3.5 stars
Follow a year in the life of a young girl living with her family on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. Throughout the year, she’ll connect with animals, build a birchbark house for the summer, harvest food, and care for her family.
The book deals with themes of family, sickness, grief, death, depression, community, and survival.
Well-written. It was wonderful to see Omakayas mature, grow, and come into her own as the novel progressed.
For readers sensitive to the deaths of animals, there are quite a few instances of killing animals for food. It is done in a respectful way, but can bit a bit jarring for sensitive readers.
An interesting historical read about community, culture, and survival.