The central theme of The Ancient One is connections: among people, across time and cultures, and within the natural world.

Barron develops this theme not only through telling two stories linked across time and culture, but also by the interesting and diverse characters he creates.

One of the most intriguing elements of this story is the character of Kate Gordon.

Although Kate is not enthusiastic at first about visiting her great aunt, she hopes that the visit will help her come to terms with her grandfather's death from which she is still grieving, a story told in the earlier novel Heartlight. She, like many adolescents, does not feel at home with herself and yearns for Aunt Melanie's peaceful quality.

She feels alienated and alone and decidedly unconnected because every time she gets close to someone, they leave or are taken away from her. At...