Saturday, May 24, 2008

Drums of Change - Janette Oke


Rating:2 Drink more Mint Juleps before reading (åå)
Pages: 240
Challenge: Reading Full Circle, Novella Challenge, A-Z Challenge (D Title)
Synopsis (from BN.com)
A young Indian girl must make a choice between the old ways of her people, the man she loves, and the white man's religion.
Comment
I just had to put in the Barnes & Nobel synopsis. Talk about summarizing a book in one sentence! I didn't think this book was excellent but I can think of more than one sentence...so here goes
My Synopsis
Running Fawn (notice I took on the challenge of using the character's name in the synopsis...just to prove I have read the book) and her Indian Tribe are at a pivotal point for their generation. The Indian Tribe is going through a transition to live on the White Man's Indian Reserve (after the Buffalo was eliminated and their food source was completely gone). A White man (the tribe calls him "Man with book") joins the tribe to teach them the Gospel. He starts a school and takes a special interest in Running Fawn and Silver Fox (the Chief's son). After the school has to disband Man with book convinces the tribe to let Running Fawn and Silver Fox to a boarding school to learn the ways of the white man. When Running Fawn learns her father is ill she leaves the school to meet up with the tribe. Silver Fox realizing she is in trouble follows her to help her make it to the tribe. This book has a little Christian inspiration, a little history, and a little romance.
Review
Although the book has a little of the topics it is very little. The concept is good and there are some American Indian books that I have loved, but this one missed the mark. I think that there were a lot of different parts of the history that could have been explored and the romance happened in the last chapter of the book. If you want to read Jannette Oke I would recommend Love Comes Softly.
By the way- was my synopsis better than B&N?