11-yr-old Sonny lives with his mother and father up near the Canadian border. Theirs isn’t a peaceful household, given his father Jake’s sudden rages, which can turn physical in an instant. Sonny’s refuge is his mother, and his uncle Louis, a quiet, wise old man who seems to always appear when Sonny and his mother need help most. Jake hates when Louis comes around, but luckily he works long hours at the nearby paper mill. Through an unexpected friendship with a new school librarian, Sonny gains enough confidence to stand up to his his father, and to finally confront...
Hidden Roots
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From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-Small for his 11 years and the last picked for playground games, Harold doesn't much care that he's friendless. His mother is also a loner; his father works at the paper mill and everything about his job makes him angry--chemicals spilling into the Hudson, the gnashing cogs of machine Number Three that will rip off a limb if you're not careful, and the double shifts that never bring in enough money. Life is hard in this upstate New York town during the early 1960s. Harold knows that his family has secrets; some are too threatening to make sense of while his mother tries to hide others. Uncle Louis visits mostly while his father is at work, showing Harold the wonders of this Adirondack wilderness. Bruchac's story takes its roots in the 1930s Native American sterilization program known as the Vermont Eugenics Program. This chilling reality haunted the Abenaki people, threatened their annihilation, and drove them into hiding for three decades. As Harold learns near the end of the story, his family, victims of that program, escaped to New York and claimed a French heritage. "Uncle Louis" is actually his mother's father. This purposeful but discerning book will prompt discussion and further research into the plight of the Native people from the Green Mountain State. Yet within this historical framework of the shameful deeds of man, pride and integrity hold the family together.--Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully written story
Aug 21 2005
By Green Mountain Observer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Bruchac crafts a moving story of a young boy's experience in a troubled home. Sonny's father, Jake, is plagued by episodic anger and is a wife batterer. The reasons for Jake's behavior and ultimately, sadness, are revealed near the end of the book. Sonny's mother and Uncle Louis provide the nurturing that Sonny needs as he navigates adolescence including the difficulties of being bullied and excluded at school. Uncle Louis becomes Sonny's true life teacher as he is exposed to both the mysteries and extraordinary beauty in nature. Bruchac's descriptions in these scenes are to be treasured.
The only failing in Bruchac's book is the odd addition of eugenic experimentation as the source for the explanation of the family `secret'. This plot twist is unnecessary and disrupts the wonderful flow of the story as Sonny discovers his true ethnic heritage. The reader would be helped if Bruchac could explore the history of eugenics in Vermont within a different story that provides a more complete explanation of what happened and who was affected. Tagging this on to `Hidden Roots' without a more thorough treatment is unsatisfying to curious readers.
Overall however, "Hidden Roots" is a beautifully written story.
The only failing in Bruchac's book is the odd addition of eugenic experimentation as the source for the explanation of the family `secret'. This plot twist is unnecessary and disrupts the wonderful flow of the story as Sonny discovers his true ethnic heritage. The reader would be helped if Bruchac could explore the history of eugenics in Vermont within a different story that provides a more complete explanation of what happened and who was affected. Tagging this on to `Hidden Roots' without a more thorough treatment is unsatisfying to curious readers.
Overall however, "Hidden Roots" is a beautifully written story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hidden Roots Review
Mar 23 2009
By KAT
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic book. I really like Bruchac's writing. The afterwords, which includes the historical details that the book is based on, is fantastic for anyone looking to teach about contempory native peoples. There is, also, lots of good information on the Abenaki's, which is excellent for teaching about New England and some Canadian native peoples.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book on so many levels
Nov 1 2012
By C. Finks
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had to read this for a class, but if I'd known about it, I would have read about it in my free time anyways. This was a very informative and touching book about how Native Americans have integrated into "mainstream" culture, while still sometimes holding on to their own cultures and traditions.
The subtle background regarding the Vermont Eugenics Project is tragic and horrifying, and I wish that more people were aware of what our own country tried to do (and sometimes did do) to people they felt were "undesirable".
Joseph Bruchac has written a memorable story and I recommend it to anyone....Teachers - this is a great book to introduce to your students about the stereotypes about Native Americans and about what they're actually like today.
The subtle background regarding the Vermont Eugenics Project is tragic and horrifying, and I wish that more people were aware of what our own country tried to do (and sometimes did do) to people they felt were "undesirable".
Joseph Bruchac has written a memorable story and I recommend it to anyone....Teachers - this is a great book to introduce to your students about the stereotypes about Native Americans and about what they're actually like today.
›
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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