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The Way
Fatherless Cody LeBeau is an American Indian boy who is starting high school with the usual trepidation. He fits into none of the cliques at the new school, but somehow keeps being noticed anyway--and is often teased because of his tendency to stutter. Then his Uncle Pat, an accomplished martial arts sensei, moves into the town and becomes the one who shows Cody the way through the maze of adolescent doubt and into manhood.
156 pages, Hardcover
First published July 30, 2007
4 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Bruchac
210 books601 followersJoseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.
He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.
As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.
He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.
As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 23, 2023
The book I chose to read is called The Way by Joseph Bruchac. I found this book when I was in the library looking for a good book to read for six weeks. The setting mostly takes place in a high school in Wisconsin. The main character is high schooler named Cody LeBeau.
The story starts with the main character, Cody, being late for the bus, and in his hurry he accidentally wore two different pairs of shoes causing the kids at school to pick on him. He is pretty much the quite kid ofinhe school. Then it all changed when his uncle, whom he never knew he had, was in his trailer when he got back from school. His uncle introduced himself and they started talking for a little bit and getting to know each other. Turns out there both into martial arts except that Cody has no experience and his uncle is a master who is getting ready for a big tournament. His uncle wants to live with him for a bit until the tournament and Cody allows him to but in exchange for some lessons about The Way, a martial arts form founded by early native Americans. They start training for about a week before Codys uncle tells him why he is not able to afford a house or hotel to stay at and the reason upsets Cody who storms off mad at him. They eventually come to terms and start getting back to training. Then one day at school, Cody realized that he hadn’t seen a particular student that he knows was there at school that day. So he goes off looking for him and when he checks a janitor's closet he sees the student's bag and then locks the door behind him so no one could get in. He then hears the student he was looking for at the door trying to get in with another student but he didn’t let the in. They eventually run off somewhere else and Cody checks the bag to see guns, ammunition, and grenades. He grabs the bag takes it to a dumpster gets rid of it in there so the students couldn’t get them and proceed with their plan. Cody than runs to the principal to warn him of the students plan and saves the day when the police show up and bring the boys to justice. His uncle then proceeds to win the tournament dedicating it to Cody.
The ending was pretty good because of how they appreciated Cody for stopping the shooting. The quote I chose was from Cody's uncle from after he won the tournament. “We did it, Cody!” I like this quote from the book because he gives credit to Cody for allowing him to stay at his house for that whole time.
The book was a nice simple read that didn’t spend too much time introducing everything and giving every little detail about everything. The rising action wasn’t the best but the climax made up for it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys martial arts. In conclusion, it was a good book.
The story starts with the main character, Cody, being late for the bus, and in his hurry he accidentally wore two different pairs of shoes causing the kids at school to pick on him. He is pretty much the quite kid ofinhe school. Then it all changed when his uncle, whom he never knew he had, was in his trailer when he got back from school. His uncle introduced himself and they started talking for a little bit and getting to know each other. Turns out there both into martial arts except that Cody has no experience and his uncle is a master who is getting ready for a big tournament. His uncle wants to live with him for a bit until the tournament and Cody allows him to but in exchange for some lessons about The Way, a martial arts form founded by early native Americans. They start training for about a week before Codys uncle tells him why he is not able to afford a house or hotel to stay at and the reason upsets Cody who storms off mad at him. They eventually come to terms and start getting back to training. Then one day at school, Cody realized that he hadn’t seen a particular student that he knows was there at school that day. So he goes off looking for him and when he checks a janitor's closet he sees the student's bag and then locks the door behind him so no one could get in. He then hears the student he was looking for at the door trying to get in with another student but he didn’t let the in. They eventually run off somewhere else and Cody checks the bag to see guns, ammunition, and grenades. He grabs the bag takes it to a dumpster gets rid of it in there so the students couldn’t get them and proceed with their plan. Cody than runs to the principal to warn him of the students plan and saves the day when the police show up and bring the boys to justice. His uncle then proceeds to win the tournament dedicating it to Cody.
The ending was pretty good because of how they appreciated Cody for stopping the shooting. The quote I chose was from Cody's uncle from after he won the tournament. “We did it, Cody!” I like this quote from the book because he gives credit to Cody for allowing him to stay at his house for that whole time.
The book was a nice simple read that didn’t spend too much time introducing everything and giving every little detail about everything. The rising action wasn’t the best but the climax made up for it. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys martial arts. In conclusion, it was a good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2024
The Way by Joseph Bruchac. Is set in the present day. In the US the main character's name is Cody Lebeau He is a teenage boy. The second most important person in the book is his uncle John. I found this book when I was doing a book project for my class I found it in the fiction section of my school library.
The plot of this book is there is a loser named Cody who can't do anything right and he gets bullied all the time. But in his head, he's not uncoordinated and slow hes an amazing ninja. He dreams every day of being a ninja until one day his uncle shows up. He finds he is a famous fighter and wants to learn they start to train together.
By the end of the book, Cody has learned form his uncle not just how to fight but also how to be confident with him self. When it comes time to go to school he comes face to face with his biggest bully but instead of resorting to violence like normal, he stands his ground with his mind and words. This shows hes grown to be more mentally stronger.
My personal opinion on this book is that its pretty bad for somebody my age it didn't hold my attention vary well. But I probably would have liked this book a lot If I was in 5th grade. So I would recommend this book to somebody younger than me who is looking for a good book.
The plot of this book is there is a loser named Cody who can't do anything right and he gets bullied all the time. But in his head, he's not uncoordinated and slow hes an amazing ninja. He dreams every day of being a ninja until one day his uncle shows up. He finds he is a famous fighter and wants to learn they start to train together.
By the end of the book, Cody has learned form his uncle not just how to fight but also how to be confident with him self. When it comes time to go to school he comes face to face with his biggest bully but instead of resorting to violence like normal, he stands his ground with his mind and words. This shows hes grown to be more mentally stronger.
My personal opinion on this book is that its pretty bad for somebody my age it didn't hold my attention vary well. But I probably would have liked this book a lot If I was in 5th grade. So I would recommend this book to somebody younger than me who is looking for a good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2017
"Cody LeBeau would like nothing more than to just blend into the woodwork at his new high school. Unfortunately, his stutter and status as the only Native American student capture the attention of bullies. He accepts his role as punching bag until the day his uncle, a martial arts master, moves to town and begins coaching him in "the way of the heart." (Annotation created for my booklist "25 Books About Teens and Bullying)
March 31, 2023
A decent message in what felt like a very rushed book.
November 17, 2025
A quick story about a teen finding his place.
September 30, 2008
The Way
The Way is an adventurous/ realistic fiction book written by Joseph Bruchac. I enjoyed reading this book and how the main character, Cody LeBeau, sorted out his problems with being bullied, and helped other kids that were bullied as well.
Cody, a freshman in high school, isn’t the most popular kid in school, and doesn’t have many friends. He doesn’t have all the latest trends in clothing, and doesn’t have the money to spend on the newest gadgets like all the other students. One thing Cody is really good at is reading other peoples emotions. He can tell when someone’s sad, mad, or in deep thought. He knows the librarian’s emotions really well. He spends most of his time in the library reading as many books about martial arts and other ways of self-defense, even though his school doesn’t allow books with fighting in them, due to their no fighting policy. He finds he finds readings about self-defense anyway in the books about Japan and China.
Cody has a vivid imagination. He is always imagining getting rid of bullies, or fighting back against them, but in real life he never can. When Cody comes home from school one day he gets a surprising visit from an uncle he never knew about, an Ultimate fighter, who teaches Cody how to defend himself, and believing in himself to find his true self. He was given advice from his uncle that Cody will never forget. “All power comes from our creator. All things are connected. There is peace within me as I fallow The Way.”
The Way is an adventurous/ realistic fiction book written by Joseph Bruchac. I enjoyed reading this book and how the main character, Cody LeBeau, sorted out his problems with being bullied, and helped other kids that were bullied as well.
Cody, a freshman in high school, isn’t the most popular kid in school, and doesn’t have many friends. He doesn’t have all the latest trends in clothing, and doesn’t have the money to spend on the newest gadgets like all the other students. One thing Cody is really good at is reading other peoples emotions. He can tell when someone’s sad, mad, or in deep thought. He knows the librarian’s emotions really well. He spends most of his time in the library reading as many books about martial arts and other ways of self-defense, even though his school doesn’t allow books with fighting in them, due to their no fighting policy. He finds he finds readings about self-defense anyway in the books about Japan and China.
Cody has a vivid imagination. He is always imagining getting rid of bullies, or fighting back against them, but in real life he never can. When Cody comes home from school one day he gets a surprising visit from an uncle he never knew about, an Ultimate fighter, who teaches Cody how to defend himself, and believing in himself to find his true self. He was given advice from his uncle that Cody will never forget. “All power comes from our creator. All things are connected. There is peace within me as I fallow The Way.”
October 12, 2015
In the book The Way by Joseph BruchacCody Lebeau is a freshman at a new school.His Mom works at the Koacook Moon Casino. His dad is a trucker.Cody get bullied all the time and is sure he has a target on his back.With Dad out of the picture and Mom works the graveyard at the casino, Cody is pretty much on his own.
The couple parts a I liked are, One day his Uncle John, Cody is just meeting him for the first time, Mom's long lost brother (hard to understand) who came knocking on the door of the house. Uncle John told Cody about the tournament and plans to win the $120,000 Ultimate Fighting Tournament Prize. He is on the clock for 10 weeks to train and fight for victory in the Tournament. This is a dream come true for Cody. He has read and dreamed about martial arts since he was a little boy. Uncle John does not teach Cody how to fight, he starts him with The Way, the way of the Abenaki elders and the old ones who were wise and grounded. Cody still goes to a school with bullies everywhere and with all the problems that follow, but it really is a changed Cody in the past few weeks. One thing i don't like is how the bullies still bother him after he fights in the tournament
In this book there are lots of real life problems that normal families run up on. This is a great book for anyone looking into reading a easy read. I don't want to give away the ending, so i will stop there. I hope you take my advice and read this book.
The couple parts a I liked are, One day his Uncle John, Cody is just meeting him for the first time, Mom's long lost brother (hard to understand) who came knocking on the door of the house. Uncle John told Cody about the tournament and plans to win the $120,000 Ultimate Fighting Tournament Prize. He is on the clock for 10 weeks to train and fight for victory in the Tournament. This is a dream come true for Cody. He has read and dreamed about martial arts since he was a little boy. Uncle John does not teach Cody how to fight, he starts him with The Way, the way of the Abenaki elders and the old ones who were wise and grounded. Cody still goes to a school with bullies everywhere and with all the problems that follow, but it really is a changed Cody in the past few weeks. One thing i don't like is how the bullies still bother him after he fights in the tournament
In this book there are lots of real life problems that normal families run up on. This is a great book for anyone looking into reading a easy read. I don't want to give away the ending, so i will stop there. I hope you take my advice and read this book.
May 17, 2016
I really liked this book, not because the story is good, actually I didn't like the story but I liked the theme of never give up on your goals. This is obviously a book for kids, it has a lot of fantasy and extraordinary stuff that cody imagines all the time, I think kids do that all the time.
The main character cody is an native american who is victim of bullying, his father is a trucker and he never sees his dad, his mom works all day so he is on his own, without anybody helping him while he is feeling lost in life. The school kids abuse of him but is he weak? I don't thinks so, he kept strong, all his sacrifice trying to figure out his position in life is going to be worth it at the end of the day. What I liked of this book is that cody despite of his situation he was always positive, and instead of be a bad kid he always tried his best to be better.
He found himself at the middle of the story after struggling a lot with what he wants and what is he missing and he finds that it was his confidence. While he interacts with his uncle he feels good, now he has an example to follow, and his uncle make him find the way. I personally recommend this book for kids of all ages but not for adults they may find this boring but it has a really good theme who motivates kids never give up.
The main character cody is an native american who is victim of bullying, his father is a trucker and he never sees his dad, his mom works all day so he is on his own, without anybody helping him while he is feeling lost in life. The school kids abuse of him but is he weak? I don't thinks so, he kept strong, all his sacrifice trying to figure out his position in life is going to be worth it at the end of the day. What I liked of this book is that cody despite of his situation he was always positive, and instead of be a bad kid he always tried his best to be better.
He found himself at the middle of the story after struggling a lot with what he wants and what is he missing and he finds that it was his confidence. While he interacts with his uncle he feels good, now he has an example to follow, and his uncle make him find the way. I personally recommend this book for kids of all ages but not for adults they may find this boring but it has a really good theme who motivates kids never give up.
June 6, 2010
Cody is a freshman at yet another new school. His dad is a long haul trucker, Mom works at the Koacook Moon Casino. Amid the cliques and bullies Cody is positive he is wearing a target and gets abused, pushed and beat around to prove it.
With Dad all but gone, Mom working graveyard at the casino Cody is pretty much on his own. Enter Uncle John, unknown til now, Mom's long lost brother (complicated- read the book) who intends to win the 120K Ultimate Fighting Competition Prize. He is on the res for 10 weeks to train and compete. This is a dream come true for Cody who has read and dreamed martial arts for years. Uncle John does not teach Cody fighting, he starts him on The Way- the way of the Abenaki elders and the old ones who were wise and grounded.
Cody still goes to a bully ridden school with all the issues that entails, but it really is a transformed Cody as the weeks pass.
Lots of high school and family issues are touched upon. This would be a great classroom book for low level high interest reading groups and certainly an addition to middle/high school libraries. The publisher slots this at 9-12 ages- I don't get it. Would love to hear from the grade leveling person to understand why a 9 year old wants to read this book.
With Dad all but gone, Mom working graveyard at the casino Cody is pretty much on his own. Enter Uncle John, unknown til now, Mom's long lost brother (complicated- read the book) who intends to win the 120K Ultimate Fighting Competition Prize. He is on the res for 10 weeks to train and compete. This is a dream come true for Cody who has read and dreamed martial arts for years. Uncle John does not teach Cody fighting, he starts him on The Way- the way of the Abenaki elders and the old ones who were wise and grounded.
Cody still goes to a bully ridden school with all the issues that entails, but it really is a transformed Cody as the weeks pass.
Lots of high school and family issues are touched upon. This would be a great classroom book for low level high interest reading groups and certainly an addition to middle/high school libraries. The publisher slots this at 9-12 ages- I don't get it. Would love to hear from the grade leveling person to understand why a 9 year old wants to read this book.
July 10, 2009
In several places this book reminded me of the work of one of my favorite young authors (keep at it Chris, you are obviously moving in the right direction). I also learned some interesting things about martial arts and Native American culture. Cody's first person account of his high school experience rang true. (I especially enjoyed the sympathetic librarian character). That said, the intense and terrifying climatic scenes struck a little too close to home for someone who works in a school. I wonder if certain students might identify with and emulate the troubled characters' actions, which would not be a good thing.
February 14, 2008
Cody LeBeau is a Freshman "loser" who dreams of becoming a ninja, saving his classmates from bad guys and winning over his crush. When his uncle, and ex-marine and Ultimate Fighter, spends time staying with Cody and his mother, Cody begins to learn "The Way". The way leads to increased self confidence and awareness, which leads Cody to notice the odd behavior of two of his most bullied classmates...
Quick read and probably a good pick for reluctant male readers (and it doesn't hurt that one positive adult in the book is the school librarian). A bit cliched, but Cody is a likable character.
Quick read and probably a good pick for reluctant male readers (and it doesn't hurt that one positive adult in the book is the school librarian). A bit cliched, but Cody is a likable character.
August 22, 2009
I loved this teen novel and I was surprised to see that it had received no customer reviews as yet. Cody LeBeau has a rich fantasy life, but in real life he is the victim of a bully at his high school and his self-image is about zero. What he learns from his uncle (an uncle he never knew he had) brings his world into more accurate (and manageable) perspective by introducing him to The Way--the way of the heart. I loved the characters and I loved all the references to the Native folklore--especially the Circle
whereby everyone is connected.
whereby everyone is connected.
October 24, 2012
I think this book was great. I liked the way when Uncle John came in. It made the book a little bit more interesting by helping out Cody finding The Way. At first Cody was loose and clumsy. Now he is relaxed, calm, and just right. It was interesting how Uncle John will go about helping out Cody. I was wondering what he would do. I was a hoping it would be a little creative, and it was just that. So this book is a great book and I would recommend it for people that need help on focusing more learning to be confident.
February 29, 2016
The book is about an American Indian freshmen named Cody LeBeau who moves one trailer park to another with his mother while his father is a long haul trucker,which he doesn't live with them.He goes to Long River High School, trying his best to be unnoticed since he is an average type of guy.But then he gets bullied by two jocks.He noticed a guy got pantsed in front of everyone. Then he met his Uncle John, which he thought he didn't have one, who is actually a martial arts fighter and teaches him to learn "The Way" that will help him lead to his true self.
November 7, 2012
Wow. After being forced to read this book by my mom, it was pretty interesting. (just don't tell her that!) when I first read the first few chapters, I thought of this book as just a knock-off of "Karate Kid." Yet I still read on. In the middle, I couldn't see where it was going with all this learning of "The Way." At the end was the big hitter. Wow I just couldn't believe what had happened at the end. It shocked me. You should really find out in this unexpectedly ok novel.
-Moe
-Moe
October 4, 2010
This book, about a picked on wimpy kid, reminded me of "The Karate Kid" the firs one, not the new one, haven't seen that one. Although Bruchac had a strong message, I enjoyed the way he presented it. I wasn't completely surprised by the ending, but it was a little different from what I thought might happen. Might be a good book for reluctant boys, especially those who keep their heads down.
October 26, 2014
I thought this book was interesting . I loved the way the actor put me (the reader ) in a position to where I could imagine what actions going on in Codes head. Also I think the story could have been more detailed about its surroundings, and or background. Another thing it could be improved on was its vocabulary.
September 28, 2009
I liked it as I think he has a lot to say and an interesting point of view. But to me this story was a bit predictable. Don't know if others would find it predictable.
August 8, 2010
Well written with the Native American characters and the Asian martial arts. Bullies and anger management. Strong story and characters.
November 5, 2014
Slow to start, but great ending. Good read for younger readers who are not confident reading yet or looking for something different.
December 14, 2014
a boy learns The Way of his culture; ninja, overcoming obstacle
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October 12, 2015this book was a great book and was very impotant to me because alot of it was meaningful to me because im going through the problems he is oh and he win the tournament at the end!
April 10, 2017
this book was awesome this show why kids around the world should practice martial arts at school or outside of school because of the bully's and teachers that don't care this book shows a path for every one.
P.S they should make a movie of this.
P.S they should make a movie of this.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews