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Words Spoken True
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Expected 3 Nov 26Award-winning author Anne Broyles weaves the lyrical story of fourteen-year-old Jane Bushyhead and her family's forced removal, upon threat of death, from their home in the ancestral Cherokee Nation. Based on a true story, this evocative, compelling account of the pain and hardships endured, as well as the love and courage summoned by the Cherokees on the Trail of Tears, is equal measures heartbreaking and hopeful.Jane Bushyhead dreams of one day becoming a teacher. But everything changes when she and her family are forced from their ancestral Cherokee homeland by US soldiers at gunpoint. After months of imprisonment and uncertainty, Jane and her people are then ordered to march eight hundred miles to "Indian Territory" (modern-day Oklahoma) during one of the worst winters of the 19th century.It's a grueling journey--many of the Cherokee people are barefoot and unprepared for the freezing weather--and all go hungry as supplies dwindle and sickness abounds. Yet, Jane finds romance with a young man who has been adopted by the Cherokees and comfort within the loving embrace of her family.As the dangerous journey unfolds, and Jane finds purpose in teaching and recording the stories of her people, she will be forced to bear witness as they perish from starvation, disease, and deadly hazards of the trail. Soon, Jane will have to face an impossible choice between love and her own family.Award-winning author and enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, Anne Broyles brings the Trail of Tears to desperate, vivid life in this beautiful story about courage, community, memory, and love.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 3, 2026
About the author
Anne Broyles
26 books10 followersAnne Broyles is the award-winning author of two children's picture books, PRISCILLA AND THE HOLLYHOCKS (Charlesbridge, 2008) and SHY MAMA'S HALLOWEEN (Tilbury House, 2000). She also writes for regional publications such as MERRIMACK VALLEY MAGAZINE and THE LOS ANGELES TIMES Travel section. Check out www.annebroyles.com for more details."
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Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
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Jane Bushyhead isn't happy that she has had to leave Kingston Academy and return home to her large family because of the government's plan in 1838 to remove all Native Americans to the Western US. Her father, a pastor, and the Cherokee leader Chief Ross, think that their community will be able to remain in Mouse Creek, Tennessee, but this proves to be incorrect. The government start ripping people from their homes, and it eventually becomes clear that all of the Native residents will have to give up the land that has been in their families for generations as well as their homes and most of their belongings. Because they have waited so long, the Bushyheads find themselves leaving under duress, and Jane departs wearing a silk dress her mother has just made. After this violent removal, the family ends up at a camp at Fort Cass. Luckily, a young man that Jane has had her eye on, Muskrat Adair, is also at the fort. He is white, but was adopted into the tribe and has left in solidarity. Jane's younger brother, Ned, did not leave with her and her mother and siblings, but was thought to be with her father. When the groups meet at the fort, they find that Ned is not with either of them. Luckily, he does show up later, but since the family has had to leave the grave of a deceased son, Jem, this is a tense situation. At the camp, the food is poor, and mistreatment and overcrowding are rampant. Jane is even attacked by a rogue soldier, who tries to rape her. She is saved by Muskrat stepping in, which makes her feel ashamed and avoid him. Colonel Hanson, in charge of the post, apologizes to the family, but doesn't take any action. The group is sent to Camp Hetzel, where Jane sets up a school, her mother announces that she is pregnant, ad General Scott agrees to pay a travel stipend for each member of the tribe and get them set to travel to Missouri. Leaving in October is not the best idea, and the trip is hazardous at the best of times. Supplies are limited, and there's not a lot of support for Native Americans in the towns at which they stop. Still, there are a lot of unexpected kindness amid the continued horror of death and depravation. There are cases of diphtheria, possible problems with other Native people in Oklahoma, and challenges with obtaining food that is not full of worms. Muskrat decides not to travel all of the way, but stays in Caledonia, Missouri. Eventually, the Bushyheads arrive in Missouri and decide to name their new town Pleasant Hill.
Strengths: Other than the nonfiction Salas' 2003 The Trail of Tears or Stewart's 2007 The Indian Removal Act, it's b even difficult to find any middle grade books on this topic. Jane's story, which is based on real life characters and a letter that the actual Jane wrote to her classmate at Kingston Academy, is devastating but riveting. Her family faces nonstop obstacles, but always hopes that things will work out. Many of the details of life on the trail reminded me of Carr's 1946 Children of the Covered Wagon, which had an unholy hold on me as a fourth grade, or of a movie I watched recently, the 2014 The Homesman starring Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones. (VERY depressing!) These, of course, center on white characters, who have the most representation in books set in the West in the mid 1800s. Jane as a great character, and one of the most interesting things she did was to try to persuade her father not to have enslaved workers. Her father, a minister, was absolutely convinced that it was a perfectly fine thing for Christians to do, and that the enslaved people were better off being "taken care of". That was hard to read, but Jane was very insistent. The historical notes at the end include biographies of the real life characters and discussions about the historical figures involved, as well as information about the Cherokee today.
Weaknesses: Jane is old enough to have serious thoughts about getting married, and there is an intense if not graphic scene of attempted rape. This might be best in a high school library, but read for yourself to see if it works for younger students at your particular location. I find it's not so much the content of books that can be problematic, but being surprised by content of which one is unaware.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a good look at the history of the Indian Removal Act or who enjoyed other historical fiction centered on US Native tribes like Tingle's Stone River Crossing (1804) Antaki's Red Dove: Listen to the Wind (1870) or Bithell's Brave Bird at Wounded Knee (1973), or Duncan's Buffalo Dreamer.
I was surprised to see that this author also wrote Eating to Save the Planet , as well as some picture books!
Jane Bushyhead isn't happy that she has had to leave Kingston Academy and return home to her large family because of the government's plan in 1838 to remove all Native Americans to the Western US. Her father, a pastor, and the Cherokee leader Chief Ross, think that their community will be able to remain in Mouse Creek, Tennessee, but this proves to be incorrect. The government start ripping people from their homes, and it eventually becomes clear that all of the Native residents will have to give up the land that has been in their families for generations as well as their homes and most of their belongings. Because they have waited so long, the Bushyheads find themselves leaving under duress, and Jane departs wearing a silk dress her mother has just made. After this violent removal, the family ends up at a camp at Fort Cass. Luckily, a young man that Jane has had her eye on, Muskrat Adair, is also at the fort. He is white, but was adopted into the tribe and has left in solidarity. Jane's younger brother, Ned, did not leave with her and her mother and siblings, but was thought to be with her father. When the groups meet at the fort, they find that Ned is not with either of them. Luckily, he does show up later, but since the family has had to leave the grave of a deceased son, Jem, this is a tense situation. At the camp, the food is poor, and mistreatment and overcrowding are rampant. Jane is even attacked by a rogue soldier, who tries to rape her. She is saved by Muskrat stepping in, which makes her feel ashamed and avoid him. Colonel Hanson, in charge of the post, apologizes to the family, but doesn't take any action. The group is sent to Camp Hetzel, where Jane sets up a school, her mother announces that she is pregnant, ad General Scott agrees to pay a travel stipend for each member of the tribe and get them set to travel to Missouri. Leaving in October is not the best idea, and the trip is hazardous at the best of times. Supplies are limited, and there's not a lot of support for Native Americans in the towns at which they stop. Still, there are a lot of unexpected kindness amid the continued horror of death and depravation. There are cases of diphtheria, possible problems with other Native people in Oklahoma, and challenges with obtaining food that is not full of worms. Muskrat decides not to travel all of the way, but stays in Caledonia, Missouri. Eventually, the Bushyheads arrive in Missouri and decide to name their new town Pleasant Hill.
Strengths: Other than the nonfiction Salas' 2003 The Trail of Tears or Stewart's 2007 The Indian Removal Act, it's b even difficult to find any middle grade books on this topic. Jane's story, which is based on real life characters and a letter that the actual Jane wrote to her classmate at Kingston Academy, is devastating but riveting. Her family faces nonstop obstacles, but always hopes that things will work out. Many of the details of life on the trail reminded me of Carr's 1946 Children of the Covered Wagon, which had an unholy hold on me as a fourth grade, or of a movie I watched recently, the 2014 The Homesman starring Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones. (VERY depressing!) These, of course, center on white characters, who have the most representation in books set in the West in the mid 1800s. Jane as a great character, and one of the most interesting things she did was to try to persuade her father not to have enslaved workers. Her father, a minister, was absolutely convinced that it was a perfectly fine thing for Christians to do, and that the enslaved people were better off being "taken care of". That was hard to read, but Jane was very insistent. The historical notes at the end include biographies of the real life characters and discussions about the historical figures involved, as well as information about the Cherokee today.
Weaknesses: Jane is old enough to have serious thoughts about getting married, and there is an intense if not graphic scene of attempted rape. This might be best in a high school library, but read for yourself to see if it works for younger students at your particular location. I find it's not so much the content of books that can be problematic, but being surprised by content of which one is unaware.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a good look at the history of the Indian Removal Act or who enjoyed other historical fiction centered on US Native tribes like Tingle's Stone River Crossing (1804) Antaki's Red Dove: Listen to the Wind (1870) or Bithell's Brave Bird at Wounded Knee (1973), or Duncan's Buffalo Dreamer.
I was surprised to see that this author also wrote Eating to Save the Planet , as well as some picture books!
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