The Round House

 

From Goodreads:

One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.

While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

 

From Me:

This was a book club selection--otherwise I probably wouldn't have picked it up.  The best thing about book clubs is that sometimes you are forced to read a book you would have otherwise passed up.

This is that book, and I'm glad I read it.

I love coming of age stories---and this is a good one, about a young Native American boy coming to terms with tragedy within his family.

I listened to this one on audio, and  loved the narrator.  I read one audio-reviewer say to listen to a sample first, because the narrator is definitely Native American and has a special rhythm and cadence to his voice, that you might not like.

I LOVED IT.

I think it made the story feel so true.

Besides coming of age--it also gave a unique look into the culture of the Ojibwe tribe. 

I gave it 3 stars.