Book Review: The Porcupine Year by Louise Erdrich

The Porcupine Yearis a remarkable year in the life of Omakayas and her family as they travel from their familiar home to an unknown future. They experience unexpected hardships and betrayal that will push them to the edge of survival.

This was a sweet and exciting story about a girl growing up while her family continually has to fight for survival. I thought it was very well written (probably a contender for the Newbery this year) and also managed to be a thrilling adventure story. The Ojibwe language and traditions mixed in throughout were interesting, but sometimes confusing. I found myself several times distracted by the long, complex words from the language that were sometimes not translated immediately. While it is a beautiful, touching story, I think the age group it is targeted for, children from grades 4-7, will not be very interested in it. It also most likely would have helped me understand the story and characters more if I had read the first two books.

Read-alikes:
The Birchbark Houseand The Game of Silenceby Louise Erdrich (first two in the series)
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemisonby Lois Lensky (I remember reading this in grade school and thinking it was so awesome!)
The Sign of the Beaverby Elizabeth George Spear (also a grade school read)

RATINGS:
s-factor: !
I think there may have been one :)

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
Not violent, per se, but some scary parts might frighten very young children.

Overall rating: ***

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