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The Winter People
Saxso is fourteen when the British attack his village. It?s 1759, and war is raging in the northeast between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people?Saxso?s people?by their side. Without enough warriors to defend their homes, Saxso?s village is burned to the ground. Many people are killed, but some, including Saxso?s mother and two sisters, are taken hostage. Now it?s up to Saxso, on his own, to track the raiders and bring his family back home . . . before it?s too late.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
17 people are currently reading
364 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Bruchac
279 books597 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 - 30 of 58 reviews
January 28, 2010
Since we teach using Code Talker, I couldn't have been more excited to meet Mr. Bruchac in person when he appeared at the Utica library to share Abenaki folk stories and music. I picked up several fiction & nonfiction titles I had never even heard about, and this one intrigued me the most because it's about a Native American conflict with the Rogers Rangers, from whom my husband proudly claims to be descended. Whoah, though, as the Rogers Rangers are portrayed as the quintessential nasty white folk who come in and ruin native tribes and lives.
At times, I was so bored with this story that I felt compelled to read it merely as a duty. The fact that I started reading and finished other books during my time with this one is a good sign, but perhaps the best indicator of my interest-level would be my sighs of exasperation coupled with comments like, "Ugh....I have to finish this stupid book!".
It isn't a stupid book; it actually does have literary merit that I appreciated only at the very end. However, I just didn't get pulled in. Please take into consideration that Native American folk tales and myths bore me to begin with, so you may absolutely love this book as many others apparently do.
Toward the end, I actually began to look forward to reading, but that was only because Saxso found out that some of his friends were killed and eaten by the Rogers Rangers (which caused my poor husband to hang his head in shame). We do find out in the end, that that was a nasty rumor and its inclusion in the plot served to highlight the theme of the unreliability of stories and "news" in a time of war.
In sum, the novel reads like a long Native American folk tale, so if you hate those, skip this, but it's also a very typical, not very exciting coming of age novel perfect for the young adolescent boy who may have loved My Side of the Mountain and Hatchet. The reader can gain a little survival knowledge and a lot of historical understanding of this time period. As a result of reading this, I now know a little more about the French & Indian War, Rogers Rangers, and some Abenaki history and customs.
I can see why it's not even carried at major retail chains--it's not ultra engaging like Code Talkers.
At times, I was so bored with this story that I felt compelled to read it merely as a duty. The fact that I started reading and finished other books during my time with this one is a good sign, but perhaps the best indicator of my interest-level would be my sighs of exasperation coupled with comments like, "Ugh....I have to finish this stupid book!".
It isn't a stupid book; it actually does have literary merit that I appreciated only at the very end. However, I just didn't get pulled in. Please take into consideration that Native American folk tales and myths bore me to begin with, so you may absolutely love this book as many others apparently do.
Toward the end, I actually began to look forward to reading, but that was only because Saxso found out that some of his friends were killed and eaten by the Rogers Rangers (which caused my poor husband to hang his head in shame). We do find out in the end, that that was a nasty rumor and its inclusion in the plot served to highlight the theme of the unreliability of stories and "news" in a time of war.
In sum, the novel reads like a long Native American folk tale, so if you hate those, skip this, but it's also a very typical, not very exciting coming of age novel perfect for the young adolescent boy who may have loved My Side of the Mountain and Hatchet. The reader can gain a little survival knowledge and a lot of historical understanding of this time period. As a result of reading this, I now know a little more about the French & Indian War, Rogers Rangers, and some Abenaki history and customs.
I can see why it's not even carried at major retail chains--it's not ultra engaging like Code Talkers.
January 19, 2013
Saxso is a young Indian boy who has to protect his family from anything bad. His father died from fighting at war. Saxso has 2 younger sisters and a mother. One night, there was a celebration in the village and there was a lot of music and dancing. After a while, Saxso decided to go outside to take a breath of fresh air. While he was outside, a rosebush started speaking to him. He later figured out that behind the rosebush, was Samadagwis. Samadagwis is an English soldier who knew the village very well. He decided to warn the people. He told Saxso that the Bostonians were surrounding the village and were going to attack at the crack of dawn. Saxso and all the other people quickly decide to quietly leave the village. Some stayed. Saxso’s sisters and mother decide to leave. Once the y get to a safe place, one of the leaders, Great Simon, forgot his younger daughter at home, so he decided to go back. Saxso went with him which was a big mistake. There wasn’t much time before the Bostonians attacked. Saxso survived the attack but he doesn’t know where the rest of his family is. So he sets off on a journey to find his family.
The book was very fast paced, and got right to the point. I liked it very much. It was full of action and kept you in suspense. I liked how the book was very detailed, and I also liked the creativity of the author, like how he made up that the rose bush talked. That was very cool. I disliked how it was full of old stories that flashed in the main characters mind. It got boring at that time. I also didn’t like how there were a lot of Indian words. There was a lot of times where the characters spoke in a different language. But otherwise the book was good.
The book was very fast paced, and got right to the point. I liked it very much. It was full of action and kept you in suspense. I liked how the book was very detailed, and I also liked the creativity of the author, like how he made up that the rose bush talked. That was very cool. I disliked how it was full of old stories that flashed in the main characters mind. It got boring at that time. I also didn’t like how there were a lot of Indian words. There was a lot of times where the characters spoke in a different language. But otherwise the book was good.
August 16, 2009
Enjoyed this story of events in the F&I war from the "other side", that of the French Canadians /Abenaki rather than the more common British pov. Good "voice"- the cadence of the writing made me 'hear' the Abenaki speech patterns rather than plain english. I liked that the ending was not pat - not quite forgiveness for the wrongs but acknowledgement that there were decent people on both sides of the conflict. Made a nice change from the typical bloodthirsty portrayal of the French allied peoples. I also appreciated the copious end notes by Bruchac outlining the historical facts of the war and Abenaki culture.
January 21, 2010
This was a good book. It was really interesting to see the "captive story" from the other perspective (as compared to Indian Captive where a white girl is taken by Native Americans). This story is about an Abenaki boy who's family is taken by "Bostoniak" (English) rangers in a raid. He then has to try and save them himself as his father was killed a few years before. This book has enough introspection to developed the main character well, but enough action to keep young readers interested. Boys should enjoy reading about Saxso's bravery and expertise as a woodsman and tracker. He's a 14-year-old boy who takes on a man's task with both wisdom and skill.
April 16, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. Pluses were the imagery, a few laughs in an otherwise heavy story, and I always appreciate finding something I can relate to in unexpected places. Minuses were that it felt slow to get to where it was obviously headed in the beginning, the conflicts and danger were unusually short compared to how long it took to build up to them, and a few sort of far fetched, much too convenient things. Overall though, the minuses were forgivable in exchange for the rest of the heartwarming and entertaining story.
February 29, 2016
This is a great book. I have taught a brief unit on the French & Indian War for many years, but this book taught me about parts of that war that I never knew. It is historical fiction for children (upper elementary), though there is enough violence and death in it that I would not recommend it to every child. It tells of one small part of the French & Indian War from the viewpoint of the Abenaki tribe, in particular, one boy who is about 14 years old. Bruchac tells a compelling story, full of suspense and danger, at the same time showing the culture of the Abenaki, many of whom by this time (the 1750s) have embraced Catholicism, while still holding onto parts of their own religion. Many of the characters were real people. Well worth reading!
December 1, 2010
My son rates this book.
The story is about an Abinaki Indian living in St. Francis. The way of their village is a cross between their old ways and the integration of the Roman Catholic French. They are in a time of peace when a friend warns of a raid that will take place before the coming dawn by the Bostoniaks and the White Devil Rogers.
Saxso is 14 winters old and in charge of his family. He must keep them safe.
The moral of the story is not be bitter, keep the winter out/aka hatred and keep the summer in/aka love, in your heart.
The story is about an Abinaki Indian living in St. Francis. The way of their village is a cross between their old ways and the integration of the Roman Catholic French. They are in a time of peace when a friend warns of a raid that will take place before the coming dawn by the Bostoniaks and the White Devil Rogers.
Saxso is 14 winters old and in charge of his family. He must keep them safe.
The moral of the story is not be bitter, keep the winter out/aka hatred and keep the summer in/aka love, in your heart.
March 8, 2009
Valuable for the traditional lore about the land and the narrator's native culture. The prose itself is pretty average, and the first several chapters are full of badfic cliches. OTOH, it's YA and really pretty decent for a boy's adventure story. There's a fair bit of horror and violence, so I would recommend for age eleven to fourteen unless the child's pretty inured to gore.
March 21, 2018
I was surprised that the winter people were evil beings whose hearts had turned to ice. I thought winter people was what their tribes called themselves.
I liked the paragraph:
"So my gentle mother would tell the story, reminding me to be careful and remain aware when I was alone in the forest. Little did I know that one night I would find another meaning for the tale. Our whole village would hear the awful howls of those hungry for our blood. On that night, even the safety of our lodges would not be enough."
I always look for love in a book and only a handful of pages in and a girl popped up. Azonis Msadokwes. It was funny how he said that was no way to act for someone 2 years younger when she brushed past him. I couldn’t wait to see where that went.
I liked that they said people walked the road of stars when they died.
I was confused by all the names of people and tribes. There were the Abenaki, which is Saxso's tribe. He said some Skaticook Indians lived with them. They were a branch of Mahican. The French were their allies. The Stockbridges sounded like white people, not an Indian tribe at all. They hated the French. The Bostoniak sounded like an Indian tribe, but they're whites. St. Francis sounded like a saint to pray to, not an Indian mission village. Awanigeekneegeek was their name for white people. Hard to know who was who and enemy vs ally.
Interesting that they met other tribes with their weapons held out, and traded weapons as a sign of good faith. White people thought they were cowards for surrendering their weapons.
Whites killed women and children and they considered them to fight unlike real people and have no honor.
The French tended the sick Indians during epidemics, learned their language and seemed to love the Indians more than their own people. The French brought them churches and priests and helped build their homes. I didn't know that, but that explains why they allied with them.
The French were 1 for every 1,000 English so they paid Indians to capture the English. Beaver and game was scarce and they needed money. The French even believed young whites could be taught to live with honor. Captives were surprised at how well the Abenaki treated them.
They adopted practical things from whites like shirts and boots but wore them with some of their own clothes, keeping the old ways.
White captives feared to go back to the cruel whites, esp women because they would be owned by their fathers or husbands and not able to make their own decisions. And treated with contempt for living with the Indians.
They knew they were going to be attack and some stayed in the Dance Hall and played music to make the enemy go deaf. They played with more instruments to make it sound like more ppl were in there.
White men didn't bathe much and Indians joked you could smell them before you saw them.
Some white parents beat their children but the Abenaki didn't punish children.
The Indians that attacked them with the British painted their faces white.
"The Creator is sometimes kind to us at those times when our hearts are ready to break, giving us forgetfulness or blindness, closing our eyes or our ears to those things that would be too much for us to bear." What a way to look at that. He has such a deep way of describing things.
It was interesting that the White Devil Rogers captured any whites and those who had blue or green eyes because they might be white. He wanted those who spoke English so he could gather info. It gave me chills when he asked one woman where the warrior were and she spat in his face and said they're behind him.
The French were considered better shots and the Bostoniak feared them. The Colony Militia was called Milice, and these militiamen were from New France, the part of America they settled in.
Some of the Bostoniak chew their musket balls so that when they hit a person they break into pieces and travel through the body, breaking bones and doing a lot of damage. The French considered it cowardly and dishonorable.
The French sent a silver statue from France to their village to go in the church. It was proof of their ties.
Once they were attacked and he lost his family I was really impatient. He had to go through the rigamarole of asking everyone if they had seen his family, and it was really dismal to read through the devastation and destruction, all the dead bodies and burned buildings and missing people. It went on too long and it took too long for them to even think to go after their attackers. It desperately needed some action. Also, Saxso passed out 3 times and I was sick of that. It got old.
It picked up after he woke up from the third unconsciousness, and the Worrier told him his uncle had already left. The men and the French were going to kill the enemy, but Saxso wasn't to use his weapons to kill, only to hunt. He had to only have one purpose if he was to succeed.
They thanked the water and land when they went on a journey.
The story he told from when he was a boy was cute. He stepped on a stick and it cut his foot and he cried and went to his mom, saying it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. She said if stepping on a stick is the worst thing that ever happens to him then he'll live a happy life. He asked what could be worse and she said he could've stepped on 2 sticks. Someone heard and the story made its way around the village and people called him Two Sticks.
Each moccasin leaves a different shape and they could tell by looking what kind of tribe had left the tracks.
Neat that they had a legend that the tamarack, pine, cedar, and spruce were told to stay awake and if they did they'd be given a special power. The last night the tamarack fell asleep and so he had to lose all his needles in the winter and stand bare, while the other trees got to stay green all year long. I like legends to explain things like that.
Painting their faces red was a sign the men were going into battle.
It was cool how when Saxso was on his journey, he came across the canoes of the men who had gone before him. When the men came walking up, he called out to them and said friends and said his name. Despite how tired they had been they all either dropped to their stomachs or hid behind trees with their weapons pointed at him.
I was horrified as I read that the Stockbridges and Rangers killed and ate the captives. I have never heard of anyone in America's early history eating Indians. The story took a dark turn. I can't believe that was a part of history that no one has ever mentioned. When one of the women captives who escaped told Saxso they only wanted the fat ones, and it was like they wanted to eat them I thought there would be another explanation for it, not that they really were going to eat people. It was horrifying and so gruesome to imagine. It was awful that his friend Antoine had been one of them.
It was really cruel and unsympathetic of Saxso to say that he wouldn't turn around in despair like Chief Gill. He would find his family. Easy for him to say. His journey had barely started and he hadn't done anything to find his family, only asked everyone else what they had found. And what was Chief Gill supposed to do? His wife and two sons were killed and eaten, so of course he turned around.
Indians scouting sat facing away from the fire, because the light from the fire kept you from seeing into the darkness for enemies.
He blackened his face with charcoal from cooking fire so he wouldn't be seen at night. He squinted his eyes so light wouldn't reflect off them.
It was cute when Saxso caught up to his family, and went ahead to tie the end of some branches into a knot, a sign his mom had taught him to mark the path. She pretended to fall and untied them, and she tapped her chest so signal to the person who had tied the knot that she loved them.
It was so unexpected when Jacob let them go. He shot Saxso and was coming to finish the job, when Saxso's mom appeared with his gun and aimed it at Jacob. She said "my son" and Jacob smiled and tapped his chest and told them to go.
They would put rocks into their dugout canoes and sink them underwater, hiding them at certain places for fishing and hunting. When they needed them they would take the rocks out and then tip the canoe over on the shore to get the water out. When they were going downriver they didn't need paddles and they used poles to push off from things and steer.
There was so little time left in the book after he found his family. The pursuit of his family took way too long. I was so irritated that Saxso passed out not once but twice after finding them. Enough with the passing out. Gosh, what a terrible way to tell a story when the main character keeps falling unconscious.
Indians don't say goodbye or turn to look back at people once they've left them, only white people.
It was so sad that some bodies were burned too badly to identify, and he said maybe one of the bodies that were buried was his friend. Piel was never seen again.
It was such an unexpected surprise that Antoine Gill, Chief Gill's son, came back to the village on his own and hadn't been killed after all. His mom and brother hadn't been killed and eaten but had fallen from a cliff, and the Rangers buried them. White Devil Rogers made him a guide, and Antoine respected him. He never loved him, but at the end Rogers set him up with a white family. I couldn't believe we were made to think they had been eaten when they really hadn't been.
I couldn't believe the book ended with no more mention of Azonis. It was like the author forgot all about her. I had hoped for a little love in here, that he would marry Azonis but after she told her tale at the Dance Hall her name was never spoken again. I kept waiting for her to come back into the story but her fate was dropped completely. Also, I would have liked to know if Antoine married Saxso's sister, Marie-Jeanne. She loved him but he never made a reciprocation. At the end she touched his shoulders and smiled and that was it. I hate loose ends, wondering what happened to people. Also, we didn't even get to see his dad's reaction. Saxso said they saw him before his dad and then didn't tell his dad reuniting with his lost son.
The author's note stated that the Abenaki village that was once St. Francis is still there in Quebec. That's really cool to know it survived. And that the Abenaki name, even though there were never more than 150 warriors, were feared.
It was so sad to read Rogers describe the attack in his own words. It made the whole thing worse. They attacked before the Indians had any time to recover or raise arms, until they were mostly destroyed. A few went to the water but the whites went after them and shot them and sunk the canoes. They burned everything except 3 buildings which they meant to use for themselves. He dispassionately reported that many burned in the fire because they wouldn't come out. I couldn't believe what I was reading. They killed 200 Indians, captured 20 and let 15 go. He kept 2 boys and 3 girls. Idk how the author celebrated him as a respected and honorable figure when he didn't have one good thing to say. How did the author write that he wouldn't let his soldiers steal and everything else when he sounded like such a villain?
Rogers' Rangers were considered the first Green Berets.
It was good that Rogers' attack wasn't as successful as he claimed. He said he wiped out the Abenaki but in reality it was only about a third because more were elsewhere. Rogers' scout really had warned them according to oral history. Only 20-30 Abenaki were killed.
I was shocked that they went back to trading with the British and Americans after the French left.
It's cool his great-grandpa was born in St. Francis and his wife's people were survivors of Rogers' Raid. His son went to Odonak, St. Francis village today, and helped create a syllabus for their language.
He was really good at writing an historical novel and capturing the way of life and thinking back then. There were just a few things that stood out as being too modern. “They will wipe you out.” “My mind racing.” “Mind running.” “Turned the tables.” “Sound the alarm.”
All in all, he's a really good writer and I enjoyed the way he said things and looked at that world. It was a pleasure to experience life in this period and he had such an interesting way of speaking like a character back then and connecting with how someone would have thought back then. But the plot needed to be stronger. I didn't really like that he had to go save his family, and it took him entirely too long to do so. Also, it was monotonous that he kept passing out and waking up so many times. The plot should have been faster because the pace was entirely too slow and not engaging as I waited and waited for him to take action. I found it too perfect that his mom and two sisters were alive and well when so many others had been killed or died another way. The very way he saved them was a little too perfect too. He rolled some rocks down the hill and it was confusing too. I couldn't tell what had happened or how two boulders destroyed the entire path. Then the enemy Indian let them go and that was that.
I liked the paragraph:
"So my gentle mother would tell the story, reminding me to be careful and remain aware when I was alone in the forest. Little did I know that one night I would find another meaning for the tale. Our whole village would hear the awful howls of those hungry for our blood. On that night, even the safety of our lodges would not be enough."
I always look for love in a book and only a handful of pages in and a girl popped up. Azonis Msadokwes. It was funny how he said that was no way to act for someone 2 years younger when she brushed past him. I couldn’t wait to see where that went.
I liked that they said people walked the road of stars when they died.
I was confused by all the names of people and tribes. There were the Abenaki, which is Saxso's tribe. He said some Skaticook Indians lived with them. They were a branch of Mahican. The French were their allies. The Stockbridges sounded like white people, not an Indian tribe at all. They hated the French. The Bostoniak sounded like an Indian tribe, but they're whites. St. Francis sounded like a saint to pray to, not an Indian mission village. Awanigeekneegeek was their name for white people. Hard to know who was who and enemy vs ally.
Interesting that they met other tribes with their weapons held out, and traded weapons as a sign of good faith. White people thought they were cowards for surrendering their weapons.
Whites killed women and children and they considered them to fight unlike real people and have no honor.
The French tended the sick Indians during epidemics, learned their language and seemed to love the Indians more than their own people. The French brought them churches and priests and helped build their homes. I didn't know that, but that explains why they allied with them.
The French were 1 for every 1,000 English so they paid Indians to capture the English. Beaver and game was scarce and they needed money. The French even believed young whites could be taught to live with honor. Captives were surprised at how well the Abenaki treated them.
They adopted practical things from whites like shirts and boots but wore them with some of their own clothes, keeping the old ways.
White captives feared to go back to the cruel whites, esp women because they would be owned by their fathers or husbands and not able to make their own decisions. And treated with contempt for living with the Indians.
They knew they were going to be attack and some stayed in the Dance Hall and played music to make the enemy go deaf. They played with more instruments to make it sound like more ppl were in there.
White men didn't bathe much and Indians joked you could smell them before you saw them.
Some white parents beat their children but the Abenaki didn't punish children.
The Indians that attacked them with the British painted their faces white.
"The Creator is sometimes kind to us at those times when our hearts are ready to break, giving us forgetfulness or blindness, closing our eyes or our ears to those things that would be too much for us to bear." What a way to look at that. He has such a deep way of describing things.
It was interesting that the White Devil Rogers captured any whites and those who had blue or green eyes because they might be white. He wanted those who spoke English so he could gather info. It gave me chills when he asked one woman where the warrior were and she spat in his face and said they're behind him.
The French were considered better shots and the Bostoniak feared them. The Colony Militia was called Milice, and these militiamen were from New France, the part of America they settled in.
Some of the Bostoniak chew their musket balls so that when they hit a person they break into pieces and travel through the body, breaking bones and doing a lot of damage. The French considered it cowardly and dishonorable.
The French sent a silver statue from France to their village to go in the church. It was proof of their ties.
Once they were attacked and he lost his family I was really impatient. He had to go through the rigamarole of asking everyone if they had seen his family, and it was really dismal to read through the devastation and destruction, all the dead bodies and burned buildings and missing people. It went on too long and it took too long for them to even think to go after their attackers. It desperately needed some action. Also, Saxso passed out 3 times and I was sick of that. It got old.
It picked up after he woke up from the third unconsciousness, and the Worrier told him his uncle had already left. The men and the French were going to kill the enemy, but Saxso wasn't to use his weapons to kill, only to hunt. He had to only have one purpose if he was to succeed.
They thanked the water and land when they went on a journey.
The story he told from when he was a boy was cute. He stepped on a stick and it cut his foot and he cried and went to his mom, saying it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. She said if stepping on a stick is the worst thing that ever happens to him then he'll live a happy life. He asked what could be worse and she said he could've stepped on 2 sticks. Someone heard and the story made its way around the village and people called him Two Sticks.
Each moccasin leaves a different shape and they could tell by looking what kind of tribe had left the tracks.
Neat that they had a legend that the tamarack, pine, cedar, and spruce were told to stay awake and if they did they'd be given a special power. The last night the tamarack fell asleep and so he had to lose all his needles in the winter and stand bare, while the other trees got to stay green all year long. I like legends to explain things like that.
Painting their faces red was a sign the men were going into battle.
It was cool how when Saxso was on his journey, he came across the canoes of the men who had gone before him. When the men came walking up, he called out to them and said friends and said his name. Despite how tired they had been they all either dropped to their stomachs or hid behind trees with their weapons pointed at him.
I was horrified as I read that the Stockbridges and Rangers killed and ate the captives. I have never heard of anyone in America's early history eating Indians. The story took a dark turn. I can't believe that was a part of history that no one has ever mentioned. When one of the women captives who escaped told Saxso they only wanted the fat ones, and it was like they wanted to eat them I thought there would be another explanation for it, not that they really were going to eat people. It was horrifying and so gruesome to imagine. It was awful that his friend Antoine had been one of them.
It was really cruel and unsympathetic of Saxso to say that he wouldn't turn around in despair like Chief Gill. He would find his family. Easy for him to say. His journey had barely started and he hadn't done anything to find his family, only asked everyone else what they had found. And what was Chief Gill supposed to do? His wife and two sons were killed and eaten, so of course he turned around.
Indians scouting sat facing away from the fire, because the light from the fire kept you from seeing into the darkness for enemies.
He blackened his face with charcoal from cooking fire so he wouldn't be seen at night. He squinted his eyes so light wouldn't reflect off them.
It was cute when Saxso caught up to his family, and went ahead to tie the end of some branches into a knot, a sign his mom had taught him to mark the path. She pretended to fall and untied them, and she tapped her chest so signal to the person who had tied the knot that she loved them.
It was so unexpected when Jacob let them go. He shot Saxso and was coming to finish the job, when Saxso's mom appeared with his gun and aimed it at Jacob. She said "my son" and Jacob smiled and tapped his chest and told them to go.
They would put rocks into their dugout canoes and sink them underwater, hiding them at certain places for fishing and hunting. When they needed them they would take the rocks out and then tip the canoe over on the shore to get the water out. When they were going downriver they didn't need paddles and they used poles to push off from things and steer.
There was so little time left in the book after he found his family. The pursuit of his family took way too long. I was so irritated that Saxso passed out not once but twice after finding them. Enough with the passing out. Gosh, what a terrible way to tell a story when the main character keeps falling unconscious.
Indians don't say goodbye or turn to look back at people once they've left them, only white people.
It was so sad that some bodies were burned too badly to identify, and he said maybe one of the bodies that were buried was his friend. Piel was never seen again.
It was such an unexpected surprise that Antoine Gill, Chief Gill's son, came back to the village on his own and hadn't been killed after all. His mom and brother hadn't been killed and eaten but had fallen from a cliff, and the Rangers buried them. White Devil Rogers made him a guide, and Antoine respected him. He never loved him, but at the end Rogers set him up with a white family. I couldn't believe we were made to think they had been eaten when they really hadn't been.
I couldn't believe the book ended with no more mention of Azonis. It was like the author forgot all about her. I had hoped for a little love in here, that he would marry Azonis but after she told her tale at the Dance Hall her name was never spoken again. I kept waiting for her to come back into the story but her fate was dropped completely. Also, I would have liked to know if Antoine married Saxso's sister, Marie-Jeanne. She loved him but he never made a reciprocation. At the end she touched his shoulders and smiled and that was it. I hate loose ends, wondering what happened to people. Also, we didn't even get to see his dad's reaction. Saxso said they saw him before his dad and then didn't tell his dad reuniting with his lost son.
The author's note stated that the Abenaki village that was once St. Francis is still there in Quebec. That's really cool to know it survived. And that the Abenaki name, even though there were never more than 150 warriors, were feared.
It was so sad to read Rogers describe the attack in his own words. It made the whole thing worse. They attacked before the Indians had any time to recover or raise arms, until they were mostly destroyed. A few went to the water but the whites went after them and shot them and sunk the canoes. They burned everything except 3 buildings which they meant to use for themselves. He dispassionately reported that many burned in the fire because they wouldn't come out. I couldn't believe what I was reading. They killed 200 Indians, captured 20 and let 15 go. He kept 2 boys and 3 girls. Idk how the author celebrated him as a respected and honorable figure when he didn't have one good thing to say. How did the author write that he wouldn't let his soldiers steal and everything else when he sounded like such a villain?
Rogers' Rangers were considered the first Green Berets.
It was good that Rogers' attack wasn't as successful as he claimed. He said he wiped out the Abenaki but in reality it was only about a third because more were elsewhere. Rogers' scout really had warned them according to oral history. Only 20-30 Abenaki were killed.
I was shocked that they went back to trading with the British and Americans after the French left.
It's cool his great-grandpa was born in St. Francis and his wife's people were survivors of Rogers' Raid. His son went to Odonak, St. Francis village today, and helped create a syllabus for their language.
He was really good at writing an historical novel and capturing the way of life and thinking back then. There were just a few things that stood out as being too modern. “They will wipe you out.” “My mind racing.” “Mind running.” “Turned the tables.” “Sound the alarm.”
All in all, he's a really good writer and I enjoyed the way he said things and looked at that world. It was a pleasure to experience life in this period and he had such an interesting way of speaking like a character back then and connecting with how someone would have thought back then. But the plot needed to be stronger. I didn't really like that he had to go save his family, and it took him entirely too long to do so. Also, it was monotonous that he kept passing out and waking up so many times. The plot should have been faster because the pace was entirely too slow and not engaging as I waited and waited for him to take action. I found it too perfect that his mom and two sisters were alive and well when so many others had been killed or died another way. The very way he saved them was a little too perfect too. He rolled some rocks down the hill and it was confusing too. I couldn't tell what had happened or how two boulders destroyed the entire path. Then the enemy Indian let them go and that was that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2020
Even though I am a Bostonian. I've never heard of this story. I came across it by accident. I did enjoy this audiobook. It just seemed rushed. Two legs was a very hard headed but brave young man. He was determined to save his mother and two sisters. But let's not forget his mother bravery. She left evidence for her son (or whomever) was coming to save them. She never gave up hope. I believe the hope kept them all alive.
December 13, 2023
The Winter People is the quite exciting quest story of a teenage Native American boy rescuing his mother and sisters after they were taken prisoner during the French and Indian War. The main character Saxso must rely on his father's training to perform the mission even as others give up. While slow to start, my children and I got into the audio book as it went on. Bruchac is a master storyteller.
May 1, 2008
Jerrit Schramm
5-1-08
7-1
The Winter People
This book is about a fourteen-year-old boy, named Saxon, who is growing up in a Native American Village. The book takes place during the time that the white settlers were exploring and civilizing America. At the time, the Native Americans were at that location at that particular time. The British though did not like them there so they started to launch surprise attacks on the village. The British outnumbered the Natives, one Native for every 100 British soldiers. After the British launched their first attack, the Natives gave them a new name, the Bostoniak. After one attack by the Bostoniak though, was enough for Saxon and his family along with many others. They went down by the river to sleep through the night. When Saxon awoke up though, he was alone. He went up to the village to see what destruction the Bostoniak had done. Their beautiful white chapel, built by the French, was turned in to a large piece of coal. All of the regular houses were all burned down and reduced to a pile of black powder. Saxon remembers that his family is gone so he decides to embark on a life or death journey to find the rest of his family and the group that they traveled with.
I would recomend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction and books with a lot of action and suspense.
5-1-08
7-1
The Winter People
This book is about a fourteen-year-old boy, named Saxon, who is growing up in a Native American Village. The book takes place during the time that the white settlers were exploring and civilizing America. At the time, the Native Americans were at that location at that particular time. The British though did not like them there so they started to launch surprise attacks on the village. The British outnumbered the Natives, one Native for every 100 British soldiers. After the British launched their first attack, the Natives gave them a new name, the Bostoniak. After one attack by the Bostoniak though, was enough for Saxon and his family along with many others. They went down by the river to sleep through the night. When Saxon awoke up though, he was alone. He went up to the village to see what destruction the Bostoniak had done. Their beautiful white chapel, built by the French, was turned in to a large piece of coal. All of the regular houses were all burned down and reduced to a pile of black powder. Saxon remembers that his family is gone so he decides to embark on a life or death journey to find the rest of his family and the group that they traveled with.
I would recomend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction and books with a lot of action and suspense.
February 1, 2017
Author’s craft
Joseph Bruchac built the mood throughout the book; The Winter People by showing how hard Saxso’s life really is for example near the beginning of the book it says “ ‘kedodemokawleba. I must warn you. It is the Long Knives,’ said the whisperer. ‘ They are here. All around the village to the north and east and south. Kedatsowi wakwatahogaba! They will wipe you out! Some of them watch your council even now. Tell the people they must get the elderly, the women, and children away. Get them away from the village. They are not safe here.’ “ (pg8). That shows Joseph Bruchac built the mood because the book tells us that Saxso and his village are about to be attacked by their enemies, and that they are in danger.
The Winter People also shows caring, for near the middle of the beginning of the book it says “ I quickly turned to go back into the Council Hall. I needed to find my mother and sisters; it was my responsibility to protect them” (pg17).
Joseph Bruchac shows many crafts that are valuable to making a good book but those are the two I wanted to mention because they are they are the ones that show up most often in the book.
Joseph Bruchac built the mood throughout the book; The Winter People by showing how hard Saxso’s life really is for example near the beginning of the book it says “ ‘kedodemokawleba. I must warn you. It is the Long Knives,’ said the whisperer. ‘ They are here. All around the village to the north and east and south. Kedatsowi wakwatahogaba! They will wipe you out! Some of them watch your council even now. Tell the people they must get the elderly, the women, and children away. Get them away from the village. They are not safe here.’ “ (pg8). That shows Joseph Bruchac built the mood because the book tells us that Saxso and his village are about to be attacked by their enemies, and that they are in danger.
The Winter People also shows caring, for near the middle of the beginning of the book it says “ I quickly turned to go back into the Council Hall. I needed to find my mother and sisters; it was my responsibility to protect them” (pg17).
Joseph Bruchac shows many crafts that are valuable to making a good book but those are the two I wanted to mention because they are they are the ones that show up most often in the book.
November 13, 2022
Fascinating book about a battle in 1759 between New Englanders and the French and Abenaki. Saxso's mother and sisters were hostages of the English. Saxso feels he is responsible and is determined to find them. This book looks at this historical time period from the perspective of the American Indian and their allies, the French.
This is the best book I have read by Joseph Bruchac. Perhaps it is the best book because it is part of his personal ancestry.
This is the best book I have read by Joseph Bruchac. Perhaps it is the best book because it is part of his personal ancestry.
April 25, 2015
Bruchac's straightforward prose makes a difficult historical event approachable and understandable. Told from the perspective of a 14 year old boy (eager to be a warrior), the story gives a glimpse inside the lives and culture of the Abenaki as they balance their traditions with French influences.
An eye opening look at the time and a reminder that there are no winners in a war.
An eye opening look at the time and a reminder that there are no winners in a war.
May 20, 2017
1759. Excellent historical novel.
May 11, 2008
This book helped me realize just how important my family really is to me.
Read
February 5, 2009JAR5-Bru
July 20, 2010
An Abenaki adolescent seeks out his family after they were captured by Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War.
February 1, 2011
Sazso is 14 and the only male left in his family. After a surprise raid by English troops, he must set out alone to rescue his mother and sisters from captivity.
June 20, 2012
Great book with first nation teaching wrapped in a tale.
July 23, 2013
A historically interesting viewpoint of a Canadian Native American tribe and their interaction between the French and English. A great middle school read.
April 30, 2014
This was a very good story. Told of the hardship this young man had to go through to help save his mother and sisters.
did-not-finish
January 20, 2016Not worth my time. Poorly written, very juvenile story.
May 12, 2016
A well written historical fiction book.
December 5, 2016
Read in advance of teaching the novel to my freshmen class.
October 27, 2017
This was an okay book.
October 14, 2020
i love how the villain just gives up, quality writing !!
October 18, 2023
Saxso is a young Indian boy living in his family's village in 1759. With the war raging between the British and French, Saxsos people the Abenaki were sided with the French. Abenaki men working for the French hunt down British soldiers but while they are away the British come with a surprise attack and burn down the village. Saxso his mother and his sisters escape with what little they could grab. Saxso the man of the family at the time leads them to a ravine for them to hide until the British leave and the men come back. When one of the mothers remembers she left a child Saxso decides to go back and save her, but when he returns he finds his mother and sisters missing because the British took them.
Using what his ancestors and other men of the tribe had taught him. He attempts to track down his mother and sisters. He finds them and attacks with the help of another boy he fires arrows at the leader of the tribe and the other boy does the same distracting the leader from the mother and sisters who quickly escape from the British and run into the woods. When the British pull guns Saxso and his friend quickly run away to get together with his mother and sisters. His mother is proud of his bravery and courage to rescue them.
If you like an underdog story and historical fiction Winter People is for you. Personally, I didn't like this book because I didn't really like books and it was slow to develop. The courage and bravery Saxso displayed was something we should all take away from this book. Overall ⅖ stars.
Using what his ancestors and other men of the tribe had taught him. He attempts to track down his mother and sisters. He finds them and attacks with the help of another boy he fires arrows at the leader of the tribe and the other boy does the same distracting the leader from the mother and sisters who quickly escape from the British and run into the woods. When the British pull guns Saxso and his friend quickly run away to get together with his mother and sisters. His mother is proud of his bravery and courage to rescue them.
If you like an underdog story and historical fiction Winter People is for you. Personally, I didn't like this book because I didn't really like books and it was slow to develop. The courage and bravery Saxso displayed was something we should all take away from this book. Overall ⅖ stars.
October 21, 2023
There are many stories of Indian captivity that take place during the French and Indian war. The highest percentage of them are told from the point of view of white captives taken by native Americans. This book tells another side. Saxso, an Abenaki Indian, is fourteen years old when the British attack his village. Destroying everything in their path and killing indiscriminately, they also take women and children captive, including Saxso's mother and his two sisters. ( I was interested to learn that the French had "Christianized" many tribes, establishing the dominance of the Catholic church and its traditions, although most natives held to their ancestral beliefs as well.)
The men of the village were away, tracking the British, during the raid, and Saxso is left on his own to track the kidnappers and rescue his mother and sisters. He must use everything he has ever been taught by his ancestors to carry out this feat.
Joseph Bruchac's books are excellent portrayals of history from the native American point of view. He is a meticulous researcher and has a huge quantity of material from which to draw his story. Although the main character and his family are fictional, many real historical figures appear in this tale. The only thing I found difficult was the multiplicity of characters. It was difficult to keep them all straight, especially because quite a few of them had two names - an English name and an Indian name, and some had what we might call nicknames as well. But it didn't necessarily detract from the story.
The men of the village were away, tracking the British, during the raid, and Saxso is left on his own to track the kidnappers and rescue his mother and sisters. He must use everything he has ever been taught by his ancestors to carry out this feat.
Joseph Bruchac's books are excellent portrayals of history from the native American point of view. He is a meticulous researcher and has a huge quantity of material from which to draw his story. Although the main character and his family are fictional, many real historical figures appear in this tale. The only thing I found difficult was the multiplicity of characters. It was difficult to keep them all straight, especially because quite a few of them had two names - an English name and an Indian name, and some had what we might call nicknames as well. But it didn't necessarily detract from the story.
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