Zeke and the Fisher-Cat

by Virginia Frances Voight

Fourteen-year-old Zeke and his family leave the Plymouth colonly to build a new life in the wilds of Connecticut. When Zeke and his younger sister are captured by Pequots, Zeke wonders if his new Mohegan friend, Nemox, will prove loyal. Follow the adventures of Zeke, his Native American friend, and the fisher-cat that they find in the forest.

Paperback

About the author

Ms. Voight was a native New Englander and lived in Hamden, Connecticut. She wrote many books for boys and girls, both fiction and non-fiction. Several of her books are set in the New England locale she loved so much.

Reviews

[Bill Bitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally picked this book up as I was researching Fishers (the animal not the people trying to catch fish). While the Fisher (animal) has.a very small part in this book, I enjoyed it a lot and was an easy read. It tells the story of a teenage boy on the US frontier in the 1630s (the frontier at that time was Connecticut) and his friendship with a Native American of his age. I found it interesting for a couple of reasons:
1. Published in 1953, I expected the Native Americans to be treated like caricatures and while there was a bit of that, overall I thought it was respectful consider the times. The author, Virginia Voight, uses various Algonquin terms and words in the book.
2. I didn't really know much about the Pequot War (1836-1838) which is part of the backdrop for this story (and in ways I'm glad I didn't as it would have been a spoiler). So this caused me to learn a bit more about history.
3. While the story does sugarcoat some of the treatment, on various sides, it would be an interesting piece to start the discussion about good/evil in the world and other topics.

I did go back and forth on 3 or 4 stars because I tend to grade hard, but settled on 4 because I like fishers.

[Mr. Mustela frenata · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9