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Black apple : a novel  Cover Image Book Book

Black apple : a novel / Joan Crate.

Crate, Joan, 1953- (author.).

Summary:

A dramatic and lyrical coming-of-age novel about a young Blackfoot girl who grows up in the residential school system on the Canadian prairies. Two very different women whose worlds are about to collide. It captures brilliantly the strange mix of cruelty and compassion in the residential schools, where young children are forbidden to speak their own languages and given good Christian names. With a poet's eye, Joan Crate creates brilliantly the many shadings of this heartbreaking novel, rendering perfectly the inner voices of Rose Marie and Mother Grace, and exploring the larger themes of belief and belonging, of faith and forgiveness.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781476795164
  • Physical Description: 326 pages ; 24 cm
  • Publisher: Toronto : Simon & Schuster Canada, 2016.

Content descriptions

General Note:
"Phyllis Bruce Editions."
CatMonthString:may.16
Subject: Canadian fiction > 20th century.
Bildungsromans.
Canadian fiction > 21st century.
Siksika Indians > Fiction.
Topic Heading: Aboriginal.

Available copies

  • 31 of 34 copies available at Sitka. (Show)
  • 20 of 22 copies available at BC Public Libraries. (Show)
  • 19 of 21 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Radium Hot Springs Public Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 34 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Holdable? Status Due Date
Radium Hot Springs Public Library FIC CRA (Text) 35130000034268 Adult Fiction Volume hold Available -

  • School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 2016 May

    Rose, a young child living during World War II, is torn from her happy home in rural Canada and required to attend the St. Mark's Residential School for Girls. Like all the young Blackfoot girls, she finds adapting to straight rows, staying quiet, and learning Catholic prayers difficult. Mother Grace thinks that Rose Marie is destined to become a nun, and she does have an innate gift from her medicine man father—she sees spirits. The sisters claim that this is a miracle, and the newly adult Rose is sent to serve as an initiate in the neighboring coal mining town of Black Apple. The sheltered Rose eventually learns about women of ill repute, men, friendship, and happiness—and that Mother Grace and the sisters may not have her best interests at heart. The horrors of Canada's forced indigenous boarding school program come to life in this novel—girls are beaten, starved, and abused. But there are moments of kindness and grace, too. Parts of the book are written from the elderly Mother Grace's point of view, and teens will find her self-righteousness and hypocrisy fascinating. Crate, an award-winning poet, was born in the Northwest Territories, and her beautiful writing reflects her love for the landscape and people. VERDICT Give to teens interested in social injustice and tales about indigenous people.—Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

    [Page 125]. (c) Copyright 2016 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
  • School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 2016 December
    Rose, a young Blackfoot child living during World War II, is torn from her happy home in rural Canada and required to attend the St. Mark's Residential School for Girls, where the seedy side of the forced Canadian indigenous boarding school program is brought to life. Crate's passion for the subject and setting comes through in this gorgeously written work that's sure to inspire in readers an interest in social justice. (http://ow.ly/41KX305MyLb)—Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL. Copyright 2016 School Library Journal.

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