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Starfish

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Lionel barely remembers the old days, before he and his sister, Beatrice, came to the boarding school on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. His life is peaceful, as long as he follows the rules. So he can't understand why Beatrice won't: why she refuses to cut her hair and insists on honoring the Blackfeet traditions.
When the appearance of a frozen corpse triggers an irreversible chain of events, the siblings find themselves on a stolen horse fleeing for their lives. Somewhere in the mountains lies their grandfather's homestead — if only they can survive long enough to find him . . .
Suspenseful and beautifully-written, this novel takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the wilderness of Montana in the early 1900s.
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    • Kirkus

      October 15, 2010
      Lionel, a Blackfeet boy orphaned at three, has grown up with his older sister Beatrice at Chalk Bluff boarding school in the early 1900s. When Beatrice must defend herself against abuse, the two flee and seek their grandfather, spending a winter alone in the mountains. Crowley, a first-time novelist, is a practiced screenwriter and filmmaker, and he adeptly establishes setting and narrative arc but unfortunately relies on a Hollywood-esque portrayal of Indians. Orphaning Lionel at an early age allows the (inconsistent) third-person-limited perspective to be totally naïve of Blackfeet culture, but it's a crude device: "Lionel...definitely did not understand how [the old traditions] could possibly be worth the trouble they caused." Grandfather saves them with laughable Indian boot-camp philosophy: "They're powerful, ya know. Dreams. You should pay attention to them like ya pay attention to all that's around you." In the appended Q&A, the author indicates a desire to acknowledge the "resilience and adaptability" of the Blackfeet culture—but the "starfish" metaphor he uses for this purpose calls to mind a dead and hollow shell, which is how this depiction of the culture reads. (Historical fiction. 10-13)

      (COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

    • Booklist

      June 1, 2010
      Grades 4-8 Blackfoot Nation children Lionel and Beatrice steal a horse and run away from their boarding school to spend nine months hidden in a cabin in the Montana mountains, surviving in the old ways, thanks to the teachings of their grandfather and the help of an African American fugitive. Set in the early twentieth century, this appealing adventure includes horseback-riding feats, fights and childrens games, and narrow escapes. Crowleys filmmaking experience is evident in this first novel. The pacing is solid, and both setting and action are clearly described and easy to picture. From nine-year-old Lionels point of view, his 12-year-old sister, Beatrice, is larger than life: she looks like a warrior on the stolen horse and she goes her own way. In addition, the adults are complex charactersnot all boarding-school officials are evil. This slightly romantic but well-written survival story includes an author Q&A that discusses his contacts in the Blackfeet Nation and a list of resources.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

    • The Horn Book

      January 1, 2011
      After Lionel and his sister Beatrice escape from a 1900s missionary-run school, their grandfather reintroduces them to their Blackfeet customs; they are ultimately forced to return to the school. Though some of the secondary characters seem two-dimensional, the story's protagonists and story line are compelling. Bib., glos.

      (Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

    • Kirkus

      October 15, 2010
      Lionel, a Blackfeet boy orphaned at three, has grown up with his older sister Beatrice at Chalk Bluff boarding school in the early 1900s. When Beatrice must defend herself against abuse, the two flee and seek their grandfather, spending a winter alone in the mountains. Crowley, a first-time novelist, is a practiced screenwriter and filmmaker, and he adeptly establishes setting and narrative arc but unfortunately relies on a Hollywood-esque portrayal of Indians. Orphaning Lionel at an early age allows the (inconsistent) third-person-limited perspective to be totally na�ve of Blackfeet culture, but it's a crude device: "Lionel...definitely did not understand how [the old traditions] could possibly be worth the trouble they caused." Grandfather saves them with laughable Indian boot-camp philosophy: "They're powerful, ya know. Dreams. You should pay attention to them like ya pay attention to all that's around you." In the appended Q&A, the author indicates a desire to acknowledge the "resilience and adaptability" of the Blackfeet culture--but the "starfish" metaphor he uses for this purpose calls to mind a dead and hollow shell, which is how this depiction of the culture reads. (Historical fiction. 10-13)

      (COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:6.3
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:5

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