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laurajenkins's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Murder, War, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Gun violence
mysterymom40's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Gun violence
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
ashesmann's review
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I took away a star as I reviewed. The ending is warm and fuzzy, but the more I reflected, the more I remembered things that annoyed me.
The book did grow on me, and I suspect the movie is good. I haven't seen it yet. My hesitancy comes almost exclusively from the portray of native life and motives. I understand the author is in a bit of a pickle with it though. How do you accurately reflect the attitudes of the characters, devoid of modern sensibilities, but in a thoughtful way? I think the author did well in keeping the Captain's attitude in line with what a 'good' man would have thought, but she doesn't compensate for the fact he still holds a few racist ideals. For example, we hear very little from Joanna about her thoughts on her life with her adoptive family, and we're told they traded her away easily for a few supplies. I think an easy way to show how misunderstanding and distrust twisted truth would be to hear from Joanna about what happened from her perspective. Did her adoptive mother cry? Was there a reason for the trade? It seems so callous and reinforces the 'savage' stereotype. We see how cruel her German family was, show me why she yearned to return to the plains.
Maybe my thoughts are influenced by a local heroine from where I grew up. In my school we studied Mary Jemison, "the white woman of the Genesee". She was abducted as a child, her family killed. She chose to stay among the Seneca. She married twice into the tribe, she fought hard for their rights, and negotiated a better deal at the Treaty of Big Tree. She was a bridge. Not only between whites and natives, but between the different tribes themselves. And maybe because I grew up knowing this local history, it's not that unfamiliar or complicated a concept for me. Natives didn't just abduct and slaughter, they were following an accepted grieving ritual. If you cost the life of a family member, they had a right to take one in return if they could. In the case of Mary Jemison it was a Shawnee mourning ritual and interestingly there were French men in the party. The why is important. They weren't blood thirsty, they were evening the scales in their own way. And the children they adopted were treated as full fledged family members usually. Thousands of white children refused to come back to the European settlements after experiencing the compassionate way of life. Why battle against the land when you could learn from those who've already tamed it?
The Native Americans are portrayed as dirty, disloyal, lice infested, and lacking manners in this book. I think the author could have used Joanna's internal dialogue more to show how that was not the case. A girl who bonded with a somewhat lame horse couldn't understand the concept of a pet?? Though kind and fair, the Captain had some internalized racisms. Instead of portraying him as this perfectly pro 'foreigner', show that his view was still flawed. Joanna was extremely well educated in things that would matter for plains life...when was the last time your ten year old made bacon and cornbread and coffee and figured out how to turn dimes into ammo? That brilliance is almost portrayed like: silly little Indian, thinks everything is a weapon, little savage.
I do appreciate the author updating us on how life turned out for nearly every fictional character we met. It's nice that Joanna appears to have found joy and love, though her husband choice is a bit uncomfy and I expected she'd end up with one of the Captains grandsons. I also wish making a living today was a easy as reading the newspaper to cowboys.
The book did grow on me, and I suspect the movie is good. I haven't seen it yet. My hesitancy comes almost exclusively from the portray of native life and motives. I understand the author is in a bit of a pickle with it though. How do you accurately reflect the attitudes of the characters, devoid of modern sensibilities, but in a thoughtful way? I think the author did well in keeping the Captain's attitude in line with what a 'good' man would have thought, but she doesn't compensate for the fact he still holds a few racist ideals. For example, we hear very little from Joanna about her thoughts on her life with her adoptive family, and we're told they traded her away easily for a few supplies. I think an easy way to show how misunderstanding and distrust twisted truth would be to hear from Joanna about what happened from her perspective. Did her adoptive mother cry? Was there a reason for the trade? It seems so callous and reinforces the 'savage' stereotype. We see how cruel her German family was, show me why she yearned to return to the plains.
Maybe my thoughts are influenced by a local heroine from where I grew up. In my school we studied Mary Jemison, "the white woman of the Genesee". She was abducted as a child, her family killed. She chose to stay among the Seneca. She married twice into the tribe, she fought hard for their rights, and negotiated a better deal at the Treaty of Big Tree. She was a bridge. Not only between whites and natives, but between the different tribes themselves. And maybe because I grew up knowing this local history, it's not that unfamiliar or complicated a concept for me. Natives didn't just abduct and slaughter, they were following an accepted grieving ritual. If you cost the life of a family member, they had a right to take one in return if they could. In the case of Mary Jemison it was a Shawnee mourning ritual and interestingly there were French men in the party. The why is important. They weren't blood thirsty, they were evening the scales in their own way. And the children they adopted were treated as full fledged family members usually. Thousands of white children refused to come back to the European settlements after experiencing the compassionate way of life. Why battle against the land when you could learn from those who've already tamed it?
The Native Americans are portrayed as dirty, disloyal, lice infested, and lacking manners in this book. I think the author could have used Joanna's internal dialogue more to show how that was not the case. A girl who bonded with a somewhat lame horse couldn't understand the concept of a pet?? Though kind and fair, the Captain had some internalized racisms. Instead of portraying him as this perfectly pro 'foreigner', show that his view was still flawed. Joanna was extremely well educated in things that would matter for plains life...when was the last time your ten year old made bacon and cornbread and coffee and figured out how to turn dimes into ammo? That brilliance is almost portrayed like: silly little Indian, thinks everything is a weapon, little savage.
I do appreciate the author updating us on how life turned out for nearly every fictional character we met. It's nice that Joanna appears to have found joy and love, though her husband choice is a bit uncomfy and I expected she'd end up with one of the Captains grandsons. I also wish making a living today was a easy as reading the newspaper to cowboys.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence
kitty03's review
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Violence
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