Teen Books
Synopsis:
Charged with fresh material and new perspectives, this updated edition of the groundbreaking biography From Brotherhood to Nationhood brings George Manuel and his fighting tradition into the present.
George Manuel (19201989) was the strategist and visionary behind the modern Indigenous movement in Canada. A three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, he laid the groundwork for what would become the Assembly of First Nations and was the founding president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. Authors Peter McFarlane and Doreen Manuel follow him on a riveting journey from his childhood on a Shuswap reserve through three decades of fierce and dedicated activism.
In these pages, an all-new foreword by celebrated Mi'kmaq lawyer and activist Pam Palmater is joined by an afterword from Manuel’s granddaughter, land defender Kanahus Manuel. This edition features new photos and previously untold stories of the pivotal roles that the women of the Manuel family played and continue to play in the battle for Indigenous rights.
Reviews
“Brotherhood to Nationhood is more than just a biography of the life of George Manuel; it demonstrates the roots of an Indigenous internationalism and political theory that is grounded in the ethics, knowledge, and practices of the Secwepemc people.” – Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of As We Have Always Done
Educator Information
Table of Contents
Foreword - Dr. Pamela Palmater
Preface - Peter McFarlane
Preface - Doreen Manuel
Part I. The Neck of the Chicken
1. Paradise, Paradise Lost, 1960
2. The Hard-Luck Shuswap Kid, 1920–1932
3. White Plague, Red Victims, 1932–1954
4. Local Agitator to Provincial Leader, 1955–1960
5. A Future for Your Children, 1960–1963
Part II. Building the National Movement
6. Community Development and the Arthur Laing Gang, 1965–1967
7. Down the Garden Path: Chretien Andras Consultations, 1968–1969
8. From White Paper to Red Paper, 1969–1970
9. The National Chief
10. The National Indian Philosophy, 1971–1972
Part III. Indian Shogun
11. International Travels
12. Land Title and the James Bay Battle, 1972–1973
13. Red Power
14. Political Eruptions in British Columbia, 1975
15. A Voice for the Fourth World, 1975–1976
16. Back to British Columbia,1976–1977
17. The Peoples’ Movement, 1977–1979
18. Constitutional Express, 1980
Part IV. Final Days
19. European Express, 1981–1982
20. Passing the Torch, 1982–1989
Epilogue
Afterword - Kanahus Manuel
Additional Information
402 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Revised, 2nd Edition
Synopsis:
Beautiful and delicious gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free recipes, fully endorsed by Whole30.
As millions of people know, one of the toughest things about completing the Whole30 is figuring out what to eat the other 335 days of the year. Kirsten Buck, creator of Buck Naked Kitchen, struggled with her weight and chronic eczema for years before she transformed her life through food. She adopted a mostly paleo way of eating--gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, healthy fats, no refined sugars--and experienced dramatic weight loss. Soon after she went on to win the first-ever "Next Whole30 Star" competition and is now a certified holistic nutritionist, sharing delicious and beautiful recipes on her blog and Instagram with thousands of fans. From her Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich for lunch, to Moroccan Lamb Stew for dinner, to the stunning Summer Berry Galette to satisfy your sweet tooth, there is something for every taste. In addition, there are recipe basics for making your own mayo, yogurt, salad dressings, tahini, and more, which prove that healthy eating doesn't have to break the bank.
Reviews
“[Buck Naked Kitchen] combines Kirsten’s education as a certified holistic nutritionist with her background and experience focusing on whole foods and creating healthy, approachable and delicious meals. Not only is every recipe gluten, grain AND dairy-free, did I also mention the Manitoba favourite: chicken tenders and HONEY DILL?! You gotta try it!”—Travel Manitoba
What I see in this book is a woman showing up as her truest, most authentic self, using food to speak to us, to connect with us, and to show us and herself love. Kirsten has brought her journey into the light, and the joy, vibrancy, and newfound confidence with which she both cooks and moves through this world glows through these pages.”—from the Foreword by Melissa Urban, Whole30 Co-Founder and CEO
“There are so many classic recipe staples in Kirsten's cookbook that it deserves a permanent place on every kitchen counter! I felt like she invited me into her home and showed me how to cook nourishing food from scratch. The photography is beautiful and Kirsten's approach to food is so effortless and natural.”—Joy McCarthy, bestselling author of Joyous Health and The Joyous Cookbook
Additional Information
272 pages | 8.25" x 9.31" | Full-colour photos throughout | Hardcover
Synopsis:
bug is a solo performance and artistic ceremony that highlights the ongoing effects of colonialism and intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous women, as well as a testimony to the women's resilience and strength. The Girl traces her life from surviving the foster care system to her struggles with addictions. She fights, hoping to break the cycle in order to give her daughter a different life than the one she had. The Mother sits in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, recounting memories of the daughter that was taken from her, and the struggles of living on the streets in Northern Ontario. They are both followed by Manidoons, a physical manifestation of the trauma and addictions that crawl across generations.
bug reveals the hard truths that many Indigenous women face as they carve out a space to survive in contemporary Canada, while holding on to so much hope.
Reviews
"bug pulls back the curtain on the falsehood of reconciliation using storytelling and movement, bringing everything we've seen in the news and the history books into the heart and gut." - Mooney on Theatre
Educator Information
Recommended for grades 10 to 12.
Additional Information
80 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"
Synopsis:
Some of the most vibrant colors and patterns in the Animal Kingdom are found among butterflies. Gawdy swallowtails, exquisite gossamer-wings, and a multitude of eye-catching brushfoots are particular standouts, though plenty of whites, sulphurs, metalmarks, and skippers are also adorned with splendid markings. Flowering plants across North America attract some 700 butterfly species as well as thousands of moths, bees, wasps, flies, and beetles, not to mention some hummingbirds and bats. This portable reference is a handy tool for those wishing to deepen their understanding of butterflies and other colorful pollinators. It features beautiful illustrations of 70 familiar butterflies and moths as well as some especially common larvae and pupae. Also included are notes on life cycles and other common pollinators. Laminated for durability, this lightweight, 12-panel folding pocket guide is a terrific resource for educators, learners, naturalists, and gardeners.
Additional Information
12 pages | 4.10" x 8.35"
Synopsis:
Childhood Thoughts and Water is a collection of Beat Poetry, Spoken Word, Performance Art and Lyrical Verse. This is a work which journeys into the memories and events of an Urban Indigenous warrior's struggles to reconnect with a language and culture that is seemingly always almost out of reach. The common theme of reconnecting with nature and with water is interspersed with the imagery of childhood recollections and anecdotes about life and love, aspirations and defeats, and the desire to achieve greatness in spite of the obstacles and barriers inherent in a life lived on the fringes, in the shadows and on the streets, in the spotlight and behind the backstage curtain.
Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Modern Indigenous Voices series.
Additional Information
80 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback
Synopsis:
For fans of true crime, an unsolved mystery of missing persons, police conspiracies, and private investigations in an Indigenous community in northern Canada.
Métis leader James Brady was one of the most famous Indigenous activists in Canada. A communist, strategist, and bibliophile, he led Métis and First Nations to rebel against government and church oppression. Brady’s success made politicians and clergy fear him, and he had enemies everywhere.
In 1967, while prospecting in Saskatchewan with Cree Band Councillor and fellow activist Absolom Halkett, both men vanished without a trace from their remote lakeside camp. For 50 years rumours swirled of secret mining interests, political intrigue, assassination, and murder. Cold Case North is the story of how a small team, with the help of a local Indigenous community, exposed police failure in the original investigation, discovered new clues and testimony, and gathered the pieces of the North’s most enduring missing persons puzzle.
Reviews
“This engrossing account charts the efforts of three dedicated people to determine the fate of two missing Indigenous men in the north of Canada. [...] Meticulously researched, this smoothly written tale of injustice showcases the authors’ tenacity and arouses the reader’s indignation. This is a scathing rebuke of the RCMP’s failure to take the case of missing Indigenous people seriously.” —Publisher's Weekly
“Like too many cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people, authorities failed to ensure that Brady and Halkett’s deaths were properly investigated. This book helps get to the bottom of the fate of these two men, and demonstrates why investigators should never dismiss the knowledge of Indigenous peoples.” —Darren Prefontaine, author of Gabriel Dumont
“Cold Case North is part true crime thriller, part gripping mystery about the disappearance of Métis legend James Brady and Absolom Halkett in northern Saskatchewan. It is also about Indigenous knowledge, investigative incompetence, and the stuff of legend.” —Paul Seesequasis, author of Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun
“A fascinating search for the truth, Cold Case North unravels the layers of a decades’ old mystery. It is about how communities hold knowledge for generations, and how missing loved ones are never forgotten.” —Katherena Vermette, author of River Woman and The Break
Additional Information
272 pages | 5.00" x 7.00"
Synopsis:
A brutally honest but charming look at the pain of childhood and the alienation and anxiety of early adulthood.
In his memoir, we are invited to walk through the life of the author, Jim Terry, as he struggles to find security and comfort in an often hostile environment. Between the Ho-Chunk community of his Native American family in Wisconsin and his schoolmates in the Chicago suburbs, he tries in vain to fit in and eventually turns to alcohol to provide an escape from increasing loneliness and alienation. Terry also shares with the reader in exquisite detail the process by which he finds hope and gets sober, as well as the powerful experience of finding something to believe in and to belong to at the Dakota Access Pipeline resistance at Standing Rock.
Reviews
"fortunately for readers of this raw and intimate graphic memoir, Terry never fully lets go of his youthful vulnerability. . . . Reckoning with sobriety requires connection and humility, as Terry makes the case for with sincerity and beauty, as he ties his recovery to his spiritual homecoming.” —Starred Review, Publishers Weekly.
“Terry, known for his outstanding superhero illustrations, turns the lens inward in this brutally honest memoir. . . . An exceptionally well-told story with no easy answers but an ending that will inspire.” —Starred Review, Booklist.
“Illuminated by bursts of both joy and sorrow. With humbling sensitivity and candor, Jim shares with us his personal journey down emotionally complex paths towards home.” —TIMOTHY TRUMAN, author of Marvel Comics’ Conan series.
“An epic memoir. Terry has a way with words — his pithy writing skillfully mixes nostalgia and melancholy. But it his gorgeous, inventive, black-and-white artwork that makes this book so memorable.”— JOSH NEUFELD, author of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge
Educator Information
Recommended for ages 16+
Additional Information
240 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"
Synopsis:
It’s 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and fifteen-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine’s father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church – a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But Justine does her best as a devoted daughter until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever.
Crooked Hallelujah tells the stories of Justine—a mixed-blood Cherokee woman— and her daughter, Reney, as they move from Eastern Oklahoma’s Indian Country in the hopes of starting a new, more stable life in Texas amid the oil bust of the 1980s. However, life in Texas isn’t easy, and Reney feels unmoored from her family in Indian Country. Against the vivid backdrop of the Red River, we see their struggle to survive in a world—of unreliable men and near-Biblical natural forces, like wildfires and tornados—intent on stripping away their connections to one another and their very ideas of home.
In lush and empathic prose, Kelli Jo Ford depicts what this family of proud, stubborn, Cherokee women sacrifices for those they love, amid larger forces of history, religion, class, and culture. This is a big-hearted and ambitious novel of the powerful bonds between mothers and daughters by an exquisite and rare new talent.
Reviews
"A book that you want to share with everyone you know and one that you are desperate to keep in your own possession. A masterful debut and a new and thrilling voice for readers across the globe." —Sarah Jessica Parker, on Instagram
"In “Crooked Hallelujah,” a collection of interwoven story-chapters, Kelli Jo Ford takes her readers on a compelling journey through the evolving terrain of multiple generations of women." —Diana Abu-Jaber, The Washington Post
Additional Information
304 pages | 5.50" x 8.25"
Synopsis:
“Required reading for anyone invested in our shared future with these powerful and complex creatures. ” —John Vaillant, author of The Tiger and The Golden Spruce
Growing up on a northern trap line, Harold Johnson was taught to keep his distance from wolves. For decades, wolves did the same for humans. But now this seems to be changing. In 2005, twenty-two-year-old Kenton Carnegie was killed in a wolf attack near his work camp. Part story, part forensic analysis, Cry Wolf examines this and other attacks, showing how we fail to take this apex predator seriously at our own peril.
Reviews
“A crucial and timely examination of our shifting relationship to the land in general and the Canis lupus in particular. ” —Eden Robinson, author of Son of a Trickster
“Insightful . . . . Johnson eloquently argues that Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the wisdom of Indigenous people can help us better understand the true nature of predators such as wolves. ” —Cristina Eisenberg, PhD, author of The Wolf’s Tooth and The Carnivore Way
Additional Information
160 pages | 5.00" x 7.50"
Synopsis:
Jennifer McCaffrey has been working hard on her art for years and is thrilled when she is accepted to a prestigious art school. The school is everything she always thought it would be, mostly. There is one group of kids who seem to resent her and say she only got in because of her skin color. Jen, who loves to create new pieces of artwork that incorporate her Indigenous heritage, finds herself a target when the group tells her to stop being “so Indian”. The night before the big art show at school, Jen’s beading art project is defaced. Jen has to find a way not to let the haters win.
Reviews
“Offers a mirror to the sometimes painful emotions and everyday experiences of Indigenous teens of mixed heritage. A rare and welcome reluctant reader title featuring an Indigenous protagonist.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Through the novel’s accessible language and short chapters, readers of all levels and backgrounds will be able to relate to and learn from Jen’s overcoming racial prejudice and intolerance. Readers will also gain a sense of empathy as they come to understand the struggles faced by Indigenous youth in contemporary society. Highly Recommended.” — CM: Canadian Review of Materials
Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12+
Fry Reading Level: 3.4
Themes: racism, prejudice, standing up to bullies, cultural pride, Indigenous art
Dreaming in Color is a companion novel to the bestselling He Who Dreams (the main character is John's sister).
New, enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 6 to 9 for English Language Arts.
This is an Orca Soundings book. Orca Soundings are short, high-interest novels written specifically for teens. These edgy stories with compelling characters and gripping storylines are ones they will want to read.
Additional Information
144 pages | 5.00" x 7.50"
Synopsis:
A magnificent testament to the earth, from Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet N. Scott Momaday.
One of the most distinguished voices in American letters, N. Scott Momaday has devoted much of his life to celebrating and preserving Native American culture, especially its oral tradition. A member of the Kiowa tribe who was born and grew up on Indian reservations throughout the Southwest, Momaday has an intimate connection to the land he knows well and loves deeply.
In Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land, he reflects on his native ground and its influence on his people. “When I think about my life and the lives of my ancestors, I am inevitably led to the conviction that I, and they, belong to the American land. This is a declaration of belonging. And it is an offering to the earth.” he writes.
Momaday recalls stories of his childhood, stories that have been passed down through generations, stories that reveal a profound and sacred connection to the American landscape and a reverence for the natural world.
In this moving and lyrical work, he offers an homage and a warning. Momaday reminds us that the Earth is a sacred place of wonder and beauty; a source of strength and healing that must be protected before it’s too late. As he so eloquently yet simply expresses, we must all be keepers of the Earth.
Reviews
“Poets and storytellers have always reminded us of our spiritual connections to the land and the world around us — passed along through dreams, stories, memories, and mythologies. Scott Momaday skillfully continues this tradition in Earth Keeper, from which we can all learn and benefit.”— Robert Redford
“Earth Keeper is a prayer for continuity in these days of uncertainty. I cannot tell you why I loved this book, I can only tell you I wept my way through it. Each page brought me closer to myself, a self I had lost in the pandemic. We need Scott Momaday's calm, clear prose and stories. Words are medicine. There is wisdom in sharing what one knows, especially at a time when we know so little. ‘Let me say my heart,’ he says. And he does.”— Terry Tempest Williams, author of Erosion: Essays of Undoing
"Dazzling. . . . In glittering prose, Momaday recalls stories passed down through generations, illuminating the earth as a sacrosanct place of wonder and abundance. At once a celebration and a warning, Earth Keeper is an impassioned defense of all that our endangered planet stands to lose."— Esquire
“Wonder abounds in these pages. . . . Short chapters of prose that read almost like prayers to the natural world.”— Kirkus Reviews
“Short but satisfying. . . . Using lyrical, heartfelt language, [Momaday] looks back on a life lived close to nature, and on the joy that natural wonders have given him. . . . At a time when bad news is in plentiful supply, readers will find Momaday’s words refreshing and comforting in their sincerity.”— Publishers Weekly
"A profound reflection on humanity's relationship with its terrestrial home, the planet Earth."— Booklist
“A collection of short essays as multilayered and majestic as the landscape that has been present in everything that Momaday has written. . . . [A] poetic love letter to the Earth.”— Minneapolis Star Tribune
Educator Information
From the Author's Note: "This book is a very personal account, a kind of spiritual autobiography."
Additional Information
80 pages | 5.00" x 7.12"
Synopsis:
From the author of the YA-crossover hit The Marrow Thieves, a propulsive, stunning and sensuous novel inspired by the traditional Métis story of the Rogarou--a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of Métis communities. A messed-up, grown-up, Little Red Riding Hood.
Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for almost a year--ever since he went missing on the night they had their first serious argument. One terrible, hungover morning in a Walmart parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival tent where the local Métis have been flocking to hear a charismatic preacher named Eugene Wolff. By the time she staggers into the tent, the service is over. But as she is about to leave, she hears an unmistakable voice.
She turns, and there Victor is. The same face, the same eyes, the same hands. But his hair is short and he's wearing a suit and he doesn't recognize her at all. No, he insists, she's the one suffering a delusion: he's the Reverend Wolff and his only mission is to bring his people to Jesus. Except that, as Joan soon discovers, that's not all the enigmatic Wolff is doing.
With only the help of Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with a knowledge of the old ways, and her odd, Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year-old nephew Zeus, Joan has to find a way to remind the Reverend Wolff of who he really is. If he really is Victor. Her life, and the life of everyone she loves, depends upon it.
Reviews
“Empire of Wild will not let you go. Mix werewolves unlike you’ve ever read before with the mythos-expanding struggles of American Gods and blend with Cherie Dimaline’s newest heroine, the complex and wonderful Joan of Arcand, and the result is inventive, engrossing, poetic and thrilling. Empire is Dimaline’s most accomplished book yet.” —Eden Robinson, author of Monkey Beach and the Trickster trilogy
“Cherie Dimaline has written a wondrous and deeply felt novel about hypocrisy, power imbalance and the strange, dangerous space between reality and belief. Dimaline is one of the most honest and fearless writers of her generation, and Empire of Wild is an honest and fearless book.” —Omar El Akkad, author of American War
“A magical, electric novel that merges our modern urban world with the mythology of an uncolonized landscape. Dimaline’s descriptions are vivid and sordid and so, so alive. She creates a whole world of hope and hatred in the figure of a hot man in a ’79 Impala, and then takes you into the woods where a wolf dressed in a fine suit threatens to swallow you whole in disturbingly erudite language. The wonders of Indigenous values and their struggle to survive against insidious Western ideology and culture are framed in a wild adventure that cements Dimaline’s talents as a magical realist provocatrice.” —Heather O’Neill, author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel
“Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive—all the while telling a story that needs to be told by a person who needs to be telling it. The book feels like now, and we need more stories from Native communities to feel that way. She knows this community and this community will know she knows it when they read her, but it will resonate with so many more. Cherie Dimaline is a voice that feels both inevitable and necessary.” —Tommy Orange, author of There There
Educator Information
This book is available in French: Rougarou
Additional Information
320 pages | 5.14" x 7.99" | Paperback
Synopsis:
The beloved story of an Inuvialuit girl standing up to the bullies of residential school, updated for a new generation of readers.
Margaret Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton’s powerful story of residential school in the far North has been reissued to commemorate the memoir’s 10th anniversary with updates to the text, reflections on the book’s impact, and a bonus chapter from the acclaimed follow-up, A Stranger at Home. New content includes a foreword from Dr. Debbie Reese, noted Indigenous scholar and founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature, while Christy Jordan-Fenton, mother of Margaret’s grandchildren and a key player in helping Margaret share her stories, discusses the impact of the book in a new preface.
With important updates since it first hit the shelves a decade ago, this new edition of Fatty Legs will continue to resonate with readers young and old.
Reviews
"I highly recommend this book for the discussion it would stir with students...Makes the harrowing residential school stories accessible to youth." — Resource Links
"Presents a unique and enlightening glimpse into the residential school experience and, most importantly, one little girl's triumph over her oppressors." — Quill & Quire
"Fatty Legs is a memoir written to introduce children to the reality of the residential school system and the focus on assimilating Indigenous peoples. The story documents the journey of a young girl who wanted to go to school to learn to read and her realization that school wasn’t what she imagined it to be." — The Dalai Lama Center
Educator Information
Themes: biography; Inuit; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous; arctic; school; self-esteem; abuse; community; prejudice; Canadian content; courage/bravery; right vs. wrong; role reversal; secrets; society; history; bullying; memoir; character education.
This resource is also available in French: Les bas du pensionnat
This resource is also available in its original format: Fatty Legs: A True Story
Additional Information
156 pages | 6.50" x 9.00" |
Authenticity Note
This illustrator of this book is not Indigenous; therefore, her artwork is not considered to be Authentic Indigenous Artwork according to Strong Nations Authenticity Guidelines. The archival photos from Margaret Pokiak-Fenton's personal collection, however, are considered to be authentic, which is why the book is labelled as containing Authentic Indigenous Artwork. It is up to readers to determine whether or not the images in this work are authentic for their purposes.
Synopsis:
Autumn Dawn has learned to deal with her dyslexia and her life is starting to look better, but a horrible accident threatens to change everything. When her mother and brother are crossing a street, they are accidentally hit by a car. Autumn's little brother is okay, but her mother ends up in intensive care. Autumn's father, who had walked away from his family awhile ago, leaving them to fend for themselves, is now back in their lives and trying to make amends. When Autumn's mom is released from the hospital, she still needs help, so Autumn's dad moves back home.
Can Autumn ever forgive her father for leaving his family in the first place, or will she continue to be angry and resentful? Is it possible to trust any male, including her devoted boyfriend?
Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12+.
Fry Reading Level: 4.5
This book is part of the PathFinders Collection of Indigenous Hi-Lo- novels. Interest level is pre-teen on up.
The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features:
• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age-appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors
The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.
This book is also part of the Autumn Dawn Series, a subseries of the PathFinders.
Additional Information
120 pages | 4.50" x 7.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention.
Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission.
Fuelled by rage and furious with God, Clara finds her way into the dangerous, highly charged world of the American Indian Movement. Maisie internalizes her pain and continually places herself in dangerous situations. Famous for his daring escapes from the school, Kenny can’t stop running and moves restlessly from job to job—through fishing grounds, orchards and logging camps—trying to outrun his memories and his addiction. Lucy finds peace in motherhood and nurtures a secret compulsive disorder as she waits for Kenny to return to the life they once hoped to share together. After almost beating one of his tormentors to death, Howie serves time in prison, then tries once again to re-enter society and begin life anew.
With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward.
Awards
- Amazon Canada First Novel Award
- 2020 Governor General's Literary Award for English-language fiction
- 2022 Canada Reads Winner
Educator Information
Winner of the 2018 HarperCollins/UBC Price for Best New Fiction, Michelle Good's Five Little Indians is told from alternating points of view of five former residential school students as they struggle to survive in 1960s Vancouver.
Additional Information
304 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"