#BookReview of Totem by Jennifer Maruno

About the Book: 

As an orphaned white boy in a school full of Native students, fourteen-year-old Jonny Joe isn't like any of the others at the island Redemption Residential School off the west coast. When the advances of Father Gregory disturb Jonny, he joins another boy in an escape to a mountain cave. But when they leave the cave, the world as they knew it no longer exists.

The boys travel to a native village in a sheltered bay, where Jonny becomes skilled in the art of carving. When a steamship enters the cove, the party of sightseers brings a disease that annihilates most of the people in the village. Meanwhile, Jonny has learned the secret of his past and when he returns to the present, Jonny carves a totem pole to honour the members of the village.

Reviewed By: Rachael

Publisher: Dundurn

Recommended Age: Young Adult

Genre: Historical, Fiction
Goodreads | Amazon

My Review: This was an okay book. It could have been much better if some of it was fleshed out more. It was kind of underwhelming for me. The whole time I was reading it I had no idea what was happening because they happened with very little explanation or cause. And also, the idea that a white boy is important and magical to the Native Americans made me cringe. That was just worst thing in there. It was all awfully stereotypical. The book just basically left me wanting more the whole time. It was so unfulfilling.
Do I Recommend this book? Nope

 

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Posted in: 2 Stars, Dundurn, Review, Young Adult