Magical Western: Wake of Vultures, Lila Bowen (Delilah Dawson)

Wake of Vultures
Lila Bowen
ISBN: 9780316264310
Read January 31, 2016
Nettie is half-black and half "injun" and she's been treated like a slave all her life, but that all changes when she stakes a lecherous vampire one night.

First off, Lila Bowen is actually Delilah Dawson, who I've had the pleasure of meeting a few times, and also have read her YA books HIT and Servants of the Storm.  With this pseudonym, she heads out into slightly (only slightly) grimmer territory with the magical western story of Nettie Lonesome, who discovers that the black and white "facts" she learned from her disreputable and abusive "adoptive parents" don't match reality all that well.

The night Nettie dispatches a fearsome predator in the back yard, her eyes are opened to the wild and demanding magical world.  She'll have to stretch and grow and learn a whole lot to make it through to the classic western showdown.

I sadly can't say a whole lot about this book without giving bits of it away, but I have to say that having Nettie so backwards and isolated and fundamentalist in her thinking gives Bowen a great way to "tell" about the weird west that she's created without it being an "as you know, Bob" situation.  Nettie truly doesn't know a damn thing, but she's been tasked with a terrifying mission, and if she doesn't figure out what's going down pretty quick, she's sunk.

The supporting characters are believable and most are carefully drawn to be at least somewhat three-dimensional, given limitations of space.  No one (with the positive exception of a mentor, and perhaps unsurprisingly the negative portrayal of the "adoptive parents" and big bad at the end) is presented in an unremittingly good or bad light - people have their positive and negative traits without those traits becoming shorthands for identifying white or black hats.  Nettie herself finds her prejudices and stereotypes challenged and countermanded constantly through the book, and other characters have their own assumptions shattered as well.  Sometimes they react positively, occasionally not.  Despite the grim nature of the quest narrative, the overall sense of the character base is supportive and caring, which I figure is probably the most magical aspect of the whole story, but I'm not going to complain too hard, because it really becomes necessary to balance out the grim and gruesome evil that Nettie is forced to confront.

Also, can I say how forever grateful and happy I am that this is the first book in a series, but the storyline is totally and completely resolved.  There IS a cliffhanger, but it's one that I don't actually mind.  You'll have to read it to get the joke.  :)  

Juv Historical Novelization: The Arrow Over the Door, by Joseph Bruchac

The Arrow Over the Door
Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by James Watling
ISBN: 0803720785
Read Oct 20, 2014
A pacifist Quaker boy outside of Saratoga in 1777 is stung by accusations of cowardice in the face of the American Revolution, while an Abenaki boy (from what is now Canada) travels south to decide if his people will fight on the side of the distant King to punish his unruly colonists.



This is an interesting novelization of an actual historical event between Quakers and Native Americans.  The author has done extensive research to puzzle out the actual records of the event, to reach past stereotypes and assumptions of the past to present a (hopefully) historically-accurate narrative of what may have happened.

What we KNOW: there was a Quaker (Friends) meeting where a notable friend of the Native Americans was visiting.  A party of Native Americans with a prisoner arrived at the meeting house, discovered it full of friendly pacifists, and declared friendship with the people within, recognizing them as people of peace who would not be involved with the impending conflict.  A Friend invited the guests to dine, and after dinner, they left, leaving the Friends and their belongings in peace.

On this historical framework, we get a nice (very slender) dual-narrative from two author-invented characters; the teen Friend and the teen Native, as they navigate their own consciousnesses and the responsibilities and expectations of their cultures and religions.

Very short, and raises lots of questions about intentions and cultural responsibility and personal growth, and doesn't really answer them in any depth; the ending is perfunctory and abrupt for the amount of buildup.  That ending is actually a bit of a let-down, considering the time and care taken in establishing moods and personality and cultural perspectives for each boy.

Still, in addition to being a good look at both Friends and Abenaki culture, this is an interesting short vignette about the founding of America, from not one, but two marginalized and often-overlooked perspectives.

Wagon Wheels, Barbara Brenner & Don Bolognese

Wagon Wheels, Barbara Brenner, illus Don Bolognese.  ISBN: 9780064440523
Read Sept 30, 2013

Juv "I Can Read" book, African-American pioneers, Native Americans

Really excellent summary of the adventures of the Muldie boys, who moved to Nicodemus, Kansas (a black settlement) as pioneers, and then lived alone at ages 11, 8, and 3 while their father staked out a claim about 150 miles further west.  Then, as the kicker, they're summoned by post with short directions, and travel the entire way themselves to get to their new home!!

A sub-plot near the beginning focuses on the kindness of the Native Americans to the settlement when they were starving during a harsh winter.  Another deals with prairie fires.  

Very short and direct (for beginning readers) but interesting plot and good pacing.  Compare with the Little House books or the (expurgated) Sadie Rose books.

The Courage of Sarah Noble, Alice Dalgliesh

The Courage of Sarah Noble, Alice Dalgliesh.  ISBN: 0684188309

Read Sept 30, 2013.

Juv easy reader: pioneer life and Native Americans

Sarah's father has staked a claim in the high north of the frontier, and he's taken Sarah (aged 7) along with him to be his cook and housekeeper.  The other sisters aren't interested, and Mama can't come because the baby is too young.  Father and Sarah are to start the house, and when everything is ready, then Mama and the siblings will join them.

Sarah repeatedly reminds herself of her bravery, which is a nice note.  Her and her father also build strong relationships with the local tribe of Native Americans, so much so that when Father needs to head back east to fetch the family, he asks Sarah to stay with the neighbors (the Native Americans) while he's gone.  

Excellent story, small bit of Christianity (reading from the Bible, praying before bedtime for the Indians) excellent counterpoint to stories where the Indians are the perilous unknown.