Tree Girl centers around a young girl about to celebrate her quinciniera (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) in Guatemala. The story takes place during the awful civil war that tore apart native Mayan villages. This is not a book with a riveting story or 3 dimensional characters. But it is sort of a no-holds-barred introduction for teen readers (it's a little grim for younger audiences) into that period in history and the fact that human beings have the potential to be really, really awful. Lots of talk about Mayan tradition, which is cool and informational.