Mystery & Adventure

Day, Christine. I Can Make This Promise First edition. Harper, an imprint of HaperCollins Publishers, 2019. I Can Make This Promise is a lovely reveal of a complicated family history. Christine Day uses her own life to inspire the events of a young girl’s discovery of family secrets. She also uses the story as an opportunity to shed light on a dark time period where Native American babies and children were taken from families, otherwise known as the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The Seattle setting presents a lovely backdrop for this brief look at Native History of the surrounding Seattle area. The main character, Edie, goes through many changes throughout and certainly gains a new perspective on the importance of family and heritage. The slow reveal of Edie’s biological grandmother keeps the reader’s interest throughout the book. There are a few incidents that are a bit unrealistic. For example, it is awfully convenient that Edie hears the story of her mother’s adoption on the same day that thousands of Native Americans participate in a canoe festival that happens to go right past a house Edie’s family owns. A house she’s never been to, despite being in 7th grade. These small unlikelihoods still don’t take anything away from the reader.  The reader of this book could be anyone. This is a middle grade novel that is appropriate for anyone from about 5th grade (depending on reading skills) to adult. It’s a highly enjoyable read with some tough aspects of American history to work through. This was one of my favorite reads of the course.

Paulsen, Gary. Northwind. First edition. New York, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2022.   Northwind is a classic man vs. nature adventure. Gary Paulsen is masterful at this genre. This is a wilderness survival story, full of small moments of triumph. Leif, the heroine of the novel, has many obstacles to overcome in his pursuit of survival. He is brave and also working through a very strong sense of grief. These traits humanize him to the reader. His bravery is put on display many times throughout and this keeps the novel moving. The action in this novel is more of an exploration of nature at its finest; primal, wondrous nature. Often, the strongest sense of adventure throughout the novel is the reflection of wonder, and even joy experienced by Leif. The reader is definitely rooting for Leif. This is one of those adventure stories that could appeal strongly to a young male reader, though of course, it could be a good fit for anyone. This would be a good recommendation for anyone looking for a sense of wonder and the simplicity of the man vs nature plot allows for a good listening experience as well.