Although it is labeled Teen simply because it is told from the perspective a of a young Native American girl, it will be enjoyed very much by adults. I loved the character development, and the clear recognition of racial, sexual, and class discrimination during this time period and frankly that still exist today. It is a well represented and beautifully told story with good-natured humor and magical realism.

 

In the 1960's, an old Choctaw woman, Rose, finds it is time to share the story of her childhood in the late 1800's in the old Indian territory of pre-statehood Oklahoma. Decades earlier, the Nahullo (white) land-grabbers came and took over the territory, building upon it the town of Skullyville. In 1897, with the pervasive racial tensions building over the years, there came a final, horrific massacre at the New Hope academy for Girls, which left several young Choctaw girls killed in an all-consuming arson fire that only Rose and a few others survived.

 

Over the decades, the Nahullo and the Choctaw communities are forced to co-exist with a fragile and, unfortunately temporary detente. The bible-thumping, white townspeople and the people of the Choctaw nation, still practicing their spiritual traditions, both try to leave each other alone, even though they must co-mingle at times. After a despicable incident of clear, violent discrimination, the Choctaw find they have a ruthless, formidable enemy, putting them all in danger once again. Rose's grandfather, Amafo, the tribal elder, is attacked in public for being in the way of the local Sheriff, starting a whole new battle within the tribal community--fight back, accept, or stand against without violence, but with compassion and forgiveness. To the dismay of the braves who wish to fight, Amafo chooses forgiveness. But with a twist. The whole nation will need to stand behind him if he is to accomplish his goal. But the evil does not only reach them, it reaches into its own white community.

 

In this town, nefarious and truly awful characters seem to dominate, but there are some exceptional citizens who try in their own ways to overcome racial, sex, and class barriers and strive to do what is right. And this binds the two communities, white and Choctaw, unbeknownst to them, in the same battle.