Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Light in the Forest

The Light in the Forest
havan avatar reviewed on + 138 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4


John Cameron Butler is abducted by indians during a raid when he's four but he's adopted by one of the raiders and lives the next 11 years as True Son a full member of the Lenni Lenape tribe. When the tribe agrees to a peace treaty and to return all "captives" True Son is an unwilling re-patriot into the world of the white man.

Written in 1953 this book has been largely forgotten, but is relevant and feels no more outdated than it probably did when first written. At 120 pages this book is a lightning fast read dealing with alienation and defining one's role in society, issues that modern teen boys will just as readily identify with as those in the 50's.

This book is remarkably well-balanced and somehow manages to avoid painting either the native culture or the white culture as being the villain or the utopia.

This book is well worth the reading time, if you can find it.