The Eagle Huntress: The True Story of the Girl Who Soared Beyond Expectations

by Aisholpan Nurgaiv, Liz Welch (With)

Overview

The subject of the award-winning documentary The Eagle Huntress tells the true story of how she became the first girl to compete in—and win—one of Mongolia's most prestigious competitions.

In this compelling memoir, teenaged eagle hunter Aisholpan Nurgaiv tells her own story for the first time, speaking directly with award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Liz Welch (I Will Always Write Back), who traveled to Mongolia for this book. Nurgaiv's story and fresh, sincere voice are not only inspiring but truly magnificent: with the support of her father, she captured and trained her own golden eagle and won the Ölgii eagle festival. She was the only girl to compete in the festival.

Filled with stunning photographs, The Eagle Huntress is a striking tale of determination— of a girl who defied expectations and achieved what others declared impossible. Aisholpan Nurgaiv's story is both unique and universally relatable: a memoir of survival, empowerment, and the positive impact of one person's triumph.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316522618
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/12/2020
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	639,908
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Aisholpan Nurgaiv was the first female eagle hunter to have competed in the Golden Eagle Festival in Ölgii, Mongolia. Her story was featured in the award-winning documentary film The Eagle Huntress. She is currently a student in Kazakhstan.

Liz Welch is an award-winning journalist and memoirist. She is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling I Will Always Write Back and The Kids Are All Right, whichwon an ALA Alex Award.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2020

Gr 5–8—Sixteen-year-old Nurgaiv came from a Kazakh/Mongolian family with a tradition of hunting with eagles, a custom handed from father to son for generations. But cultural expectations demanded that girls stay at home. Nurgaiv, who had an affinity for eagles, was not content with that role. She convinced her father, mother, and grandfather to let her try to become an eagle huntress. First, she was required to capture her own eaglet, and then raise and train it carefully. It was an arduous task, but Nurgaiv loved it, and loved her eaglet, White Feathers. Within a remarkably short period of time, she not only entered the 2014 Golden Eagle Festival competition, but actually won it. Told in her own words, Nurgaiv's love for her family, her culture, and her eagle is expressed clearly. Her nomad life, its primary mode of transportation by horse or camel, is described affectionately in detail. Readers may be surprised that in the 21st century, Nurgaiv has never heard of pizza or toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as other things considered common to young readers. This glimpse into another culture would do well paired with the documentary to spark discussion on multiple levels. VERDICT Recommended for middle grade collections, especially for biography sections focusing on female empowerment.—Katherine Koenig, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

School Library Journal

2020-02-09
The Mongolian teen whose surprising 2014 win at the Golden Eagle Festival was charted in a 2016 documentary retells the story, expanding on her family’s nomadic Kazakh culture and the changes success has brought.

Nurgaiv’s grandfather and others secretly maintained the ancient Kazakh tradition of hunting with eagles, banned in Soviet-era Mongolia, teaching it to their sons. Watching their father teach her brother, Nurgaiv—calm, competitive, athletic—longed to learn herself. Nine years younger, born after many failed pregnancies, she was literally raised with eagles. She relates how she persuaded her parents, found her eaglet, trained and hunted with her, and entered and won the competition. Interwoven with this account is the story of a changing Mongolia amid a changing world. Before Nurgaiv’s training began, tourists—trekkers, journalists, photographers, a filmmaker—came to observe her family, whose livelihood derived in part from their visits. Each milestone on Nurgaiv’s eagle-huntress journey has been documented and shaped, as here, for an audience of outsiders. (Responding to past critiques, Nurgaiv here acknowledges that women eagle hunters competed in Kazakhstan before she did and downplays male opposition she faced.) Mediated by Welch and in translation, Nurgaiv’s voice is inconsistent. While expressions of clichéd adolescent excitement over her celebrity status feel somewhat manufactured, Nurgaiv’s love for and pride in her homeland, culture, and family come through with quiet, persuasive power.

An intriguing memoir from a girl who’s become a cultural icon. (glossary) (Memoir. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

"[A] glimpse into another culture.... Recommended."—School Library Journal

"Nurgaiv's love for and pride in her homeland, culture, and family come through with quiet, persuasive power. An intriguing memoir from a girl who's become a cultural icon."—Kirkus

"Young readers will be intrigued by the details of eagle hunting and the nomadic lifestyle.... An accessibly written, steadily paced story of perseverance and self-confidence."—School Library Connection

"A great stand-alone or companion to the documentary film The Eagle Huntress."—Booklist

From the Publisher

Aisholpan Nurgaiv is a real-life Kazakh girl who became the first female entrant and winner in Mongolia’s prestigious Golden Eagle Festival. Hunting with eagles is an ancient skill traditionally limited to males. Narrator Alexa Khan uses her youthful voice to re-create Nurgaiv’s accented English. This gives the first-person story a feeling of authenticity, as Nurgaiv frequently describes her unfamiliarity with the world outside her nomadic life in Mongolia. However, the stilted speech pattern makes the story’s pace quite slow, a weakness that is compounded by the absence of contractions in Nurgaiv’s writing. Nurgaiv has an even temperament, but Khan also expresses her occasional frustrations, her sadness over the death of a beloved relative, and her excitement upon winning the competition. L.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2020 - AudioFile

Aisholpan Nurgaiv is a real-life Kazakh girl who became the first female entrant and winner in Mongolia’s prestigious Golden Eagle Festival. Hunting with eagles is an ancient skill traditionally limited to males. Narrator Alexa Khan uses her youthful voice to re-create Nurgaiv’s accented English. This gives the first-person story a feeling of authenticity, as Nurgaiv frequently describes her unfamiliarity with the world outside her nomadic life in Mongolia. However, the stilted speech pattern makes the story’s pace quite slow, a weakness that is compounded by the absence of contractions in Nurgaiv’s writing. Nurgaiv has an even temperament, but Khan also expresses her occasional frustrations, her sadness over the death of a beloved relative, and her excitement upon winning the competition. L.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2020 - AudioFile