The first historical novel from seasoned author Wyss (Here at the Scenic-Vu Hotel , 1988, and others), based on true events, presents the drama of the American West in approachable terms for middle-grade readers. Elk Girl is a Tabaguache Ute who is seized by a raiding tribe then traded to another, an experience that leaves her with no heart left for caring, just an empty place inside her. Ultimately she is rescued by the most feared enemy of all: a white soldier. Along with her lyrical, unobtrusive writing about distinct Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho traditions, Wyss refuses to allow readers to fall back on assumptions culled from lesser novels' tropes. Whether Indian or white, her characters span the full spectrum of human nature--and for every compassionate white woman who sews her a calico dress, there are others who encourage Elk Girl to talk treaty with her Ute community. The novel ends long before Elk Girl intervenes on behalf of white hostages during the 1878 Meeker Massacre, a historical postscript explained in an afterword. --Jennifer Mattson

Elk Girl, a fifteen-year-old Tabeguache Ute, is enslaved by a hostile tribe and eventually rescued by U.S. soldiers (the "White Enemy"). This harrowing fictional account of a historical figure's experiences is realistically set against the backdrop of tragic change for Native Americans in the late 1800s. A striking archival photo of Elk Girl precedes an appended author's note.

The year Elk Tooth Dress was neither child nor adult she climbed the juniper fence to watch her brother Ouray dance the Bear Dance that signaled the arrival of spring. Next year, she knew, she would tug on Spotted Tail's sleeve and dance with him—and be his wife. But next year Spotted Tail is dead, and Elk Tooth Dress goes to live with another band to "talk treaty," as Ouray has commanded. Ouray lived with white people and understands the futility of fighting them. Cheyenne warriors capture Elk Tooth Dress; her next years are misery, until she is unexpectedly rescued by white soldiers and restored to her brother's band. Wyss's writing compares to Michael Dorris's in her nuanced, non-stereotyped portrayal of Native American life. Her story, based on a historical figure (who later saved the lives of several white women captured by the Utes), is a valuable addition to Native American literature. (Fiction. 8-12)

Gr 5-8-This fascinating story is based on a real person, Elk Girl, who lived during a time of great upheaval and loss of tradition. Wyss describes in vivid detail life among the Ute people of the early 1860s, including their loss of hunting lands and traditional ways at the hands of white settlers and laws. During the years in which the novel is set, the teen is captured by the Cheyenne and later traded to the Arapaho for "a sack of wormy treaty flour." Eventually rescued by a white soldier, she becomes Susan Carroll and is finally returned to her village to find her people preparing to resign themselves to signing the White Men's treaty. Wyss's portrayal of Elk Girl within various tribal communities gives readers an insight into Native culture and history. Most works on Elk Girl fixate on her adult life as Susan Johnson (her married name), and while her heroics during the Meeker Massacre of 1879, negotiating for the safe return of several white women and children, are noteworthy, her tribal life within the Ute culture is equally, if not more, important. An excellent addition to historical-fiction collections.-G. Alyssa Parkinson, Highland Township Library, MI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.