It's been a minute since I've read a Joseph Bruchac book - actually, several minutes - but I am glad to have come back! He is a master storyteller, and he, like his characters, incorporate Native cultures into his stories, creating amazing historical fiction books, but I think this may be the best I've read to date.
Two Roads takes place in the early 1930's when the United States was suffering through the Great Depression (great because of it's severity, not because it was a great event, by any means). Protagonist Cal Black is living a hobo life with this father, after losing his mother and their farm in the depression. They are the best of friends, living honestly and truthfully, according to the creed of hobo existence. All is going well, until Cal's dad decides that he needs to be part of the movement in Washington D.C. to try and force President Herbert Hoover into paying veterans of World War 1, of which Cal's dad is one, the money they were promised so that they can buy another farm and settle down.
To do that, Cal's dad places him in a Indian School, a place where Native American children were sent to strip them of their "savage" ways and teach them White, Christian, English-speaking ways. In fact, as terrible as it was, Cal's dad had attended the same school when he was younger, and even though Dad had run away three times during his time there, he still felt it was the best place for Cal to learn some farming skills while his father tried to influence the president.
This book reminded me of so many different stories at the same time, all good! Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool...all are also really good realistic fiction books that do an excellent job of connecting you, the reader, with the character(s). In writing, that is often called "voice", and Two Roads has plenty of it! Cal narrates the story, and I found myself feeling a bit empty when I finished the last page. I'll miss Cal and his dad, and for that Two Roads gets 5 paws!
