Something To Hold

Something To Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe tells the story of Kitty a white girl who moves onto an Indian reservation in the early 1960's with her father who works for the forest service.  Kitty's year starts out very rocky, she feels like an outsider in a world she doesn't understand.  She soon makes friends and finds herself confused by the differences in the way she is treated compared to her Indian classmates and neighbors.

This is a fantastic book, based on the authors own childhood, that explores what life was like for those on the reservation.  This is the type of book that belongs on a library shelf to be explored by kids for years to come.  It presents several complex issues such as racism, child abuse and injustices that Native Americans had to deal with.   I enjoyed Kitty's story and finished the book without putting it down.

Appropriateness:  There are some difficult topics in this book (addiction, abuse, racism) that are handled very appropriately for the intended audience although some adult discussion to the full context of these issues would be helpful for readers to get a full understanding of the topic.  Kitty is eleven and there is no romance.  I would recommend this book to readers 9-14.

Review Copy obtained from Amazon Vine