CONTAINS SPOILERS
In the summer of 1932, on the banks of Minnesota's Gilead River, the Lincoln Indian Training School is a pitiless place where Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to Odie O'Banion, a lively orphan boy whose exploits constantly earn him the superintendent's wrath. Odie and his brother, Albert, are the only white faces among the hundreds of Native American children at the school.
After committing a terrible crime, Odie and Albert are forced to flee for their lives along with their best friend, Mose, a mute young man of Sioux heritage. Out of pity, they also take with them a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy. Together, they steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi in search for a place to call home.
Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphan vagabonds journey into the unknown, crossing paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an en¬thralling, bighearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.
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Adventurous. Haunting. Inspirational.
I could keep on going. There are so many words that can be used to describe this book. I'm still trying to deal with the emotions after reading This Tender Land and I finished it last night. Once I reached the end, I recommended it to a few of my friends who love reading. While reading This Tender Land , I asked myself how I did not read it sooner. I put this book on hold a few months ago, but I had to wait a while due to a big waitlist. I have heard about the book for a while; even some of my favorite authors craved the book. I was eager to pick the book up, based on the number of positive reviews. After the first few pages, I could see why. This Tender Land was a story that I did not want to come to an end. I want to go back to the beginning so I can experience it all over again.
I have read few books about friendships. Stories about friendships are one of my favorites, it's close to my heart. This Tender Land has one of the best stories about the true meaning of friendship, family. Odie, Albert, Mose and Emmy, they were so much more than friends; they were family. I have never been through what they have, but it reminded me of some of my best's friends. Their friendship reminded me of ours, despite what happens, in the end we are always there for one another. I loved the friendship between the four of them, and they went through so much heartache, but in the end kept on going. I loved how the three of them looked out for Emmy, protecting her. I did wonder what would happen when their journey would come to end. Would they stay together or go their separate ways? I hoped that they would find a chance to stay together whenever they got where they were headed.
I wondered about the title from the beginning, was there a reason behind it? Once Odie, Albert, Mose, and Emmy started on their journey, it made sense, and I fell in love with the title more. Most of the book was narrative, and that was one of my favorite parts of the book; it made their journey more realistic. All the descriptions of where they were and what was happening, I imagined that I was there along with them, experiencing and feeling everything that they were. It seemed that they didn't have luck; something seemed to get in the way. I hoped that they would find their place, a place that they could call home all through the book. There wasn't a single page where something wasn't happening. I kept on turning pages, and if it weren't for homework and test that week, I would read it for days. This Tender Land isn't just historical fiction; it's a story about friendship, family, love, and hope. This is my first book by William Kent Krueger , and I'm excited about the chance to explore the rest of his adventures.
A masterpiece.
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