Jennifer Frick-Ruppert

I wish I could put my finger on why this book felt so uneven to me, because that is the primary reason I'm not giving it 4 stars. I would encourage anyone interested in the region's natural history to read it, in spite of my dissatisfaction.

(2026 - I think I enjoyed it more on second reading.)

[book:Spirit Quest|32172405] by Jennifer Frick Rupert is a coming of age story of historical fiction and magical realism, that's geared towards middle grade / teen readers. This story is loosely based off a real person from an Algonquin tribe that existed in the 1500's in present day North Carolina.

This story follows a boy named Skyco through his journey to adulthood. Being the heir (not son, but nephew) of the great chief Menatonon, he has much to learn and accomplish before not only being show more allowed to take on his expected role, but also before he can be accepted as a man.

He begins his lessons with the shaman Roncommock, and learns how to enter the spirit world and communicate and interact with spirits. He learns to master weapons such as the bow and atlatl, and is tested on his ability to use them. Skyco also learns more practical skills such as hunting, fishing, building canoes, cooking and making fires. All of these lessons and trials are to prepare him for his ultimate test, the husquenaugh, where he will have to use his newly learned physical and spiritual skills to survive the harrowing life-or-death ritual.

"The husquenaugh is a difficult challenge with underlying purpose. It is a ritual meant to train our bodies and wills to withstand hardship, to persevere, and succeed."

Jennifer Frick-Rupert's novel is very informative and at times, it's even instructional. I enjoyed learning about Native American, or more specifically, Algonquin history and culture. You can tell that a lot of research was put into this book, and it was put together pretty well for how little information there is of these Native Americans of this time period.

The spiritual part of this story was really interesting! Through the use of spirits our MC learns many important life lessons, and gains a deeper respect and appreciation for all living things. I loved that the characters of this story were actually able to spiritually connect with other animals and almost become them for a short while in order to gain knowledge. I thought it was especially cool that our *male* MC got to spiritually connect with female animals and experience the world not only from the different perspectives of other species, but from the opposite gender too.

This book starts off with a fast paced action scene, but because of how much information is given and the nature of this story, it's a slow read.

Overall, I really enjoyed Sprit Quest and think it would make a good read for any middle grader / young teen who's interested in Native American culture and stories.




**** I received an eBook copy of this title through Netgally, in exchange for an honest review. **** show less