A review by katreadstoomanybooks
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good

emotional 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? No

5.0

An incredible testament to survivors of residential schools.  When I first saw the title, I cringed, but don’t worry, Michelle Good treats the subject with enormous respect.  She herself is a Cree author (and poet and lawyer) from Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.  Her mother, grandmother, and cousins were some of the many Indigenous children who were forcibly taken from their homes between the 1870s and 1990s.  (Did you know that the last residential school closed in 1996??)

Kenny, Maisie, Clara, Lucy, and Howie have been ripped from their families and sent to Mission School in British Columbia in the 1960s.  Years later, they are finally free of the abuse but still dealing with the aftermath of what they suffered, with no support.

What I appreciated the most was that Good focused on the years after residential school, the emotional and physical damage, and the re-traumatization that can happen during an investigation and trial.  Heads up: the first part of the book is highly triggering and graphic.

Good’s writing is descriptive, clear, and beautiful.  It’s hard to believe this is her debut novel, I can see why she won multiple awards (one of which coincided with the discovery of 215 human child remains at a former residential school- how horrific).
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