The Ugly One: A scarred, shunned twelve-year-old finds her strength―with a rescued macaw―on the path to becoming Machu Picchu's shaman.

“[A] quiet, deeply moving story.” —The Bulletin

Twelve-year-old Micay walks around her fifteenth-century Incan village shielding the scarred side of her face that inspired the cruel name Millay, or “Ugly One.” She escapes to her huaca rock, avoiding the villagers who shun her. Her world shifts dramatically when a stranger gives her a sorry-looking baby macaw. The bird becomes her dear companion on a journey that ultimately leads her to a new role as shaman in Machu Picchu’s Sacred Sun City. Told in an engaging storyteller’s voice, this is a stirring tale of a girl who finds her own strength.