Copyright Date:
2024
Edition Date:
2023
Release Date:
01/01/24
Pages:
112 pages
ISBN:
1-459-41755-0
ISBN 13:
978-1-459-41755-7
Dewey:
Fic
Dimensions:
23 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
This novel about a conflict between Indigenous activists and those opposing their request to change the name of a local school offers a model for navigating tough conversations around reconciliation and heritage.Harold Sullivan Secondary School was named after AJ Sullivan's great-grandfather. The white teen is upset by an article in the local paper saying that Great-Grandpa Harold "profited from stolen reservation land and was actively involved in sending Big River First Nation children" to a residential school. When the statue of Harold in front of AJ's school is defaced, tensions escalate between those in the Canadian logging town who venerate him and the Big River First Nation community. The pressure feels personal for AJ and longtime First Nations friend Jackson Thomas, whose father wrote the article. Following a fight with Jackson, AJ is suspended and sent to his paternal grandmother's house, where Grandma sets him on a mission to truly understand Harold's past. AJ's research, including hearing a firsthand account, leaves him questioning Harold's legacy, facing hard truths, and making a decision that drives a rift between him and his father. A school board meeting offers an opportunity for long-buried stories to be shared, leading to a resolution that is positive and hopeful without being unrealistically tidy. This accessible, fast-paced, and informative work follows AJ as he moves realistically from defensiveness to courageous action.A thought-provoking title that explores integrity in the era of truth and reconciliation. (author's note) (Fiction. 12-16)
When an Indigenous group demands that the local school's name be changed, AJ delves into his family's historyand the town's.
AJ's family has been in this town from the very beginning, they created the mill that employs most of the town's workers, and his great-grandfather, "Hatchet" Harold Sullivan, served as the town's first mayor. Even the high school is named after him. But when the local Indigenous nation, Big River First Nation, demands Harold's name be removed from the high school, along with his statue, tensions begin to run high. Huge rifts are formed in the community, mainly between the locals and the Big River kids.
Now at odds, AJ and his former best friend Jackson, the son of the Big River chief, are locked in tense confrontation. When the statue is vandalized, the final straw breaks, and AJ and Jackson trade blows, getting them both suspended and on notice. Determined to get to the bottom of these accusations and guided by his grandmother, AJ digs through the past and discovers a series of horrifying truths about Hatchet Harold's racist actions. Defying the pressures of his father and with the help of Jackson, AJ brings the truth of the past into the present and sets the town on a path toward healing.