School Library Journal Review
A novel based on the true story of Billy Calder, Tecumseh's translator and aide during the War of 1812. The teen is half Irish and half Mohawk, educated by the Jesuits, fluent in many languages, falling in love, and fiercely dedicated to the cause of the Indians and the British in the war. Once initiated into his mind and culture, readers will be walking trails, canoeing streams, riding horses, and fighting battles along with him. Throughout, he clearly matures and develops, but only as an idealized character, which accomplishes the author's apparent aim of raising him to heroic status. The valuable Native American perspective is important: William Henry Harrison is cast in an extremely negative light that rarely is illuminated in textbooks, and the generalized American ambition is shown to do what it indeed did, that is, destroy the homeland and much of the culture of the native peoples. Such historical aspects are so well woven into the text that they are at once unnoticed and accepted as part of the story and how things were at the time. Libraries should have copies of the novel to share with the many readers who will enjoy it. -Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
The Shawnee chief Tecumseh's unsuccessful campaign against the American government is told from the perspective of one of his followers, a young half-Irish, half-Indian boy.áThe hero's emotional conflicts, especially the battle between his desire to be a warrior and his disgust at brutality, are convincingly drawn. This novel depicts a little known and politically complicated period of nineteen-century history. Close reading is required. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-8. The author of The King's Shadow (1995) offers another novel rich in history. Fifteen-year-old Billy Calder, son of a Mohawk mother and Irish father, is anxious to work with Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief who is hard at work trying to mobilize the Indian tribes between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to rebuff the constant encroachment of American settlers in the early 1800s, and Billy's linguistic talents make him a valuable interpreter for the Shawnee warrior. As a member of the chief's inner circle, Billy observes the assistance given by the British army that led to early victories at Mackinaw and Detroit; the intense dislike between Tecumseh and American General William Henry Harrison; and the events leading up to Tecumseh's death at the Battle of the Thames. Alder's novel goes a long way toward explaining the issues and events of the War of 1812, especially as they pertain to the campaigns fought in the upper Midwest and Canada. Readers will identify with Tecumseh's plight and come to understand, if not agree with, the British and American points of view. --Kay Weisman
