Worlds Apart

by Kathleen Karr

Fifteen-year-old Christopher West befriends a young Native American boy his own age in the Carolinas in 1670. Christopher’s new friend teaches him how to hunt, forage, and respect the land and in exchange Christopher teaches his Sewee acquaintance English and how to play chess. As the English move inland and take land and resources from the Indians, Christopher experiences conflicting loyalties. Based on true facts, this is an exciting tale of a little-known chapter in American history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

196 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Kathleen Karr was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and grew up on a chicken farm in Dorothy, New Jersey. After escaping to college, she worked in the film industry, and also taught in high school and college. She seriously began writing fiction on a dare from her husband. After honing her skills in women’s fiction, her children asked her to write a book for them, (It Ain’t Always Easy, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990), and she discovered she loved writing for young readers.

Reviews

[Emily Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider the works of Scott O'Dell and Elizabeth George Speare to be the standard bearers when it comes to young adult historical fiction, but this novel ranks right up there with those books. Bringing to life a little foot note from the history of the Carolinas, Ms. Karr tells a solid story of friendship and the heartache that can accompany it.

Christopher West and his family are among the first settlers of the Carolinas. The Sewee tribe isn't sure what to think of the newcomers, but Christopher soon befriends a boy his age named Asha-po. Christopher learns knowledge from Asha-po, who in turn wonders at Christopher's people.

This is what I would consider to be a "boy book". The friendship is never cheesy, but understated and real. The wilderness survival is fascinating, as is the "adventure" quality of Spanish ships invading as well as a rival tribe. Karr writes with pure professionalism and sturdy, comfortable storytelling. The writing is simple enough to make this appropriate for many ages, yet is never flat. The hard emotion that comes in at the story's end is one that brought tears to my eyes and sealed this as a memorable story for me.

"Worlds Apart" is a book I pretty much devoured. Yes, it's a familiar story of two different peoples, but it's very well-done and it's the type of story that remains with us, as does this. An excellent book.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading to see if this title has any value in supplementing a Colonial History segment of history.

This family came to America on the ship Caroline, which broght their number. They are Joseph, Elizabeth, (father and mother), Julia (sister), and Christopher West. The new community, Carolins, was concerned about the others, the heathens, the Barbadians who were on this land, but there was also the Spanish. "The Spanish tend to see the whole of the continents - North and South both - as their rightful domain and swoop down on new settlements with no provocaton." (page 10)

What brought this family to America? The Great Fire of London. Fathers business was destroyed.

Joseph West becomes a leader in the new settlement and says, "Gentlemen and servants alike will all be independent men. All will have their own allotments of land. All, with their families, will live better than ever was possible in either England, or Barbados." (page 11)

Christopher becomes friends with Asha-po, Sewee tribe, who he teaches English. His father encourages it, so Christopher can learn about hunting. In England, all forests were private, there were wood fees, hunting was for the highborn. (page 26)

Christopher receives his first weapon, a bow, from Asha-po. (pg 29)

All the passagers of the Caroline will recieve 100 acres. Christopher has some confusion with this. "It was hard to conceive that King Charles and his Lord Propietors so many thousands of miles away chould have assumed that all this land -- all of Carolina and more -- actually belonged to them." (pg 51) "It had never entered their noble minds that Sewee and Westo and other tribes already lived in this far country. It never occurred to them that Indians had owned this land first."

Asha-po tells how his tribe ended up in the land called Carolina (pg 60-61)

The Spanish attack.

There was a battle with the Westo - many were killed, "As you see." He gestured toward the half-dozen Indians...Our colony's labor shortage has been addressed." (pg 146)

Chapter 18 - the Sewee address the greed, the big stomachs of the English; they kill all the deer, some for food, some for the skins and left the meat in the forest.

New colonists came on the Blessing. A hundred people came; half being indentured servants. (pg 175) Horses were also brought, Christopher and his family had never worked with horses in England.

Limekilns are built to create plaster and whitewash for the buildings and lime for the fields. (184)

Was one of the indentured servants a Roundhead? follower of Oliver Cromwell? responsible for the beheading of Charles I? (page 185-186)

Author's note explains the Sewee is one of the lost tribes of the Carolinas.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
Christopher is an early settler teenage boy that is attempting to survive in South Carolina. Over time, he develops a friendship with Asha-po, a native America of the Sewee tribe. Christopher teachers Asha-po English and Asha-po teaches Christopher survival skills. While the friendship is strained because of the culture conflicts, it comes in useful when the Sewee tribe helps defend the settlers against enemies without much repayment. When more settlers come though, Christopher needs to figure out where to stand and when he needs to keep others from crossing the line.

My thoughts:
While I enjoy a lot of historical fictions, this one wasn't my ultimate favorite. It's well written and rich with details. I could picture events clearly in my mind and had no problems fitting into the story. It just reads more historical than fiction. Probably because of the details, it feels like I'm watching a documentary. I'm learning about the cultures as I read, but never really feel like I'm on an adventure with the two of them. I would've actually rated it a little lower, except I do have students that love history and stated they couldn't put the book down and have grabbed for it more than once. Obviously, the book is hitting the interest of the target audience, so I'm wrong and the kids are right.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could happen and much really did.

This is a story of the colonists coming to the Carolinas. This is based on real people like the father of Christopher West who were historical documents. However, Christopher himself is fictitious.

When the colonists first arrived there, they were befriended by the local “Sewee” Indian tribe of the South Carolina region. There they were provided a big meal that consisted of bowls full of nuts, root cakes, and a curious warm gruel. They sat down and talked about many things.

Christopher found friendship with one of the Sewee boys, “Asha-po.” The actual story is about the lives of colonists trying to make a safe secure home. They must take into consideration other Indian tribes in the Spanish in Florida. There is an actual attack worth the Indian boy and Christopher have to fight off the Spanish and the Westo tribe using a canon.

The writer is a good writer and I like her style of writing. However, the explanation of what happened to the tribe sounded a little far-fetched explains so I looked it up and the demise of the Sewee was described.

Lawson writing in 1700 stated that the Sewee were a large tribe. A large portion of the able-bodied men had been lost at sea in an attempt to open closer trade relations with England.

[Carolynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

English settlers begin to populate the Carolina coast in 1670. Young Christopher West is eager and open to exploring the strange new world before him and the other English settlers. In a curiously twenty-first century way, he is especially drawn to the native Sewee, one of whom, Asha-Po, befriends him and shows him how to use the resources of the land. Christopher in turn tries to teach him some of his own ways, including a limited number of English words. He finds himself more and more drawn to Asha-Po and the way his people live. They become close friends but discover there is an impenetrable cultural barrier between them. Moreover, the English betray the helpful Sewees with broken promises. The problems that arise between the Indians and the English come to a surprising and tragic conclusion.
Written from the point of view of the seventeenth century English protagonist, the book is nevertheless very sympathetic to the point of view of the Sewees. There is no mention of any historical sources used in the writing.
Karr's mystery _The 7th Knot_ won the 2003 Agatha Award for Best Children's Novel, and _The Boxer_ won the 2000 Golden Kite award for Best Fiction.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story begins in 1670 as the English settlers arrive in North Carolina. Christopher, an English settler, and Asga-po, a Sewee Indian, become friends. This was an interesting tale of that friendship and it's development plus the devolopment of the English settlement.
The part that should have been left out was a forshadowing when referring to slaves on pg. 146.
A quote that I liked stated, "You cannot carry back the past."
If you want a new perspective on the settling of North Carolina, this would be a good historical fiction to read. Quick read as this book is geared toward junior fiction.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a feel of Paulsen's Hatchet, but with two teen boys 15-16 years of age. I can't help but compare the differences . in their circumstance and ours. It makes me wonder if their worlds as Native Americans and settlers were the same, or more challenging differences. Ms. Karr has never disappointed me with her stories; a great glimpse into our past.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

fantastic novel about friendship and the difficulties of the early colonists and their indian friends, but could not pull myself into reading it. im not really fascinated by native americans and those early days.