Thirteen-year-old Rebecca Carver gets a front-row seat on frontier justice in Pearsall's second historical novel. She and her older sisters return to their 1812 Ohio home and find, in addition to many chores, a Native American chained upstairs. Her father, a widowed farmer, is keeping Indian John there to await trial for killing a trapper. Rebecca is the primary narrator here, but the Indian, whose Ojibwe name is Amik, is given a voice through a scattering of spare story-poems. His is a gentle soul, and Rebecca, who is routinely ignored or mistreated by her father, soon finds sympathy for him. Before long, a young lawyer turns up to defend Amik, telling Rebecca about the kindness Amik's family had shown years before. The scenes leading up to the trial are compelling, if not surprising, and Pearsall wonderfully captures the language of the time as well as Rebecca's growing awareness for what passes for truth and justice in her community. Pearsall concludes with notes on the historical underpinnings of her story and a helpful bibliography.

A thirteen-year-old girl questions her father's and her town's assumptions about an Ojibwe Indian accused of murder. The story, set in Ohio in 1812, explores racism and the heavy cost born by Native Americans as Europeans settled North America, but Rebecca's too-modern voice is distracting.

<p>Humanity and justice don't always join hands as 13-year-old Rebecca Carver painfully discovers; especially when it's 1812 in a small frontier settlement and a young Chippewa Indian is being held captive for the crime of murdering a white trapper. When her ironhanded Pa chains the "savage" in their loft until his trial, an unspoken bond slowly forms that defies prejudice and incites courage as Indian John and Reb sneak small trinkets to each other. The tandem telling in Reb and Indian John's voices creates an immediacy of the times when red and white cultures clashed and human convictions could decide a conviction of death. As the trial begins, a young, inexperienced lawyer, a childhood friend of Indian John who's sweet on Reb's older sister, tries logic to preclude the hanging. This vivid look into the reality of crude frontier life and justice is outstanding historical fiction. Based on a true story, O'Dell winner Pearsall documents her painstaking research. As Reb tries to sustain a life, Pearsall brings a snapshot of history to life. (bibliography) (Historical fiction. 9-13)</p>

Gr 5-8-Pearsall quickly engages readers with her captivating tale of fear, ignorance, and bravery on the Ohio frontier. The year is 1812 and 13-year-old Rebecca Carver is driven hard to help her older sister, Laura, make up for the loss of their mother. Terrified of their abusive and violent-tempered father, the girls care for the family silently and dutifully until a prisoner, an Indian who is accused of murder, is chained in their loft. Although surrounded by a family and town overflowing with an unabashed hatred of Indians, Rebecca slowly begins to believe in Amik's innocence and defies her Pa, her family, and her settlement in order to see justice done. The unique sharing of narration between Rebecca and Amik further opens the mind to the injustices and inhumanity suffered by this country's Native people. Packed with believable characters wrapped in a thoroughly researched plot, Crooked River is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and would aptly serve as a discussion-rich tool for American studies.-Kimberly Monaghan, formerly at Vernon Area Public Library, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

When her brother teases her about an Indian upstairs, thirteen-year-old Rebecca Carver ignores his taunts, climbs the stairs, and comes face-to-face with a young Native American chained in the loft of her family cabin. Accused of killing a white trapper, Amik, called Indian John by the settlers, awaits his trial. The excitable Rebecca and her stalwart sister Laura are ordered by their abusive father to feed the boy and contend with the "river of people" curious to see him. Although raised to think that Indians are "savage beasts in human skin," Rebecca gradually develops compassion for the man that she believes is innocent, respect for the truth that is so elusive at his trial, and revulsion at the mendacity of the settlers who are eager to hang an innocent man because he is Native American. This novel, part coming-of-age story and part courtroom drama, was inspired by the real trial of a Chippewa Indian accused of murder in the Ohio frontier of 1812. Pearsall's writing is straightforward and spiced with frontier talk and incisive character descriptions: The blacksmith has "anvil sized shoulders," the local gossip is an "everlasting talker," and Rebecca's annoying brother acts like "the biggest toad in the puddle." Rebecca's first-person chapters alternate with the taut poetic monologues of Anik, who endures his captivity and trial with stoic dignity and private humor. Pearsall commendably follows up her award-winning first novel, Trouble Don't Last (Knopf, 2002) with this issue-raising historical novel about frontier life, prejudice, justice, and courage.-Tina Frolund.