My Sister the Moon

Continuation of Harrison's prehistoric Alaska trilogy. In this one, an abused girl discovers strength and hidden talents as she becomes a woman, a wife, and a mother.

This was not as compelling as 'Mother Earth Father Sky', the first entry. Part of it that is the inherent weakness of middle parts of trilogies, but part is that the main character, Kiin, is kind of the original hard-luck kid. Abused by her father (who wanted his first-born to be a son), married to the brother of the man she truly loves, kidnapped, raped -- is there anything this poor girl isn't going to be subjected to?

The background of First Peoples cultures in the Aleutian Islands, remains fascinating and scrupulously researched.

“A man is what he himself does, what he thinks, what he learns, his own skills.”
― Sue Harrison, My Sister the Moon

3.5 stars.

I adore books on Indian History and culture. This one is part of a series but I read it as a stand alone.

To be honest..I wasn't crazy about it. I was deeply touched and thought the writing was terrific. But it was a bit different then I'd thought it would be although that is on me for not reading the first book in the series.

My Sister the Moon is told during Prehistoric times and my main positive is reading about how people lived then. And the main character, .Kiin is a sassy and strong female and I both deeply liked and respected her and was interested in her story.

But the book is just so painful at times. show more Her story is not a happy one. In fact, this is one of those books where the bad things just keep piling on. It does not let up through the whole book. Kiin is treated terribly by many of the men in her life, especially and including family members. What I did not like was all the violence..so much of it..through the story. Kiin must do a great deal of outwitting of her enemies.

I read much Historical Fiction and in many of the books I read there is tragedy. And darkness. In this book...and this is not really a spoiler as it happens early on..Kiin is kidnapped and horribly assaulted by a family member. I should say this aspects of this book could be a trigger. Misogyny, abuse..it is alot.

I cannot say I was not deeply touched by the story. Still it was a tough one to read as bad thing after bad thing happens. I did love Kiin though. Her strength and resilience was inspiring and I wanted to see where her story would go.

SPOILERS:

The book ended on a sort of abstract note I did not love but I think there are more books to follow. Honestly, I doubt I will go on in the series. While I did not dislike My Sister the Moon, it is not a book I fell in love with although I liked getting to know this strong and clever woman.

Recommended to Historical Fiction lovers. show less

Her father wanted to kill her at birth because she was not a boy. Her Chieftan stepped in to claim her life for his son - who would need a wife one day.
Forced to name her, her father called her "Who?"

Now, young Kiin is on a journey to answer the question of her name...if she can survive it!

I always enjoy historical fiction and find it to be quite a good read as long as you remember that it is someone's interpretation of the past and should not be taken as 100% true fact. The writing style of this series is quite good and I really felt invested in the characters and their personal stories. I find this series to be a perfect summer beach read.

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