Summary:
Neetah, Pocahontas's servant, tells her story of what she witnesses between Pocahontas and the new settlers. We see the trials that Pocahontas has to go through in order to walk this strange line between the newcomers and her tribe. Neetah is a little more reserved than Pocahontas who is both a representative of the tribe and a teenage girl. Overall, it is a real interpretation of what the 17th century was like. The description of rituals and diminishing food supplies are very real. There is a good blend or realism and fiction.
My thoughts:
Overall this is a very interesting tale. Neetah is a likeable narrator. Pocahontas is not the perfect girl we always think of her as being, but she is a teenager and that is definitely important. This is one of those times where I'd like to think we are getting the untold story. Since females were so often told only in their importance to men, this is a story that flips everything around. Pocahontas, although not the narrator, is the focus of the story. Her contribution to history is definitely highlighted more than her usefulness to the settlers. I was honestly hoping that this would be a riveting tale that I wouldn't be able to put down. Unfortunately, it's not. This reads much like a textbook. The storytelling is just not what it could have been. The pacing is very slow and it was difficult to finish. If it is difficult to finish for me, then I can't imagine a reluctant reader will get through it. While I will put this into my library, I can't imagine it's going to fly off the shelf, which is really too bad.
Neetah, Pocahontas's servant, tells her story of what she witnesses between Pocahontas and the new settlers. We see the trials that Pocahontas has to go through in order to walk this strange line between the newcomers and her tribe. Neetah is a little more reserved than Pocahontas who is both a representative of the tribe and a teenage girl. Overall, it is a real interpretation of what the 17th century was like. The description of rituals and diminishing food supplies are very real. There is a good blend or realism and fiction.
My thoughts:
Overall this is a very interesting tale. Neetah is a likeable narrator. Pocahontas is not the perfect girl we always think of her as being, but she is a teenager and that is definitely important. This is one of those times where I'd like to think we are getting the untold story. Since females were so often told only in their importance to men, this is a story that flips everything around. Pocahontas, although not the narrator, is the focus of the story. Her contribution to history is definitely highlighted more than her usefulness to the settlers. I was honestly hoping that this would be a riveting tale that I wouldn't be able to put down. Unfortunately, it's not. This reads much like a textbook. The storytelling is just not what it could have been. The pacing is very slow and it was difficult to finish. If it is difficult to finish for me, then I can't imagine a reluctant reader will get through it. While I will put this into my library, I can't imagine it's going to fly off the shelf, which is really too bad.
