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Like Scott O'Dell's Streams to the River: River to the Sea (1986), this novel offers a vivid account of the famous guide's life, but this time, Sacajawea's first-person chapters are interspersed with those narrated by William Clark. The prologue begins in the voice of Sacajawea's grown son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, or Pomp, who was an infant on the trip, and it is to him that his mother and uncle address their stories, which begin before Sacajawea joined the group and end after the journey was completed. Readers may find the introductions to each chapter distracting (Clark's begin with an excerpt from his actual diary, archaic spelling and language intact; Sacajawea's begin with a traditional Native American tale), and kids not drawn to adventure stories may grow weary of the detailed descriptions of the group's struggle and hardship navigating the rough terrain. But the alternating voices offer a fascinating, measured blend of cultural perspectives, creating a fuller impression of the extraordinary trip, and the social and historical climate in which it was undertaken. An extensive author's note discusses the fictionalizing process and cites source material. (Reviewed April 1, 2000)

Horn Book

This dense, methodical novel credibly relates the story of the expedition through the eyes of both Sacajawea and William Clark. The dual narration, which includes excerpts from Clark's journal and retellings of Native myths, is set within the larger framework of a narrative presented by Sacajawea's son. This unwieldy structure, along with the book's slow pace, may impede readers.

Kirkus Reviews

The Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the northwest part of the American continent probably would not have ever been completed without the help of the young Shoshone woman Sacajawea. She and her sister, Otter Woman, were kidnapped from their tribe and kept captive by the Minetarees, a tribe that had been influenced in language and customs by its years of contact with French and English traders. Sacajawea picked up the ability to speak the whites' languages—a skill that stood her in good stead five years later when a French trader, Toussaint Charbonneau, won her and Otter Woman from their Minetaree captor. Charbonneau married the young Sacajawea, and they had a son. Soon after, Charbonneau was hired by Lewis and Clark to accompany their expedition in its next phase along the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean—and Charbonneau was invited to bring his family along. This was wonderful news to Sacajawea, whose great dream was to be united once again with her Shoshone family. Much has been written about Sacajawea's role in the expedition, how she and her child disarmed even the most hostile Indians and how her skill in languages, along with her ability to find food, kept them all going through the severe rigors of the long trip. The story in this book is told in alternative voices by Sacajawea and William Clark, the co-leader of the expedition, giving an added dimension to the tale and helping to clarify much of what happened along the way. Couched in Bruchac's elegant prose, this epic tale of courage and endurance is both a grand adventure story and an inspiration that is not to be missed. (Fiction. 12-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Bruchac's (The Arrow Over the Door) intimate novel about Lewis and Clark's epic Western exploration unfolds through the alternating voices of Sacajawea, their Shoshone interpreter, and Clark. Sacajawea's now-grown son, Pomp (Jean Baptiste Charbonneau), introduces the two narrators, explaining that Shoshone custom dictates that """"one can tell only what they have seen""""; since he was not yet born at the beginning of the adventure, he recounts the tale as it was told to him. Sacajawea's chapter follows, opening with a creation tale of the """"great flood""""--each of her chapters begins with either Shoshone tales or those of other tribes the crew encounters, and many function as cautionary fables; relevant journal entries introduce Clark's chapters. This framing device results in a few contrived references in the narrative (e.g., """"The fur trade, Pomp, can make a brave man rich or cost him his life,"""" says Clark), and the assumption that Pomp already knows the story occasionally diminishes the suspense. But Bruchac builds the alternating chapters chronologically and keeps the pace moving. Both narrators recount intriguing cultural nuances; for example, when a deserter from the expedition is recovered, the Otoes Indians plead the white man's case, arguing that it would be better to kill him than humiliate him with a public whipping. The greatest strength of the novel, however, is Sacajawea's voice, enhanced by the lyrical repetition of traditional storytelling (""""It was the Moon when the Leaves Fall from the Cottonwoods,"""" she recalls of the day she first sees Lewis and Clark). The author adheres closely to journals kept by members of the expedition, creating characters who are both lifelike and compelling, at a fascinating juncture in history. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-This intelligent, elegantly written novel weaves Sacajawea's recollections of the Lewis and Clark expedition with those of William Clark, the American captain who developed a deeply spiritual bond with her and became a surrogate uncle to her son. Beyond recounting the thrills and hardships of the legendary two-year mission, the alternating first-person narratives show the respect that develops between the young "Bird Woman" and the Corps of Discovery. Sacajawea begins her chapters with excerpts from Native American folktale, providing insight into her religious and cultural upbringing and its impact on her interpretation of events. Clark begins his with entries mostly from his journal, underscoring his keen awareness of the importance of the expedition and his desire to record even its most mundane details. Balancing the eyewitness accounts of these two people is not just a clever literary device. Clark's account is crucial to supplying information about Sacajawea that she herself cannot provide. Her narrative is devoid of self-praise and self-promotion; they would be unnatural impulses for a Shoshone female. So Bruchac uses Clark to chronicle Sacajawea's extraordinary bravery and endurance, and his voice repeats what she cannot even attempt to mention: that the mission would have been a certain failure without her. This is an engaging book to share with young adults, who will find it all the more fascinating to learn that Sacajawea was a teenager when she made history with Lewis and Clark.-William McLoughlin, Brookside School, Worthington, OH Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.