Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Mafatu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge. Then days on a desert island found him resourceful beyond his own expectation. This is the story of how his courage grew and how he finally returned home. This is a legend. It happened many years ago, but even today the people of Hikueru sing this story and tell it over their evening fires.

My review:
This book was recommended by a friend of mine (and fellow bookworm) so I gave it a shot. Written for young readers, this story can easily be enjoyed by adults as well. Armstrong Sperry writes in a wonderfully descriptive and knowledgable voice that quickly brings Mafatu's surroundings to life. Originally published in 1940, Sperry's vocabulary and tone have that old-fashioned feel that's oddly comforting when you settle into the story. And Mafatu's tale is one that anyone can relate to. Filled with fear, he thinks himself a failure for not being brave like his people. As he sets out to prove himself, the one thing that keeps him moving forward with courage is the thought of making his father proud. As a character, Mafatu is so endearing that you catch yourself cheering him on as he overcomes each obstacle put before him. The fact that his two constant companions are a seagull and a dog makes it an even more endearing.

The copy I read was the hardcover edition illustrated by the author himself.  His artwork has a very distinct look that is simple but emotive. I am absolutely in love with the way he uses lines to shade and highlight. If you can get a copy of this edition, I'd recommend it. You'll be dedicating as much time to the drawings as you do the words.

Sperry sums up his book best when accepting the Newbery Medal for this title, "I had been afraid that perhaps in Call It Courage, the concept of spiritual courage might be too adult for children, but the reception of this book has reaffirmed a belief I have long held: that children have imagination enough to grasp any idea, and respond to it, if it is put to them honestly and without a patronizing pat on the head."
"Call It Courage" was filmed for television in 1973 and later made into a musical play in 2010.

The Author

Author Tidbit: Sperry's love of the ocean was inspired by his great-grandfather who was a brave sea captain.

They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellars

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Xat’sull Chief Bev Sellars spent her childhood in a church-run residential school whose aim it was to “civilize” Native children through Christian teachings, forced separation from family and culture, and discipline. In addition, beginning at the age of five, Sellars was isolated for two years at Coqualeetza Indian Turberculosis Hospital in Sardis, British Columbia, nearly six hours’ drive from home. The trauma of these experiences has reverberated throughout her life.

The first full-length memoir to be published out of St. Joseph’s Mission at Williams Lake, BC, Sellars tells of three generations of women who attended the school, interweaving the personal histories of her grandmother and her mother with her own. She tells of hunger, forced labour, and physical beatings, often with a leather strap, and also of the demand for conformity in a culturally alien institution where children were confined and denigrated for failure to be White and Roman Catholic.

My Review: 

This was a part of native history that I wasn't as familiar with which is what drove me to read it. After finishing this title, it's definitely a subject I would like to better educate myself on. Bev Sellars speaks simply with an often pragmatic voice that has little flourish in language, but the memories she shares are no less vivid for it. While her passion for the injustices committed at these residential schools is more than evident, she asks for no sympathy in recounting them. In fact, there were moments when it felt like my heart was breaking more than hers. Not surprising when you grow up being shown little to no respect or courtesy. I can imagine that would toughen someone up pretty quick.

I don't know if it's true for all residential schools, but the one Bev was forced to go to received money from the government for each Indian child they could house and feed. Quality of life was not so much a concern as quantity of children. The children were called by their number not the name their parents gave them. It was forbidden to speak their native tongue and corporal punishment along with verbal abuse was commonplace. In addition to chores, the students were forced to make arts and crafts that the school would sell for their own profit. Their diet was of such a poor quality that one of the newly-hired chefs refused to feed the kids such poor food (spoiled food was known to have been served as well). The children often wore uniforms and shoes that did not fit. DDT was used to kill lice. Children who were injured from play or by accident were not taken to a doctor or hospital. They were left in bed with broken arms or legs that never properly healed in their adult life. This school, along with others, would later face charges of sexual assault against both girls and boys. 

The worst part of this is that, according to Sellars, when she would return home for parts of the year no one would speak about what happened at the residential school. Both her mother and grandmother and other family members who had also attended the school remained silent. Friends pretended it was a different life, not wanting to relive those moments or even admit to them. Later in her life, Sellars would lose many family and friends to alcoholism. She believed very strongly that their experiences were too much to cope with and alcohol was an easy way to drown out the pain. 

One thing that really surprised me was the law in Canada prohibiting any native from LEAVING the reserve without a pass from their Indian agent....?!? Here is an article that talks more about the Indian Act and also shows an image of one of those passes: http://www.ictinc.ca/blog/21-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-indian-act-. 

Bev Sellars, although painfully shy, later went on to become chief of her tribe for over 20 years.

The Author

Author Tidbit: Bev Sellars won the 2014 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature. She also has a degree in history and law.

King Arthur: A Military History by Michael Holmes

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Is it true that King Arthur was a real historical figure? That he had a profound influence on the actual history of England and the world? The evidence presented here comes from many reliable ancient sources that depict the world of Britain around the year A.D. 500, and, more important, from numerous modern historians who have developed methods of examining ancient records to uncover hidden kernels of historical truth. What is known about the history of the period is compared with intriguing details imbedded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and other legendary sources. The most valuable contribution is a careful study of major events in Gaul and Britain during the Arthurian era to show how a leader of Arthur's stature could have caused the known victories in battle and the known shifts in political power. Every major battle in which King Arthur is supposed to have engaged is treated as an actual happening, and each is described in meticulous detail, complete with maps and campaign charts. What a few years ago was thought be a futile quest now is being taken seriously: that only a historical person who led real battles and produced major victories could have inspired the centuries of stories and legends.

My Review:
If you are interested in more than just the romantic myth of King Arthur and his Knights then you should add this to your Arthurian collection. It covers the time period, the landscape and the events surrounding the speculated military career of Arthur. The author, Michael Holmes, (a physicist by trade), goes into surprising detail, pulling from primary historical sources and applying a healthy dose of reason and logic to his speculations. He sets the scene with events that took place before Arthur's birth, events that would have influenced his father and grandfather. He goes into the Celtic tribal mindset and the Roman military machine and how these two things would have played an important role in shaping the romano-celtic people including King Arthur. 

Two of the main sources the author pulls from are Nennius's "History of the British" and the "Annales Cambriae."  These sources reference Arthur (although there is some debate on his name being added long after the first arthurian myth developed). But if that's not the case then the points Holmes presents are really interesting. Towards the end of the book, he goes into an incredibly detailed and thoughtful account of King Arthur's campaign defending England from the Anglo-Saxons and the numerous battles leading up to the victorious Battle of Mount Badon and the betrayal of Medraut (Mordred). 

All in all, even if what Holmes is suggesting can't be proven, it's an interesting book written by someone who obviously loves the legend of King Arthur. And there is enough honest history in it to please the history buff.

New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Abigail Irene Garrett drinks too much. She makes scandalous liaisons with inappropriate men, and if in her youth she was a famous beauty, now she is both formidable--and notorious. She is a forensic sorceress, and a dedicated officer of a Crown that does not deserve her loyalty. She has nothing, but obligations. Sebastien de Ulloa is the oldest creature she has ever known. He was no longer young at the Christian millennium, and that was nine hundred years ago. He has forgotten his birth-name, his birth-place, and even the year in which he was born, if he ever knew it. But he still remembers the woman who made him immortal. He has everything, but a reason to live. In a world where the sun never set on the British Empire, where Holland finally ceded New Amsterdam to the English only during the Napoleonic wars, and where the expansion of the American colonies was halted by the war magic of the Iroquois, they are exiles in the new world--and its only hope for justice.


My Thoughts:
This is the first in a series so if you love it then there's more. I'm probably not going to commit to the series, but that might have more to do with having way too many books to read. Despite that, I found myself really enjoying the characters and the way they interacted with each other. Bear is a wordsmith so keep a dictionary handy. She doesn't go overboard with it, just enough to make you wonder how on earth she managed to know that word and use it in a way that makes it settle down naturally into the sentence like "no big deal." 

I absolutely loved Abigail Irene Garrett, but how can one not love a female forensic sorceress working in the late 1800s? Sebastien grew on me and the subtle competition between Abigail and Jack (for Sebastien's attention) was always entertaining. Even more so, the friendship that grows out of it. All in all, this is definitely a book for someone who enjoys fantasy/mystery driven by its characters. That is what will keep you reading, not the plot. Just a heads-up, this book does not read like a typical novel. It's more like a collection of isolated mysteries that the characters float in and out of while performing their own special detective work. In fact, the first character mentioned in the synopsis doesn't even show up until the second chapter (62 pages in). Each story has its own thorough imagery (Bear gets 5 out of 5 stars for setting a scene), but do not expect continuity between each story.

The Author

Author Tidbit: Elizabeth has done a little bit of everything. She's worked as a stablehand, traffic manager, typesetter and donut maker.

Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge by Vic Glover

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Cruise down the back roads of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in this bold anthology of real-life stories. Creative writer Vic Glover lays bare the challenges, history, bonds, and rich traditions that infuse the stark reality of life on the "rez." Glover introduces readers to his friends, family, and neighbors, inviting us into his private world with a trace of amusement and a poignant honesty that grabs you from the opening line and never lets go.

My Thoughts:
This book is a memoir of sorts of Vic Glover's (Oglala Lakota) life on the Pine Ridge Reservation. While only being 157 pages, I had to read this book in increments that stretched over a couple of months. Not because it was written poorly or because it wasn't interesting, but because it was a lot to take in and I wanted to process what I was reading. The book is written in short 2-4 page stories that don't have to necessarily be read in order. Each story covers an aspect of reservation life that the author ties in with his own memories. While brief, each story packs its own punch and will leave you chewing on it long after you've finished it. Some will even have you coming back to read again.

This is not, however, a book that takes the form of a lecture intended to make its readers feel guilty for their cushier lifestyle. Glover is unapologetic in his honesty and yet humble in his tone. He infuses each memory with a refreshing sense of humor making the reader feel as if they are a part of his circle. And his circle contains a wide variety of people, whether they're old friends from the reservation or people from other countries flying to South Dakota to participate in a sweat lodge. There is, throughout the book, an undercurrent of death and tragedy. You'll be reading a light-hearted story about people in his tribe and then, in one sentence, he'll mention someone's death and it's like an anvil dropping. Those are the moments that make you want to take your time with this book. You will get an insider's view into life on one of the poorest reservations in the United States. This is a perspective that needs to be known.

My Favorite Quotes:
"There are four cardinal virtues among the Lakota: Honesty. Courage. Humility. Generosity. A chief should possess and have refined them all. Some of the people have cultivated and mastered these elements of character, like the Old Man and Uncle Joe, the walking epitome of humility. Humility defeats pride. It dissipates defense mechanisms. It teaches us silence."

"You could say that many of us living up here have given up on the American dream, because we find that the values extolled and pursued by commercial, consumer-driven American society, in and of themselves are illusory, mythological, essentially empty, and selfishly unfulfilling. Where in American culture is the heart?"

I couldn't find any photos of Vic Glover, but here is some information on him from the back of the book: Vic Glover is a Vietnam vet combat medic, a former journalist, and professor of communication. He writes humor, political satire, and social commentary from his home on Pine Ridge Reservation.

***Check out the photography of Aaron Huey, a photojournalist who spent 8 years documenting life on the Pine Ridge Reservation: http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2014/02/20/aaron_huey_photographs_the_pine_ridge_reservation_in_south_dakota_in_his.html

Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin

Goodreads Synopsis:
Abner Marsh has had his wish come true - he has built the Fevre Dream, the finest steamship to sail the Mississippi. Abner hopes to race the boat some day, but his partner is making it hard for him to realise his dreams. Joshua York put up the money for the Fevre Dream, but now rumours have started about the company he keeps, his odd eating habits and strange hours. As the Dream sails the great river, it leaves in its wake one too many dark tales, forcing Abner to face down the man who made his dreams become reality.



My Thoughts:
All in all, a fantastic book. It's a bit slow-going in the beginning, but once it picks up IT PICKS UP. By the end of the book, I became extremely fond of the characters Abner Marsh and Joshua York. It's an unlikely bond, but a memorable one. Martin does a good job with developing the main players without going overboard (...although a fan of his series A Song of Ice and Fire, I'm thrilled he didn't create 200 characters just to have half of them die a few sentences later). Woo hoo! 

What I enjoyed most, surprisingly, was Martin's obvious enthusiasm for steamboats. I've never really been a steamboat kind of girl (insert dirty joke here) but he got me into the history and lifestyle of that time. He really did his late-night boat reading and I always love when an author takes the time and care to research something in depth. About halfway through, you can tell that if you ever got stuck on an elevator with George R. R. Martin and said the word "steamboats" he'd launch into a 2-hour conversation about them with a silly grin on his face. I can envision him spending hours riding these things in a Captain's jacket and jotting down notes. Plus, there's only so many ways to describe water. I'll give two thumbs up for him not sounding redundant. 

If you're a vampire fan then you should give this a read. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Martin takes a very interesting and thoughtful angle on the whole sucking blood business. That being said, I don't read a lot of vampire fiction so you can yell at me in the Comments section if I'm wrong. I was going to explain his angle on it, but I'm thinking it might be a bit of a spoiler...so nope. Just the read the book. It's good.

Subterranean Press has put out a fancified deluxe illustrated edition for super fans. Here's one of the illustrations by Justin Sweet (props to his talent and ability to capture the mood & characters):

The Author

Author Tidbit: Martin's father was a longshoreman (waterfront manual laborer). He grew up by the water and sold monster stories to other kids to make a few pennies.

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