Set in the world of the Mayan civilization's Late Classic Period (ca. AD 550-830), House of the Waterlily is an affecting historical novel centering around Lady Winik, a young Maya noble girl. Through a series of adventures that mirror the political calamities afflicting the Maya, Winik's story immerses the reader in her daily life-the architecture of ancient cities, the different roles of Mayan society, and the decisions Maya men and women must have been faced with as they tried to navigate a rapidly changing world. Kelli Carmean's novel brings alive a people and an era remote from our own, yet recognizably human all the same.