Middle Grade Monday: Two Roads, by Joseph Bruchac

Title: Two Roads

Author: Joseph Bruchac

Publication Info: 2018 Dial Books. 320 pages 

Source: Library digital resources

 

Publisher’s Blurb:

It's 1932, and twelve-year-old Cal Black and his Pop have been riding the rails for years after losing their farm in the Great Depression. Cal likes being a knight of the road with Pop, even if they're broke. But then Pop has to go to Washington, DC--some of his fellow veterans are marching for their government checks, and Pop wants to make sure he gets his due--and Cal can't go with him. So Pop tells Cal something he never knew before: Pop is actually a Creek Indian, which means Cal is too. And Pop has decided to send Cal to a government boarding school for Native Americans in Oklahoma called the Challagi School.

At school, the other Creek boys quickly take Cal under their wings. Even in the harsh, miserable conditions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school, he begins to learn about his people's history and heritage. He learns their language and customs. And most of all, he learns how to find strength in a group of friends who have nothing beyond each other.

My Review:

This was one of my random picks from the library's Overdrive catalog, but I knew that if Bruchac wrote it, it would be worth reading. Once again, he delivered, though I almost felt like things went too well in this book--it was kind of lacking the edge that comes of putting more obstacles in the characters' paths. That might be a criticism, but it might also be part of why I enjoyed reading the book just now: it wasn't too challenging. I was learning some more about a bit of US history that--like so many of the less savory parts--I knew something of, but was never more than vaguely alluded to in any class at school.

By setting the book in the 1930s, Bruchac was able to avoid the real horrors of the Indian schools (something that has been coming out, both about US and Canadian school, in recent years). He alludes to them, but when Cal attends Challagi the biggest difference between it and many other boarding schools at the time was the assumption that the Indian students couldn't really learn academics, a bit of racism that at least led to good training in farming.

The parts of the book set "on the road" were interesting, though again I wondered if they were presented in a bit too positive a light. Bruchac does make reference to the many men out there who were anything but "knights of the road," and the dangers faced especially by a boy alone. The more romantic view is perhaps that of Cal himself.

In the end, the story worked for me. I cared deeply about Cal and his journeys, both literal and metaphorical, as he learns about his own Creek heritage and what that can mean--including the very good reasons why his father had chosen to "pass" as white.

My Recommendation:

An enjoyable read, not too challenging but still good for opening the eyes about issues of race and justice, with a very relatable main character in Cal. Suitable for younger kids than many of Bruchac's works; I would say about 9 and up, at least with some guidance/discussion of some of the history.

FTC Disclosure: I borrowed an electronic copy of Two Roads from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”   

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2021

 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.

Enjoyed this post? Avoid missing out on future posts by following us.

Middle Grade Monday: Talking Leaves, by Joseph Bruchac (audio book)

Title: Talking Leaves
Author: Joseph Bruchac. Read by the author
Publication Info: 2016, Random House Audio. Original 2016 by Dial Books, 256 pages
Source: Library digital resources

Publisher's Blurb:
Thirteen-year-old Uwohali has not seen his father, Sequoyah, for many years. So when Sequoyah returns to the village, Uwohali is eager to reconnect. But Sequoyah’s new obsession with making strange markings causes friends and neighbors in their tribe to wonder whether he is crazy, or worse—practicing witchcraft. What they don’t know, and what Uwohali discovers, is that Sequoyah is a genius and his strange markings are actually an alphabet representing the sounds of the Cherokee language. 

The story of one of the most important figures in Native American history is brought to life for middle grade readers. 


My Review:  
This is both a story of a boy coming of age and learning to understand his father, and a story of something very important in Native American history. As with his Code Talker, Bruchac is the writer to tackle it.

The brilliance of the story in fact lies in telling it from the perspective of the estranged son, not that of Sequoyah himself. In this way we, like Uwohali, gradually come to understand the importance of what Sequoyah is doing. Even though the reader knows from the start (unlike Uwohali) that Sequoyah isn't crazy, but is making an alphabet for the Cherokee language, we share the boy's uncertainty as he tries to figure it out--and his excitement when he finally understands. 

What took me a while to get was why Sequoyah needed to make a new alphabet, rather than using the sounds of the English alphabet to create the sounds of Cherokee. I think that listening to Bruchac reading, with the many Cherokee words in the book, helped me to see that the ABCs simply can't capture the sounds. For this reason, I would recommend the audio book.

There was one aspect of the writing that bothered me some, probably mostly in the audio as I'd be less likely to notice it in print: the slightly stilted diction of the narrator (Uwohali). It is the diction of someone for whom English isn't the native language, but at times I wondered if it wasn't a bit of a stereotype. I honestly don't know; it certainly wouldn't seem right to have him using idiomatic modern English, and the lack of contractions would, I think, be historically accurate. In any case, it was a small thing. The story is more than worth the read, or the listen.

Blended in with the story of the language is a great deal of history of the Cherokee people, some of it fairly painful. This, too, is important to know. But always I came back to appreciating a book about the importance of language.

My Recommendation:
Read it, or listen to it, and learn about an important bit of American history.


FTC Disclosure: I checked Talking Leaves out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."