Ebook151 pages2 hours
Totem
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
()
About this ebook
Jonny must travel to the distant past to understand the present.
As an orphaned white boy in a school full of Native students, fourteen-year-old Jonny Joe isn’t like any of the others at the island Redemption Residential School off the west coast. When the advances of Father Gregory disturb Jonny, he joins another boy in an escape to a mountain cave. But when they leave the cave, the world as they knew it no longer exists.
The boys travel to a native village in a sheltered bay, where Jonny becomes skilled in the art of carving. When a steamship enters the cove, the party of sightseers brings a disease that annihilates most of the people in the village. Meanwhile, Jonny has learned the secret of his past and when he returns to the present, Jonny carves a totem pole to honour the members of the village.
As an orphaned white boy in a school full of Native students, fourteen-year-old Jonny Joe isn’t like any of the others at the island Redemption Residential School off the west coast. When the advances of Father Gregory disturb Jonny, he joins another boy in an escape to a mountain cave. But when they leave the cave, the world as they knew it no longer exists.
The boys travel to a native village in a sheltered bay, where Jonny becomes skilled in the art of carving. When a steamship enters the cove, the party of sightseers brings a disease that annihilates most of the people in the village. Meanwhile, Jonny has learned the secret of his past and when he returns to the present, Jonny carves a totem pole to honour the members of the village.
Author
Jennifer Maruno
Jennifer Maruno is a long-time educator and author. Her debut novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Award and the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.
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Reviews for Totem
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
7 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I liked the book because of the subject matter. I think it's a very important subject and love reading books that deal with Native American culture and the terror of residential schools.
I liked how the author handled the intermixing of cultures (a little white boy, who is in tune with legends, spirituality and symbolism. He has been around all the native boys and doesn't make a difference between himself and them.
I thought this was a good book. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5On the whole, this story of a white orphan boy raised in a native residential school had a lot of compelling details and a decent plot. I enjoyed the magical shift to the past, although I found it somewhat predictable, and I appreciate that Maruno clearly made an effort to truly depict the horrors of the residential school and to carefully imagine early pacific northwest tribal life.
What I don't get is why the main character of the book is white. I also don't really find it believeable that this character should somehow be able to demonstrate master level carving skills after spending such a short time learning that trade. It is not exactly clear how long he spends learning, but he watches the creation of one pole, then comes back to his current day life with a magical ability to not only carve the poles, but also understand all the symbolism of each character and accurately depict them. Sorry, I flat out don't buy it. And if the plan is for it to be a magical ability, why didn't the native character come back with a similar magic ability?
Debbie Reese is going to have a field day with this one.
My copy provided by Edelweiss.
Book preview
Totem - Jennifer Maruno
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