Spirited

"There was an old riddle among his people: There are two wolves in your heart. One wolf is fear and one wolf is courage. Both are evenly matched, and both are willing to fight to the death. And yet, one wolf will win. Which wolf is it? The answer is: the one you feed." I'm slowly working through the "Once Upon a Time" series. The reading of "Spirited" by Nancy Holder makes the fourth I have read. So far, I have no real complaints about the series. It is shaping up to be about what I expected and more, but allow me to talk about this particular addition. It is early in America's history, May of 1756, during the beginning of the French and Indian War. Isabella Stevens is a young British woman trekking through the forest on her way to her Father's new posting as chief physician at Fort William Henry. They are traveling with Major Samuel Whyte and a troop of soldiers for protection. At the same time nearby their position a young native medicine man tries to heal a troubled heart. Wusamequin lost his wife and child to an attack by the British thirteen months before, and this slaughter left him severely wounded, broken, and incapable of revenge. For thirteen months he lie in wait, his thirst for blood unable to be quenched, until his spirit guide, Great Bear, informs him shows him the way to the British soldiers. His heart lifted Wusamequin runs to tell his people of the presence of the soldiers in the woods. At the same time Isabella hears a strange voice whispering her name and then the word "Mahwah". She warns the others of this and they take precautions that there are enemies nearby. Soon their suspicions are confirmed as Wusamequin's tribe attacks them. Isabella is overpowered by a man who attempts to rape her but is stopped by the handsome Wusamequin, who was impressed by her fighting spirit. After a number of people are killed Isabella and her father are taken hostage. They manage to escape but Isabella is severely wounded in the flight and must be cared for by Wusamequin, who bargains with the chief to let her live. Suddenly Isabella is tormented, she feels connected to the young medicine man but also feels lost without her own people. Likewise, Wusamequin's heart is troubled because he feels the need to protect the young white skinned woman whom he calls "Mahwah" but also knows that she is of his people's enemy. This fact becomes muted as the two begin to fall irrevocably in love with one another and it becomes obvious that love transcends all boundaries. There is a definite magical element to this storyline as well. There are the visions and abilities that Wusamequin displays that astound Isabella, for one thing. For another there is the matter of the little people, or Makiawisug, a mythological reference to a belief of the Mohegan people. These make the story take a turn from simple historic fiction to fantasy, but it is not an unwelcome diversion. For the most part a large portion of the story revolves around Wusamequin and Isabella

1756, Isabella Stevens is on her way to the British stronghold Fort William Henry with her father. They are traveling along when they are all of a sudden attacked by a group of Indians avenging the death of their lost tribe members. All of a sudden, an Indian man who will not kill her captures Isabella. He wants to, but can't kill a creature with so much spirit. So instead of killing her he takes her as a slave. Only he doesn't treat her like the common slave, he is kind and gentle and very sweet. As Isabella becomes to know her captor she falls in love, as does he with her. But in the end Isabella must chose between her first and only love and her father. This story is magical, wonderful, and an awesome addition to the once upon a time series. This book also provides some amazing facts about the customs of the eastern woodland Indians.

Overall I thought this book was exceptionally well written. I very much enjoyed the few words that Natives used to help understand the ways of the First Nations people. I think for sure that this book would have been better if it was longer so it would be possible to sympathize and understand the characters' romance. The only thing I disagreed with in this book was the 'joining of spirits' it's too farfetched. That was not what the Native people did, they did however, have medicine men to help free the spirits. I felt that this book did have quite accurate cultural information, however the ending didn't feel like an end at all. It was like she forgot to write a chapter or something or she didn't want to go into greater detail on what really happened to the main Character Mahwah/Isabella and her lover. I would definitely recommend this book to all young adult readers who like romance books that aren't too cheesy. I like the little bit of culture gave us readers!

Spirited is an amazing story about a young girl who has taken from her father her only family left by a Native American tribe during the British and French War in 1756. While in her position she overcame the obstacles that were in her way and became a companion to her captor.

Spirited is not the best beauty and the beast retelling I have read by a long shot. I far prefer both of Robin Mckinley's books, and Napoli's beast to a lesser extent. In Spirited, the threads to the fairy tale are recognisable, but few, the fantasy is at a minimum (though I still enjoyed it), and the plot (like most in the once upon a time series) is too rushed. Still, it was far better than the last in the series, Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie, which was so inacurate I cringe to think about it. Although I don't know much about early colonial and native american life, I saw nothing blantantly wrong with the information in Spirited. The book does not hesitate to get into the action. It starts with Isabella riding in the woods with her father (a doctor) and some soldier escorts, on their way to bring medicine to another town. A young shaman named Wusamequin learnes of their presence through the help of a spirit guid. English soldiers killed his wife and son, so he does not hesitate to get his village to attack. While the indians attack, Isabella stays to fight. She is a truely brave and loyal girl, who proves herself again and again through the book. Although she acts childish on occasion (she is 16) she usually acts with maturity and practicality, taking in her new station with little complaint. She is attacked, but Wusamequin saves her, although he can not tell why. After the dust of the battle settles, Isabella and her father are taken prisoner. Once at the village they are about to be killed, but Wusamequin again intervenes, claiming they should be randsomed. Isabella offers to stay while her father takes the medicine to the sick. This is one of the few parallels to beauty and the beast. And in this case uneccesary because they make an escape attempt, which the father succeeds in. Unfortunetly, Isabella gets cut while running. Wusamequin finds her, then nurses her back to health. After that, most of the story is about Wusamequin and Isabella's developing relationship. Near the end the plot once again reverts to beauty and the beast (this time with more success). The end seemed a little forced, with prematurely ended plot threads. Both of which could have been fixed with a longer book All in all, this was a pretty good read, good for a quick read during the weekend.