FROM OUR EDITORS

When thousands of Cherokees were forced west by settlers in the 1830s, they named the path they followed the Trail of Tears. This powerful fictionalized journal retraces one young Native American boy's trek down that lonesome way.

ANNOTATION

Jesse Smoke, a sixteen-year-old Cherokee, begins a journal in 1837 to record stories of his people and their difficulties as they face removal along the Trail of Tears. Includes a historical note giving details of the removal.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature

Jesse is a literate, perceptive, hard-working Cherokee who, with his family, is routed from his home, forced to march on what became known as The Trail of Tears, and is relocated on land west of the Mississippi River. Written as a diary, Jesse recounts stories from the Cherokees' past as well as present. This historical novel, one of the "My Name Is America" series, accurately depicts a respectable and intelligent nation that had their own written language, a constitution, a supreme court and a newspaper. The Cherokee were peaceful, hard-working citizens who had learned to live with the white man but were still forced to relocate. Plagued by measles, poor sanitation, inadequate food and insufficient protection from the weather, thousands died in the camps and on the trail. The author spent years talking with the Cherokee people, researching their history and even walking The Trail of Tears. Real people and real events are included as well as historical notes and authentic pictures. It is a worthy addition to any collection. 2001, Scholastic, $10.95. Ages 12 to 18. Reviewer: Janet L. Rose

VOYA

Jesse Smoke is a fifteen-year-old Cherokee living in Tennessee with his family and tribe during the uncertain times of 1837. Part of the Dear America series, this novel is presented as a journal wherein Jesse records his thoughts, views, and experiences. Although many Cherokees with missionary education embraced Christianity and were tolerated by southern whites, politicians pushed for their relocation to the West. The Treaty of New Echota, signed by only a few Cherokee, allowed for the group's containment by white soldiers, leading to the tribe's eventual emigration, now known as the Trail of Tears. Jesse thoughtfully presents issues from multiple viewpoints, but when recording the emigration and its factual brutality, his descriptions are sparse and short, which unfortunately mutes the Long Walk's historical and emotional significance. Jesse portrays his fellow Cherokee as almost saintly, eschewing liquor forced upon them by whites and refusing to travel on Sundays, because as converted Christians, to do so would be sinful. Along the way, the tribe continually encounters whites who view the Long Walk as wrong. Although Jesse is an appealing character based on a real person, balance through hearing other voices would have provided a better understanding of the era. The book includes character synopses, photos, and a historical section on the era and the Long Walk, which also is journalized in Ann Turner's The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl (Scholastic, 1999/VOYA February 2000) and could be used as a companion novel. History-loving middle schoolers might enjoy Jesse's journal, but educators should provide supplemental reading for accuracy anddetail. VOYA CODES: 2Q 3P M (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2001, Scholastic, 203p. PLB $10.95. Ages 12 to 14. Reviewer: Lisa Hazlett SOURCE: VOYA, August 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 3)

KLIATT

Bruchac spent a great deal of time and effort preparing to write this story about the removal of the Cherokees from their homes in the Southeast to Indian Territories in Oklahoma. He read existing journals written by Cherokees of the period, interviewed Cherokees today for oral histories of families, studied their language, retraced some of the steps of the trail, and brought to the story his own sensitivities as a Native American. Jesse starts his journal as he and his mother and little sisters try to keep their farm going after the death of his father, shot by some white men. Jesse has been educated in mission schools and can read and write, which sets him apart from most Cherokees in his community who honor him for recording their struggles to keep their homelands. In the summer of 1838, the Cherokees are rounded up against their will, white settlers confiscate their lands, and the people are held in makeshift prisons until they are transported to Oklahoma. Jesse is careful to record the individual stories as well as the larger picture of politicians arguing and military orders being ignored, all in the context of the history of the Cherokee people. Jesse's intelligence and maturity at 16, and the scholarship of Bruchac behind the journal, make this book a choice for some senior high students as well, especially reluctant readers. As is the case with other titles in this Scholastic series (My Name is America), at the end of the fictional journal (based on historical fact, of course) is a 19-page Historical Note, complete with illustrations. There are also about six pages of information about Bruchac's research for this book and his personal history. All this adds to the serious natureof this book, which tells in detail about a particularly shameful event in American history. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, Scholastic, 203p, illus, $10.95. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Claire Rosser; May 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 3)

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-Fully researched, written by an outstanding Native American author, and without minimizing the horror and the genocidal nature of the Cherokee removal on the Trail of Tears, this story about Jesse and his mother and sisters has many strengths. Unfortunately, while being praiseworthy and authentic in terms of the history, the characters are bland. Bruchac is capable of lovely language and biting metaphor, but often simply recites the continuing horror in ways that numb rather than touch readers' hearts. Several references to attachments (such as between a slave and Jesse's sisters) are made just as they end. Because readers never see the relationships unfold, the separation isn't affecting. The characters are names only. Jesse's family seems forgotten by him for long periods of time as the agonizing details of the preparations for the journey and the trek itself are cataloged. Readers who have become used to making a personal connection to moving events in American history will find this diary more historical than personal. There is a good section of notes at the end, most of it repeating facts Jesse has shared.-Carol A. Edwards, Sonoma County Library, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.