Summary
NPR Best Books of the Year * Boston Globe Best Books of the Year * School Library Journal Best Books of the Year * Chicago Public Library Best Books of the YearA powerful new book from Eric Gansworth, author of If I Ever Get Out of Here, that speaks the truth on race, relationships, and rock from two unforgettable perspectives.Carson Mastick is entering his senior year of high school and desperate to make his mark, on the reservation and off. A rock band -- and winning Battle of the Bands -- is his best shot. But things keep getting in the way. Small matters like the lack of an actual band, or his brother getting shot by the racist owner of a local restaurant.Maggi Bokoni has just moved back to the reservation with her family. She's dying to stop making the same traditional artwork her family sells to tourists (conceptual stuff is cooler), stop feeling out of place in her new (old) home, and stop being treated like a child. She might like to fall in love for the first time too.Carson and Maggi -- along with their friend Lewis -- will navigate loud protests, even louder music, and first love in this stirring novel about coming together in a world defined by difference.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Carson is a senior in high school. He loves his Chevelle, his imperfect family, and music. He dreams of starting his own band with his friend Lewis, whom he treats horribly, because Lewis lets him. Maggi has just moved back to the Rez after living in the projects in the city with her mother and sister for seven years. She's 15 and works with her family selling beaded work to tourists from a script her mother wrote for her to recite when she was a little girl. She dreams of creating her own high-concept art, but life at the fictionalized Tuscarora Nation reservation and the lack of modern conveniences of their home are taking its toll on Maggi. Carson and Maggi seem to have an instant attraction, but Carson soon discovers that Maggi has embarked on a relationship with 31-year-old Jim, a white man who works with her on her job who is not quite as nice as he may seem. Gansworth's follow-up to If I Ever Get Out of Here has an incredible voice. Told in alternating perspectives, this novel places readers right at the center of young adult lives in a reservation on the outskirts of Niagara Falls. His characters are rich, well developed, and will stay with readers for a long time. Lovers of his debut novel and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie will fall in love with this incredibly written -novel. VERDICT A stellar choice for YA realistic fiction shelves.-Christina Vortia, Hype Lit, Land O'Lakes, FL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Gansworth returns to the setting of his 2013 novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here-the Tuscarora Nation reservation in New York. It's 1980, and high school senior Carson Mastick reasons that, if he can get a band together, he can win the local Battle of the Bands and get off the reservation. But a racist store owner has just shot Carson's brother, his shy guitarist is wavering, and he needs something to make the band stand out. When 15-year-old Maggi moves back to the "Rez," Carson thinks she might be just the answer, for him and for the band. In alternating chapters, Carson and Maggi narrate this story of racism, bullying, protests, the complications of figuring out what love and friendship mean, and world-opening music, particularly that of the Beatles and John Lennon. Gansworth, who accentuates the book with his drawings, is interested in identity: 17-year-old Carson (light-skinned and thus what he calls a "ChameleIndian") and his friends live within a Native American community, but they work and attend school off the reservation, and Maggi, who gets involved with a much older white guy, is an artist, but what she can make is limited by what tourists will buy. Gansworth vividly captures the difficulties of reservation life and showcases his thoughtful protagonists' multidimensional interests and far-reaching aspirations. Ages 14-up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Seventeen-year-old Carson Mastick has lived his whole life on the reservation, while fifteen-year-old Maggi (short for Magpie) Bokoni had been living in the city since she was eight and has only recently moved back. Their alternating first-person narratives, set in 1980 on the Tuscarora Indian Nation (the Rez), near Niagara Falls, reveal an Indigenous culture rooted in tradition but embracing modern popular culture as well. Carson dreams of being a rock star; an upcoming Battle of the Bands, with its grand prize of a thousand dollars and a trip to New York City, would send him on his way. His best friend Lewis (protagonist of If I Ever Get Out of Here, rev. 9/13) will be the bands rhythm guitarist, with Maggi playing her water drum. The music of the Beatles, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono frames the novel, from the title (Lennons 1971 protest song) to the names of the novels five parts, and provides the bands intended setlist. Gansworths book delineates abuses faced by Native Americans, including No Indian signs in restaurants, close surveillance at the mall, fights, prejudice at school, and, ultimately, sabotage of the groups chance to play in the Battle of the Bands. Its also an intimate look at the teens lives, including Maggis relationship with an older man. A rich, honest story of family and friends, of a Nation within a nation. Back matter includes a playlist and discography. dean Schneider (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A 1980s Native American coming-of-age story grapples with the day-to-day details of teenagers' lives on and off the reservation.Wannabe musician Carson Mastick is approaching his senior year of high school, vacillating about whether to stay at home on the Tuscarora Reservation in upstate New York or pursue his dream of using his band as a way to get out. Fifteen-year-old Magpie Bokoni is dealing with the opposite situation: Her mother, who sells traditional souvenirs to tourists, decides to uproot the family from the city and move them back to the reservation. Magpie joins Carson's band as a way of settling back into rez life, and her love for the Beatles, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono is infused throughout the story. While Magpie's sister, Marie, is secretly dating an older guy she calls "Mystery Man," Magpie is dating her co-worker at the garage, a 30-year-old white man (although her conscience wrestles with the illegal relationship). As they gear up for the Battle of the Bands competition, Carson leads the group in an impromptu protest of a Gen. Custer-themed restaurant located just off the reservation, run by a racist man who shot and injured Carson's brother. As Carson's and Magpie's lives--narrated in alternating chapters--intersect, their stories will capture a wide audience.A classic teen novel, especially for Native youth and Beatles fans. (Fiction. 14-adult)
Booklist Review
There are no easy life choices for Carson, Maggi, and Lewis as their lives intersect on their reservation. Carson has glory-filled dreams of getting off the reservation by winning a bandcompetition yet has a hard time being committed to the work needed for theidea to succeed. He also wishes that Maggi, who has moved back from the city,will give his budding first-love feelings a chance. Although Maggi finds the bandfun and Carson a great friend, she is committed to exploring what arelationship would look like with white 30-year-old Jim, who is heavily pursuing heraffections. Though the characters are struggling personally, they are all unitedagainst a restaurant called Custer's Last Stand, and soon the community members come together tomake their own stand against a racist restaurant owner who proudly display his No Indians sign. Readers will find a continuing cast of characters fromGansworth's If I Ever Get Out of Here (2013) while also getting amusic-laced perspective of young, contemporary Native Americans' struggles.--Bratt, Jessica Anne Copyright 2010 Booklist
