Initiation

by Virginia Frances Schwartz

I am prey, caught in a spider's web. Every time the spider creeps, he makes me whirl around and around. My life is spinning without me. I cling to the web with my hands and feet. I look for a place to leap. Nana's future is certain, and she dreads it. Daughter of a proud Kwakiutl chief, she will become a weaver, marry the son of a chief from another tribe, and leave her beloved home forever. Nanolatch, Nana's twin brother, will be chief one day, and he welcomes it. He will be a warrior and a strong leader, just like his father. Together, the twins will enter their initiation to adulthood, and fulfill the roles that have been determined for them since the day they were born. But when the chief leads a warring party to destroy another tribe's village and capture a slave, the fortunes of the Kwakiutl tribe begin to turn. Convinced that they must make amends, the chief casts about for a way to undo the curse that has descended on their people. The young slave, Noh, has been mute since the day she was torn from her village. Daughter of a shaman, she has already seen visions of the twins. Only gradually does she understand that her own emergence as a shaman is inextricably linked with the twins and their approaching initiation. Through her sympathy for Nana and her growing love for Nanolatch, she understands that she must help them fulfill their true destiny. But can she save them, knowing that it will take a terrible sacrifice to restore them all to their rightful place? Set on the West Coast of North America during the fifteenth century, Initiation is a powerful story of a proud tribe, the Spirit World that guides them, and the universal struggle of three extraordinary young people on the brink of adulthood. Cover design and vignettes by Paul Morin. Awards and Winner of the Silver Birch Award Winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction UNESCO International Youth Library - White Raven Award special mention, 2004 Shortlist for the 2004 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award 2005 Snow Willow Award Nominee Shortlisted for the 2004 Sunburst Award Kiriyama Prize Notable Red Cedar Award shortlist Stellar Award nominee Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee 2005

Genres: Historical Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2003

Reviews

[Jennifer Aitkens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book rates 4 stars from me when it educates and enthralls me. It has to do both.

This is life as imagined in the 1400s First Nations communities in coastal British Columbia, specifically among the Kwakiutl. It is both a coming of age story and a spiritual story. I was hooked just like the halibut described in the book, and couldn't put it down.

The plain language and sentence structure seem written for a younger audience, but they also reflect the youth of the three main protagonists.

I was charmed by the appearance of the little white dogs - now long gone - that provided the "wool" for weaving coastal blankets.

If I had a complaint, it is only that I'm finding "women's equality" themes in historical fiction a little off-putting as I get older.

[Neill Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nanolatch and Nana are the Salmon twins - when they were born the Kwakiutl tribe expected great things from them - one to rule the land and one to rule the sea. But the gender expectations hindered Nana's spirit. When the slave Noh was captured, the spirit of her Salish shaman mother helped her see the problems that were developing for the twins and she tried to help them come to the ultimate resolution of their spiritual journey.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Schwartz did a fantastic job of chronicling the life cycle of a North American tribe living in the NW of what is now North America. The story follows the cycle of plenty, a time of not enough and back once again to plenty. There are lessons for today's civilization as well, if we would only listen and heed.

[Jc · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the shortlisted titles for the CLA Young Adult Book Award in 2004.

[Amy Mathers · Rating 3 out of 5]

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