Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis

This is a book that I have been waiting for. It tells the struggle of a Native American family from Oregon who relocates to Los Angeles after the United States government tells their tribe that they have been terminated and they no longer exist.   Regina who is a 5th grader, her third-grade sister Peewee, her parents, and her grandmother relocate to a little house in LA.  Regina's father is excited to go back to school and then get a good job to provide for his family. When they arrive they are surprised at how small their house and yard are and miss space and nature they enjoyed in Oregon.  Regina and Peewee meet lots of kids in their neighborhood and it is very diverse...Black, Cuban, and German.  They learn a lot about racism personally as they encounter lots of stereotypes about Native Americans. They also experience racism toward others in their neighborhood. 

This book reminds me a little bit of a Beverly Cleary book about kids in a neighborhood who enjoy being neighbors together.  It also goes deeper as it includes the parents and the grandmother's struggles in starting over in a new city away from their family and friends in Oregon and the rich traditions they do not want to forget.  McManis also does a good job of showing racial stereotypes from the lens of a Native American. 

This book is based on the childhood experiences of McManis.  She completed the writing of this book but became ill before the final edits.  Traci Sorell stepped in to take the book to the final publication. At the beginning of the book, the author gives a note, a map, and a glossary. I appreciated having some of this background information before I began to read the story.  At the end, the notes from the co-author and the editor really showed how carefully this book was vetted for correct content. They felt like this was their chance and responsibility to have the microphone and speak for the Native American community. 

Parents and teachers should read this book and then share it with their children and students. It is a very important book to add to our understanding of the history of racial issues in the United States. 

I rate this book a 5 out of 5.  The book could be read by 3rd - 6th-grade students. 

Books I Read in May

I read nine books this month. I started and didn't finish a number of ebooks...but once I started reading print books, my reading took off. I don't know if it was because of the format or just a coincidence. I do love holding a paper book!

I have a rating system for my books that is as follows: 
5 Stars:  I really loved the book...and would recommend it highly for others to read. It was a perfect read for me.
4 Stars:  I really liked the book...and would recommend it highly for others to read. It was practically perfect.
3 Stars:  I liked the book...it would be a recommendation for some but not everyone.  It had a few distractions.
2 Stars:  It didn't care for the book...but I read it. I wouldn't recommend it.
1 Star: I didn't like the book at all. I don't give many of these out...because I usually will not finish the book instead. 

So here are brief summaries of each of my May books:

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth:  5 Stars  I loved reading this book! It is a family drama murder mystery set in Australia. I cared about the characters, couldn't guess the ending, and was very entertained. I found this book in a little library on my walking route!

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay: 3 Stars  This is a cozy, warm story about a bookshop that is willed to a niece by her aunt. It involves lots of interesting characters and their lives inside the setting of a book store.  I was a little distracted and confused by the different character changes and didn't totally settle into this book, however, overall, I liked this comfortable story. It was an eBook which might have been my issue of distraction.  

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan: 4 Stars   This is actually the third book written by Colgan about the Scottish Island of Mure. Here is the order of them:  The Summer Seaside Kitchen, A Very Distant Shore, The Endless Beach, and Christmas on the Island.  Even though I haven't read the other books, it didn't matter, I still enjoyed the book as a stand-alone.  This book is about Flora and Joel and their relationship, Flora's family, Flora's best friend, and the new doctor on the island.  And another character of this book is the actual setting of the island.  It is such an interesting place and probably a great island to visit. Flora runs the family restaurant and so if you like reading about food, there is a little of that as well.  

City Spies by James Ponti: 4 Stars  I love kids spy stories and this once was great!  I look forward to reading more in this series.  I wrote a review on this one and posted a video as well.  I hope to promote this book to lots of kids. 

Frankly in Love by David Yoon: 3 Stars   This is a high school angsty love story about a second-generation Korean American boy who has difficulty fitting into his Southern California high school life and his parent's Korean expectations.  Frank Li is dating the wrong girl and needs to keep this a secret. He gets the idea to pretend to date a girl in his parent's circle so that he can keep his parents off his back. She needs the same thing...because she is also not dating the right guy with a Korean background. You can imagine that this is complicated and feelings and love interests get very confused.  Frank Li also has to face a difficult family situation with his father as well.  This is usually not my favorite type of book and I am sensitive to lots of bad language and wanted to give this book a 2.  However, reading about Korean culture and getting a glimpse at the issues facing kids caught in between two cultures was very good. So many kids have faced this in the past and now. It just involves different races and countries. Something to think about.  

The Borrowers by Mary Norton: 4 Stars   This is a classic story written in the 1950s about small people who live under the floors in houses and borrow everything they need from the homeowners...in secret.  This book takes place in the late 1800s.  At this point, there is only one family left in the home. A mother, father, and young girl are living under the floor in the kitchen. They are very isolated since all the other little families who used to live in hiding have left because they were seen. When you are seen, cats or exterminators are called and it is too dangerous to stay.  At this point, only one elderly lady and her housekeeper live at the house. So, one night, the father takes his daughter borrowing to teach her this skill.  She discovers a boy and he discovers her. Even though they try to keep this a secret, it doesn't work. Now, the family has to get out before it is too late.   

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin: 4 Stars   This is a reread for me.  I finished Jojo Moyes's book Giver of the Stars this spring which is about packhorse librarians in Kentucky.  I loved that book.  I remembered that I had read Wonderland Creek a few years ago and liked it a lot too. So, I decided to reread this one.  It is written by Lynn Austin and she always tells a great story.  This is a great book as well.  I had a few distractions with the mystery in this book which didn't let me give it a 5, but I would still highly recommend this book.  It is funny, entertaining, and also gives a message of faith which I enjoyed. The setting is very important to the story and I loved imagining the scenery of the  Kentucky forests.

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore: 2 Stars   I plodded through this story set in Texas in the 80s. It starts out with a terrible crime committed against a teenager. The result of this crime is wrestled within the family, town, and the courts.  Time and characters switch up throughout the book and I had a hard time keeping track of the plot.  Sometimes a character would be brought into the story and then not much happened with them later.  The plot was too busy and character-based for me.  I did try listening to this on Audible but it didn't help.  I made myself finish the book since it was a Jenna book club choice and she just raved about it. But, it didn't get better for me.  I did listen to Jenna talk to the author about this book and I found the interview very delightful.  I wish I had liked the book as much. 

Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden: 3 Stars  This is a story about high school teachers in an urban school in Texas who are facing a new year with a superstar superintendent who claims he can fix the plight of poor schools.  Although, a funny and snarky take on education, it is also very familiar and many elements are very true.  This book focuses on the teachers and not the students and there are no easy answers written in the book to solve the problems.  The ending was a little rushed for me and I found the way storylines were tied up was a little unbelievable.  Although humor is a big part of the story...it also features some very sad plots too.  There is some language as well.