Starred Review Although intermarriages between white settlers and Indians were relatively common in America's early days, the half-Indian, half-white colonial experience has rarely been explored for young readers. Inspired by an incident recorded by her own mixed-race ancestors, Ketchum tackles the theme in prose as sturdy and well crafted as a cedar-frame wigwam or hand-pegged pine barn. Seven years after Caughnawaga Indians fighting for the British ransacked his Vermont settlement, 13-year-old Daniel receives a visit from his Pequot grandfather, who wants to pass along the old ways that are "sliding away, like currents slipping down the river." The old medicine man's presence aggravates still-raw fears among Daniel's new neighbors, 11-year-old Hiram Coombs and his family, who suffered particular hardships in the earlier raid. Ketchum tells the story of a community rift stemming from post-trauma anxieties, nimbly moving back and forth between Daniel's and Hiram's sharply differentiated points of view. Aspects of Ketchum's portrayal, particularly the faintly romanticized aura surrounding Daniel's Pequot heritage, seem too clearly intended to cast the Coombs' attitudes in a negative light, but in the end Ketchum's close study of individuals and their complicated relationships return the broader message to a human scale.

In 1782 Vermont, two thirteen-year-old boys become neighbors, then enemies, and finally friends. Two years earlier, Hiram barely escaped a violent British and Indian raid; when he meets Daniel, who is half Pequot, he is unable to control a visceral racist hatred that is inevitably reciprocated. From each boy's alternating narration, readers see how deeply point-of-view informs one's belief and actions.

"Once again, I felt like the seam on a sleeve, rent down the middle," says Daniel Tucker, just turned 13. The son of an English father and a full-blood Pequot mother, he must thread his way between two worlds. Not easy when he meets a new neighbor who sees him as a wild animal, a "dirty Injun." The dynamics of Indian and English, Tory and patriot, are complicated indeed in 1782 Vermont, before it became a state. In the alternating voices of Daniel and his neighbor Hiram, Ketchum expertly traces the growth of young Daniel, who learns he can take from both worlds and can become friends with someone once seen as an enemy. Surprisingly contemporary and relevant in its coming-of-age theme and its exploration of the roots of hatred and the possibilities of friendship, the tale is based on family history and is clearly a labor of love. Terrific historical fiction. (author's note, a note on Pequot history and the Pequot language) (Fiction. 10-14)

Gr 6-8-During the British-inspired, murderous Indian raid in Vermont in 1780, a hawk led 13-year-old Daniel Tucker, his Pequot mother, and his sister to the safety of a cave while his English-immigrant father fought with the local militia. The Coombs family, now back from refuge in Connecticut, lost nearly everything. Young Hiram Coombs and Daniel immediately dislike one another for Hiram is haunted by the sights and sounds of the raid. He steals from Daniel, and both boys resort to name-calling. Their fathers attempt cordiality, but Hiram's pregnant mother is disdainful of Daniel's mother, even though she is the only midwife in the area. With the arrival of Hiram's uncle (crazed from the treatment he endured as a captive of Canadian Indians) and Daniel's Pequot grandfather (a healer whose tribe has befriended Americans), each family is hurled toward danger. Interspersed with the customs and language of two cultures and narrated in turn by each boy, the story never bogs down. The dignity, tolerance, and humor Daniel's grandfather displays is uplifting, and the way he passes on to his grandchildren valuable insights into their heritage and future is touching. Most evocative is the lyrical and reconciliatory ending. This story demonstrates how prejudice can injure both individuals and nations. Readers will enjoy the well-motivated characters and the exciting plot. Jerrie Oughton's Music from a Place Called Half Moon (Houghton, 1995), set in a more recent time, has similar themes.-Cindy Darling Codell, formerly at Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

This beautifully written novel traces the dramatic transformation of two thirteen-year-old boys in Vermont shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War. Daniel is the son of an English father and a Pequot Indian mother, torn between the conflicting customs and heritages of the two cultures. Hiram and his family are Scotch-Irish, and have recently returned to Vermont after fleeing a few years earlier during a bloody and deadly raid by the British and their Indian supporters. Daniel's family was also victimized in the raid, but Hiram can only see them as "dirty Injuns" in his anger toward the Indians that aided the British. Hiram and Daniel's lives become strongly intertwined through both joy and tragedy, changing them and their views of other people forever. Written with beautiful, touching metaphors and authentic speech, this historical novel is compelling and thought provoking. Based on the true story of the author's direct ancestors, it is well researched and features strong characterization. The chapters alternate narratives and viewpoints between the two boys, allowing the reader to see the root causes of the prejudices and fears that haunt them both. The subtle but steady changes in the boys are realistically portrayed, and their relationships-between each other, their families, and society around them-no doubt reflect some of the same struggles that young adults face today. This excellent novel is a strongly recommended purchase for libraries of all sizes.-Sherrie Williams.