The setting is the Seattle area and twelve-year-old Edie finds a box in the attic of their home which gives details about her Native American mother's adoption. Edie's friends convince her to keep this discovery a secret. But, not having an open conversation with her parents causes her to question many things in her life.
Eventually, through some pre-teen drama, Edie finds out the truth about her mother's past and her own too. She learns more about her Native American heritage and her family's history.
The pacing of this plot put the best part of the story in the last quarter. Up until that point, there was a lot of questioning and worry about family, friendships, braces, and secrets. Finally, when the secrets were uncovered, I was thoroughly interested again.
I had no idea that Native American children were so easily taken away from their families for their own best interests as determined by social workers and police officers. So many families ripped apart until the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 was passed into legislation that helped keep Native families and communities intact.
I think this book would be a terrific book for adults from the perspective of Grandmother Edith. There are so many details in the story that would be worth exploring.
The ending made this book a 4-star book for me, otherwise, it was just OK at the beginning.
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