Wild like the Foxes

by Anauta

At the age of ten, Inuit child Alea lost her mother and grew up with only the influence of her Father and older brother. She became an excellent hunter, fisher, and trapper. Many worried that she would never learn the finer points of being womanlike; however, this did not bother Alea at all. Follow this exciting, true story of an Inuit daughter, surrounded by the love of her family, who experienced many adventures both in the wild and in society.

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

Reviews

[Luci Arbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story focused mainly on the girl, Alea, who is an inuit girl who's mother dies and is raised by her father and brother, there for growing up boyish. She becomes super good at trapping and hunting and fishing, she's super close with her brother and father. Her brother loves her and is always finding way to keep her spirits up.
The father however worries that Alea needs to have a woman around and get an education. Throughout the book he invites a family to stay with them for one whole year so Alea can be around another woman and then decides to send her with him to Englind to learn to read and wright. While they are there they have to leave the brother, Koopah, alone at their home. While she is in Englind she meets other inuit children who had been sent there and makes friends, she also learns to love reading and writing, but not math (I can understand). Finaly though, when the father and Alea are both home sick they return.
Not long after that though a war brakes out and Koopah is called to go away and fight. It breaks Alea's heart that he will have to leave, and maybe even die, in a war that has nothing to do with them. While he is away fighting the father gets injured and then for the rest of the war Alea has to be alone without her brother or father. She braves a terrible storm to get to the nearest neighbors and, thankfuly, makes it to safety.
When Koopah returns, it is time for the yearly trade gathering of all the hunters and trappers of that area. People trade, kids play, and on the last day there is a big dance. Alea never dances but that one year she decided to dance with one of her friends and at that point you realize how much Alea has grown throughout the whole story.
She grew up and became a good woman like the father had wanted, but still held all of her talents and wants as she had held before. In the end everyone lives happily ever after! (she married that friend she danced with at the dance, and Koopah marries this other girl)

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a mandatory read for school. This is my opinion on it: Over all, the story of the book is very sweet, charming, and innocent. Though the innocence is what irritated me a little; when Alea and her father (Ahpea) travel to London for the first time in their life's, I would have liked to see some more, so called resistance from the characters. For example when they arrive in London everyone is kind, and welcoming towards them, but lets be honest in the 1900 (the time the book takes place) racism was still quite operant. It just seemed all to kind and, too good to be real. Not very believable, and realistic. I also found the writing style simple, though it has quite a bit of descriptive writing. If you are looking for a light educational read, its perfect.