How can a book this short be this powerful? I can see why it's getting award nominations and accolades because this is a powerful story about a girl lHow can a book this short be this powerful? I can see why it's getting award nominations and accolades because this is a powerful story about a girl learning about the history of her family in which they were sent to residential schools and stripped of their way of life, culture, language, hair, and ideals but through deeper connections, she discovers what people digging around the residential schools are finding-- bodies and stories hidden.
Taking place in Alberta over the summer where Summer's family spends time on a ranch, Summer's learning deepens with her dreams and her conversations with family. The frustration of what happened to them in the past needs to be healed but they are living in the present, which I value in the story as well.
I know it's getting a lot of hype but I don't think the audience matches the writing and in reading it, the vagueness of the story from start to finisI know it's getting a lot of hype but I don't think the audience matches the writing and in reading it, the vagueness of the story from start to finish made me frustrated. I wanted more substance because it felt more ethereal than real though Quigley's message is one of taking back power and showcasing Indigenous folks who don't live on reservations in the middle of the United States but in urban areas like Tomah and Ariel, the two characters from the story. Ariel is struggling because her auntie is a missing woman. There's a lot of past and present to unpack and uncertainty about the future that maybe Tomah and Ariel can band together to help muddle their way through.
The verse works for the concept but I wish it was more literal than figurative to drive home the point of missing women in the community for a younger audience. I don't know if readers would come away with the knowledge and understanding if they didn't already have it before.
One of the last chapters "Survive and Breathe" in Tomah's words was one of my favorites. ...more
Highlighting the cycles of the natural world, this book is a story of a generation. As the picture book begins she's a little girl running through natHighlighting the cycles of the natural world, this book is a story of a generation. As the picture book begins she's a little girl running through nature and sitting under a huge tree with her grandparents. Then urban encroachment happens but the plant that breaks through reminds her of the beauty of nature again and as she has her own child to teach about the beauty of nature, thus returns to say "thank you" to the world we live in.
Interspersed in the storytelling are elements about specific nuts, plants, and and food in nature and why they're important. It's a reminder to appreciate nature for its wonder and its bounty. ...more
Every home has its attributes and there are major differences between living, urban, suburban, and rural lives. In this story featuring a Cherokee girEvery home has its attributes and there are major differences between living, urban, suburban, and rural lives. In this story featuring a Cherokee girl, her return to the land is exactly what she hoped and wanted it to be- a reunion and communion with nature that shows the connection Indigenous folks have with the natural world.
A magical world that showcases Elatsoe's grandmother in bringing the world to light in a way that focuses on the still ongoing issue of missing personA magical world that showcases Elatsoe's grandmother in bringing the world to light in a way that focuses on the still ongoing issue of missing persons. In this story, Shane's mother hunts down missing persons but when her mother and the missing boy are now missing, Shane is determined to figure out why especially because it means tracking down some experts and figuring out what is up with this fairy ring and why it matters to the disappearance.
It's an entire world that is warm and cozy while being about a strong girl looking to lean into her beliefs, culture, and find a way through, ghost dogs and all. ...more
This rolled into Karen McManus territory with the bits of unbelievability because the dark elements, while dark, are a little harder to suspend disbelThis rolled into Karen McManus territory with the bits of unbelievability because the dark elements, while dark, are a little harder to suspend disbelief regarding however there's a dark side to the human experience and clearly it was going to go there.
My issue was more in the overall delivery of the story-- I like multiple points of view but there might have been one or two too many to keep track of if there wasn't enough of a discerning of who they were at the start and the book is bogged down in the middle. Too little doesn't happen to then have this weirdly sped-up ending and resolution. I needed a more consistent pace and I think some teens will drop the book because of the inconsistency. But the intensity is a focus for teens in the mystery/thriller drama and this one does bring it, but a little too late. And of course the present day representation of Indigenous youth is important... moments such as giving Mara an Indian name because of their gratefulness for work in figuring out what happened... "you could've stood in the background. Kept to yourself. But you helped Loren. You helped her search for what seemed to dissipate like smoke in wind. You used your knowing gut to help her see enough to expose the evil those boys were bringing." ...more
I don't think I've read something as approachable and focused-- but that's what the Who HQ books do. Either way, I feel like I know more about the oveI don't think I've read something as approachable and focused-- but that's what the Who HQ books do. Either way, I feel like I know more about the overall goals of the FULL party of people who were traveling west, the decisions made (based on ego, shortcuts, and weather to name a few) and how the events unfolded based on those decisions.
But there was also great context from how slow oxen move compared to a horse, the type of wagons that were used, and survival.
I would absolutely recommend this one to get a good handle on how it all unfolded....more
Found family is the important element to a story in which a girl is left orphaned and without a home until a family that keeps a lighthouse takes her Found family is the important element to a story in which a girl is left orphaned and without a home until a family that keeps a lighthouse takes her in. They're a large family with a warm loving mother who keeps a garden and the lighthouse running. The upkeep is important because of the inspections done and the importance of their work in keeping sailors safe. Lucy feels a little like Anne of Green Gables often and doesn't always fit in, making a mess of the house or not really the seafaring type, however she has a goal to go to an island close by because of a necklace that she knows she needs to discover to unlock the secret of her dad's ship sinking. This mystery is the least important part, it's really about her found family accepting her and her letting love in with an underlying culture of learning about the Indigenous population, of which Lucy is also and her adopted family.
It's sweet and unassuming but has an adventure aspect that makes it perfect for fans of Show Me a Sign....more
Excited that Swanson has got something new out because I have enjoyed every book he's written, particularly the teen titles that were usually adapted Excited that Swanson has got something new out because I have enjoyed every book he's written, particularly the teen titles that were usually adapted in some way from his adult titles because he's a true history lover.
This is a niche story. An attack by the French Canadian and Indigenous tribes in the East on a Protestant settlement in Deerfield, Massachusetts on a leap year February 29, 1704. They attacked in the middle of the night in the middle of winter on snowshoes with their tomahawks and war clubs. This settlement had been attacked before and it was attacked after.
The book is a lot of history around the attack and finds itself repeating quite frequently, so while it's the Deerfield Massacre book it could have been a chapter on a larger book about early America. There were certainly fascinating details, especially the door with its tomahawk marks, the clubbing of the small children to death as an act of mercy rather than bringing them with the group to their forced march up north, and the bartering back and forth for a daughter, Eunice, who ended up adopting the way of life even when the dad tried desperately to get her back. And Swanson writes extensively about how the area treated the massacre over time (including what it had been referred to for years and the ever-changing updates to how it was portrayed by others and the preservation of history-- nothing in the original settlement still stands).
As an example: a marker used to read "Mary, adopted by an Indian was named Walahowey. She married a savage and became one" it then changed to read "Mary, adopted by a Kanien'kehaka (Mohawk) was named Walahowey (Welahawi). She married a Kanien'kehaka and adopted the culture, customs and language of her new community in Kahnawake."
And I love learning new words like apotheosis meaning the highest or best part of something/ the perfect form of example of something. And interregnum which means a period during which the normal functions of government or control are suspended / a lapse or pause in a continuous series.
"Puritan families loved their children, and contrary to modern tropes, understood childhood as a separate sphere from adulthood and treated their little ones as individuals. As Anne Bradstreet, the Puritan poet, wrote in the mid-seventeenth century, 'Diverse children have their different natures: some are flesh which nothing but salt will keep from putrefaction; some again like tender fruits are best preserved with sugar; those parents are wise that can fit their nurture according to their nature.'"...more
Wesley's story is so gorgeously typical that it was so easy to feel like Wesley was sitting beside you telling the story. The crush, the friendships, Wesley's story is so gorgeously typical that it was so easy to feel like Wesley was sitting beside you telling the story. The crush, the friendships, the questions of identity are all what a kid at this age is consumed with so the layers of her life are richly adorned with nuggets of life truth. Her Indigenous family story is another layer to this both in her tribal affiliation (though blood quantum makes her feel like less than), participation in the events, and her visibility in school and sharing with others about who she is.
Plus the opening about the grandpa not understanding what the relative's "real job" was when it came to gaming is priceless and so modern times! ...more
Moore's back at it and this historical horror is more in line with his first books (as I wasn't a big fan of the second). To know that the Benders werMoore's back at it and this historical horror is more in line with his first books (as I wasn't a big fan of the second). To know that the Benders were a real killing family ups the ante of the Midwest as the main character is in pursuit of his father who left but hasn't returned.
The darkness begins right from the start with Warren explaining the dark thoughts he has. This draws in a reader immediately, but the secondary story that emerges is just as thrilling. Not only is it a historical thriller but a horror story as well with a captivating title and cover. ...more
A delightful story about how two cousins can stay connected to one another when one moves onto the reservation from the city while the other one staysA delightful story about how two cousins can stay connected to one another when one moves onto the reservation from the city while the other one stays in the city. They had so much to do together when they were together from dolls and adventuring but they must be content being apart until each summer when they make the drive onto the reservation to spend time eating, connecting, and celebrating at the powwow.
Sometimes staying connected means trading your favorite doll until next time. ...more
I wish I had known when this was a winner at the YMAs that it was a sequel. While I don't necessarily think that I wasn't entrenched in the story becaI wish I had known when this was a winner at the YMAs that it was a sequel. While I don't necessarily think that I wasn't entrenched in the story because I didn't read the first one (I've already checked it out to see where we were for book one), I would much rather read books in order especially since part of the relationship of a new family member when his father and father's girlfriend combine households is the crux of the story.
This combines the history of the Dine and the present by sharing the importance of the water monsters- both in protecting and using them but how to move forward too. The pacing wasn't strong. I found myself reading a few pages and then reading something else and then reading a few pages, so it didn't pull me in, however the illustrative qualities of the "adventure" into the worlds is reminiscent of any fantastic middle grade fantasy, though these ones are squarely planted in Indigenous culture. ...more
The story of a quest-- as a boy must summit a mountain, one that has killed his other siblings but that must happen in order to succeed. There he meetThe story of a quest-- as a boy must summit a mountain, one that has killed his other siblings but that must happen in order to succeed. There he meets an eagle to trains and teaches him what he needs to know to bring people together in the community by the end. Whether he accomplishes it or not is the plot of the story that shares the beauty and magic of the natural world in a way that Hatchet by Paulsen or Alone by Freeman did and is a feature, often, of Indigenous literature that is indelibly linked with animals and nature.
It's a slow, methodical story so a discerning middle grade reader would be engaged and awaiting the outcome. ...more
The ineptitude of the investigators quick to share that the dead were heavily intoxicated only scratches the surface of the injustices visited upon the families who were already sending their teens away for school to be boarded or fostered for a better education only to fall into despair, depression, and sometimes alcohol. Talaga details these deaths along with the discriminatory practices in how the deaths were handled included even sharing the death with next of kin. Systems were/are broken but how can it be better? It needs to get better.
Using "seven fallen feathers" as the analogy of seven lives lost under this larger umbrella has hard truths delivered. ...more
Breathtaking how Orange can put characters and situations together in these stories with multiple points of view and pull out so many emotions in readBreathtaking how Orange can put characters and situations together in these stories with multiple points of view and pull out so many emotions in readers. In this story, with connections to his first book There There, we're introduced to several generations over a period of many years-- first in 1864 centered around the Fort Marion Prison Castle after the Sand Creek Massacre where two generations of Stars are focused and where the latter meets Opal and try to survive one day at a time.
Then there's 2018 with Opal's nephews reliving school shooting and drug addiction after an accident and in the same, but different kind of survival mode.
The commentary of Indigenous culture and the horrific abuses that have been enacted on them socially, politically, mentally, economically, and in every other way is highlighted in this deeply-felt fictionalized (but not) story.
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