My Name is Not Easy
| Modern Age |
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 My Name is Not Easy
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American History > Modern Age > Indigenous American History
My name is not easy. My name is hard like ocean ice grinding the shore...Luke knows his Iñupiaq name is full of sounds white people can’t say. So he leaves it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles away from their Arctic village. At Sacred Heart School, students—Eskimo, Indian, White—line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there’s some kind of war going on. Here, speaking Iñupiaq—or any native language—is forbidden. And Father Mullen, whose fury is like a force of nature, is ready to slap down those who disobey.
Luke struggles to survive at Sacred Heart. But he’s not the only one. There’s smart-aleck Amiq, a daring leader— if he doesn’t self-destruct; Chickie, blond and freckled, a different kind of outsider; and small, quiet Junior, noticing everything and writing it all down. They each have their own story to tell. But once their separate stories come together, things at Sacred Heart School—and the wider world—will never be the same.
Emily's Review
A complaint I often see for this book is that it doesn't have a plot so the story seems to meander. But honestly, that's what makes this novel great. This story covers about 5 years in the lives of a group of children - some Inupiaq, some not, at a Catholic boarding school in Alaska in the 1960s. It's written as a series of vignettes, exploring the lives of the children and how they were affected by this school. Stories like this are important - and I think this one is very approachable and well written. At its core, this is a survival story. What was done to these children and their families is horrible, but we need to confront that by reading their stories. I especially appreciate that the author based some of the stories on her family history.
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Other suggestions on the subject of the Inupiaq Nation
- My Name is Not Easy (by: Edwardson, Debby Dahl, United States, Indigenous Americans, Inupiaq Nation, Alaska, UMG, YA)
Other suggestions on the subject of the Alaska
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- Sweet Home Alaska (by: Estby Dagg, Carole, United States, Alaska, Great Depression, MG, UMG)
- My Name is Not Easy (by: Edwardson, Debby Dahl, United States, Indigenous Americans, Inupiaq Nation, Alaska, UMG, YA)