The War Canoe

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-- Mickey Church, 17, is a Tlingit Indian. This novel, set in the small island village of Wrangell, just off of the southeastern coast of Alaska, tells of his rite of passage into manhood and finding his Indian heritage. With the help of several adults in the community, he struggles to build a war canoe like those used by his ancestors. While doing research for this project, he learns the history of his tribe. As the building of the canoe progresses, Mickey makes some important self-discoveries that will shape his future. In a happy ending, an adult Mickey comes back to the community to help and to educate others about Wrangell history. Bryson, a master storyteller, involves the audience from the very first page. Setting the mood and tone of the story in the foreword, he recounts island and Indian history. As the story unfolds, readers are drawn in and empathize with the characters through clear narrative development. Most of the characters are adult, and their interaction with the boy shows concern and helpfulness. Both young men and young women will be able to identify with Mickey's inner struggle. In a lengthy appendix, Bryson includes actual military reports of Indian events that shaped the history of the village. This book offers a combination the struggle found in O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphin (Houghton, 1960), the conflict in Paulsen's Dogsong (Bradbury, 1985), and the narrative in Michener's Alaska (Random, 1988). Fans of those books will welcome this one. --Molly Kinney, North Dade Regional Library, Miami, FL