Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Chapter Book 14: Morning Girl

Author: Michael Dorris

Illustrator: none

Genre: Historical Fiction

Subgenre:

Themes: family and siblings, childhood and growing up, loss and grief, communities and ways of life, discovering identity

Characters:
~Primary: Morning Girl, Star Boy
~Secondary: She Wins the Race (Mother), Speaks to Birds (Father), Red Feathers, Grandmother, Never Cry, Sharp Tooth, I Swam Too Far, She Listens 

Awards:
~Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Date of Publication: 1989

Publication Company: Hyperion

Summary: Enter the thoughts of Morning Girl and Star Boy as they experience growing up among the Taino people.  Both Morning Girl and Star Boy, despite their opposite personalities, are both striving to find their own identities among their family and their people.  By following their thoughts, readers are able to look past stereotypes at a culture on the brink of change.

Recommendation: I was very surprised by this book.  I was expecting a story, but it is more of a collection of thoughts.  I think that the characters in the book are very relatable; they are both struggling to find their identity among their people.  I really appreciate how the author was able to incorporate culture— it permeates the book, but it is also subtle.  I can definitely say that I have not read a book like this, and I would recommend it without reservation. 

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