The Winter People

Picked this book up from a friend's bookshelf. I am more of a non-fiction reader than fiction but I enjoyed reading this. At first I felt that it was a little slow but at the end I laughed there was a reason behind it all. This man I could tell put a ton of effort into writing this book and it was well worth it. I highly recommend this to anyone.

I began to read The Winter People because it is on my school reading list. It is not the type of book I would normally pick up to read for pleasure. However once I got into the book I found it quite interesting. The book takes place before people were civilized like they are now, and is about people who have a completely different way of living. I can actually say I learned about another culture, by reading this book. The story is about an Indian tribe that gets torn apart by white people. But specifically the book tells about a boy names Saxso that, in my opinion, truly becomes a man by the end. He gets separated from his mother and two sisters while escaping, and as the head of the family it is his job to get his family back together. After learning they had been taken by whites, Saxso sets off for a long, difficult journey to rescue them. The Winter People is the type of book that is hard to start, but once you get into it, you'll be glad you kept reading.

I thought was a beautifully written story by Joseph Bruchac, about the Indian tribe, the Abenaki's. The simple and yet complex way he wrote it from the point of view of 14 year old Native American named Saxso, made it all the more interesting. Saxso is probably the most interesting character in this book aside from his cousin and grandfather. The description of what the British (the white people, or the winter people, the people with winter/cold in their hearts) were doing to the Native Americans after they captured them from the village upon their raid, actually brought tears to my eyes (I've never even heard of the British eating the Native Americans until I read this book. More genocidal things the world continues to hide from the people about what the Europeans, and British, among others who wronged these people, hide.). I continued to read the book until the very end which was satisfying in aspect of the word. I recommend this book to anyone who has a interest in Native Americans and their lives during the many wars that took place on the land they lived on.

This is a truly fasincating story told in a different perspective, through the eyes of a Native American. The novel shows us a totally opposite side of the stories and documents recorded and still used today in life. After I finally finished reading "The Winter People", I had an unique and new perspective towards the Abenakis. You will too, and I still do, hold a strong respect towards these people and their way of life.

I found this to be both an easy to read book, and historically accurate as well. Bruchac is an amazing writer, and teaches many lessons while the the story is told. This book should definately be read by middle school-high school students because it will help teach about both the native peoples and the Seven Years war, and help to wash away some of the stereotypes that have plagued native peoples for many years.Justin