic group as witnesses to back up their version of reality by manipulating the group to believe what they want them to believe. (Chapter 6)

Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. From Walimai (Chapter 7)

2. El Dorado (Chapter 8)

3. Karakawe (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Because the jaguar is being held captive in a cage, Santos says that he killed it to set it free. (Chapter 7)

2. After an anaconda attacks Joel Gonzales, the party kills the snake and eats it. (Chapter 8)

3. While he is taking his turn keeping watch, Alex realizes that he has learned to sit silently, focusing on his thoughts. The feeling is similar to the calm he feels when he is rock climbing. (Chapter 9)

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. Their only remaining boat (Chapter 10)

2. Rock climbing (Chapter 11)

3. Iyomi/Mokarita’s widow (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. The first time they encountered the People of the Mist, Alex and Nadia were simply watched by the People. This time, however, the People of the Mist hit Alex over the head and kidnap the two young people, taking Alex and Nadia away with them through the jungle. (Chapter 10)

2. When Alex sees the mountains surrounding their home, he realizes that they are the same mountains he saw when he had his vision of the jaguar. (Chapter 11)

3. Nadia has a vision of three crystal eggs inside a high nest. (Chapter 12)

Chapters 13-16

Reading Check

1. The “water of health” (Chapter 13)

2. A giant sloth (Chapter 14)

3. Milk (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. At first he thinks he sees El Dorado, the legendary city of gold. But when he gets closer, he realizes that he is looking at formations of minerals like pyrite or mica. (Chapter 13)

2. The People of the Mist protect the sloth creatures from outsiders, and the long-living sloth creatures remember the oral history of the People of the Mist. (Chapter 14)

3. Nadia has to climb to the top of the tepui in order to reach the eggs. Since she is terribly afraid of heights, this task tests whether she is willing to confront her fears. (Chapter 15)

Chapters 17-20

Reading Check

1. His Swiss army knife (Chapter 17)

2. Borobá (Chapter 18)

3. Diamonds (Chapter 20)

Short Answer

1. They remember the dream they shared about the Rahakanariwa breaking free and attacking. (Chapter 17)

2. He works for the Department for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples and suspects Carías of deliberately killing off Indigenous people. (Chapter 18)

3. He persuades her to say that the Beasts are just a legend and instead write about the People of the Mist and how to protect them from people like Carías, Ariosto, and Torres. (Chapter 19)