Not My Girl

By Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Two years ago, Margaret left her Arctic home for the outsiders' school. Now she has returned and can barely contain her excitement as she rushes towards her waiting family -- but her mother stands still as a stone. This strange, skinny child, with her hair cropped short, can't be her daughter. "Not my girl!" she says angrily.

Margaret's years at school have changed her. Now ten years old, she has forgotten her language and the skills to hunt and fish. She can't even stomach her mother's food. Her only comfort is in the books she learned to read at school.

Gradually, Margaret relearns the words and ways of her people. With time, she earns her father's trust enough to be given a dogsled of her own. As her family watches with pride, Margaret knows she has found her place once more.

Based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, and complemented by evocative illustrations, Not My Girl makes the original, award-winning memoir, A Stranger at Home, accessible to younger children. It is also a sequel to the picture book When I Was Eight. A poignant story of a determined young girl's struggle to belong, it will both move and inspire readers everywhere.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Annick Press
• Release date: Feb 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781554516261

Christy Jordan-Fenton

Christy Jordan-Fenton lives in Fort St. John, British Columbia. Margaret Pokiak-Fenton is her children’s grandmother. Jordan-Fenton practices traditional ceremonies with the Kainai Blackfoot.

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Reviews for Not My Girl

[slavenrm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"As usual I received this book free for the purposes of review. Also as usual I give my candid thoughts below.The story, as you can tell from the description, is that of a young Inuit girl who returns home from what is essentially boarding school only to be rejected by her friends and family because she is now an outsider.To the positive side, the story is a pretty moving and complex one. It raises some serious and deeply difficult questions about what it means to belong to a group and the divide between native cultures and the outside world. As an adult I really feel for the main character because she's representative of all those who find themselves in a modern world yet tied to an earlier time by family bonds.The negative side, unfortunately, is that I can't imagine any child wanting to read this book. The point is strongly made on me but there's no way I could ready this to my own kids and make them understand the complicated issues this book is trying to address. This is just too deep and too emotional for any 5-7-year-old to really get it. Add to that the fact that the illustrations are at times rather warped and abstract and you get a book that I just wouldn't take a chance on.In summary, I love the point this book is trying to make but this is just the sort of children's book that will end up in the clearance bin. It's trying to say too much to the wrong sort of audience. It's a pity because it's a good message. Just not aimed at the right crowd."

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this sequel to When I Was Eight, Margaret returns home to her Inuit family after two years in a residential school and feels like an outsider among her own people.

[eo206 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story is of an Inuit girl who returns home to her family after being sent to a First Peoples/Native American boarding school, probably forcibly by the government. These acts of cultural genocide tore families apart, killed Native/Indigenous languages, cultures, and communities. This children's story aptly tells of a child's experience and how hard it was to return to her family. In the story, the protagonist steps off a boat and hears her mother's shock in the words "Not My Girl" and the story talks about how she has to relearn how to join her community.The story is an important one to be shared with children and adults today. The last Native American boarding school only closed about 30-40 years ago which means there are still parents and grandparents who remember this horrific time period. This book should be read and talked about and included in school libraries and classrooms. I hope it doesn't end up in clearance bins, sweeping aside inconvenient history is how racism survives.