Jim Remsen

Visions of Teaoga is a middle grade novel that throws readers back to the 1700's when America was in an upheaval between Native Americans and Settlers along the New York State and Pennsylvania border.

Pre-teen Maddy takes a trip with her father to Pennsylvania. As they pass all of the historical sites, Maddy becomes interested in them. Especially a sign about Queen Esther. Luckily, Maddy's dad has found her a job helping at a children's summer camp. Mrs. T, the director knows a lot about the show more local Native American history and takes Maddy to Queen Esther's settlement. While Maddy is there, she starts to have visions of the settlement and the people who lived there. The story jumps back and forth between Maddy's summer learning about Queen Esther and Queen Esther herself in 1790. Queen Esther has made the journey to the Teaoga treaty grounds for the U.S.- Iroquois.

Maddy's character was spot-on in this book, written for pre-teens, Maddy is the perfect pre-teen who is in a constant battle with herself over having a positive or negative attitude over the situations that she finds herself in. As the positive attitude prevails, Maddy is able to have fun and learn more about the Native American culture. She even finds herself connecting through eerie visions of the past. There was also a ton of history packed in here. I live near some of the areas discussed and knew very little about the events that happened there. So, this is a great book for kids who want to learn more about their local history. Also, the history in the book is delivered in a variety of ways, as Maddy finds information for herself, as Mrs. T shares her knowledge and from Queen Esther herself, so it does not seem dry or boring.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less