Frontier times. A boy, soon to be a young man, was taken captive by a native tribe when he was a small child. John is now True Son. He was not made a slave, but adopted into the tribe and brought up as one of their own. When the story opens, the natives were being forced to give back all their white ‘captives’. True Son fought but was literally bound and dragged by soldiers back to a town of white settlers, where a family claimed him as their long-lost boy. He hated it there. He despised the food, the stifling buildings, the restrictive clothing. Only wanted to return to his native family. But when he got the opportunity, found that his loyalties were divided. Against his will, he had become fond of his younger white brother. He can’t bring himself to raise his hand against the white family now, not when he sees the face of a child in the company his native tribe is attacking. Which reluctance his tribal companions see as betrayal, so they cast him out, to return yet again to the white men. Torn from the freedom of life in the forest that he had loved. I can’t say this one had a happy ending, but it was a riveting read.
Note: I have not addressed some of the problematic language and attitudes the author portrayed in this book. Inaccuracies and degrading terms. While reading I kind of ignored those and just enjoyed the story, although I admit I had a few twinges of discomfort and realized if I read this with my kid, I’d have to point out what terms are insulting or just plain wrong. But some of the other reviews I linked to go into more detail on that, so please refer there.
Completed on 7/22/24.
