From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Contemporary realistic fiction that incorporates background information on a specific Native American culture but does not overwhelm readers is far too rare. In Warriors, Bruchac introduces Jake Forrest, a young teenager who leaves the Iroquois reservation where he was raised to live with his mother, a lawyer in Maryland, and attend a prestigious private boy's school. Like many kids his age, Jake wrestles with the difficulties of moving to a new city, fitting in at a new school, and trying to make the best of his one-parent family. Additionally, he endures many little offenses, like the nickname "Chief," and bigger ones, like the biased presentation of events in history class. Throughout the novel, the author mixes just the right amount of universal teen experience and culturally specific perspective to make Jake's story appealing to a broad audience. Plus, as a sports novel, Warriors is just plain fun, with action-packed descriptions of lacrosse that put readers right on the field with the players. One hopes that books like this will encourage more teens, from all ethnic backgrounds, to recognize and internalize their own traditions instead of opting for mainstream popular culture.
Sean George, Memphis-Shelby County Public Library & Information Center, Memphis, TNCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. Jake Forrest enjoys playing lacrosse on the Algonquin Indian reservation where he lives. He understands the way the game ties into his people's view of the world and their history. After his mother gets a job as an attorney, however, and enrolls Jake in a fancy Washington, D.C., boarding school, Jake finds his world disrupted. The school is lacrosse obsessed. Jake becomes a star of the team, but he's disturbed by his coach's failure to grasp the subtleties of the Indian approach to the sport. When a tragic shooting kills the coach, Jake organizes an all-school lacrosse game as a sort of prayer of healing. Young lacrosse fans or players may be disappointed that there aren't more descriptions of the game, and some readers may find that the novel's many messages overwhelm the characters and action. Still, there's plenty of thought-provoking material here about the place of sports in American society.
Todd MorningCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
