The second chance of Benjamin Waterfalls

Title:

Author:

Bird, James, 1979- author.

Summary:

Benjamin Waterfalls comes from a broken home, and the quickest fix he’s found for his life is to fill that emptiness with stuff he steals and then sells. But he’s been caught one too many times, and when he appears before a tough judge, his mother proposes sending him to “boot camp” at the Ojibwe reservation where they used to live. Soon he is on his way to Grand Portage, Minnesota, to live with his father – the man Benny hasn’t seen in years. Not only is “boot camp” not what he expects, but his rehabilitation seems to be in the hands of the tribal leader’s daughter, who wears a mask. Why? Finding the answer to this and so many other questions prove tougher than any military-style boot camp. Will answers be enough for Benny to turn his life around and embrace his second chance? -- Amazon.

Audience:

Ages 10-14. Feiwel and Friends.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

278 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Bildungsromans.

Subject Term:

Ojibwa Indians -- Juvenile fiction.

Indians of North America -- Juvenile fiction.

Indian reservations -- Juvenile fiction.

Juvenile delinquency -- Juvenile fiction.

Fathers and sons -- Juvenile fiction.

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

Grand Portage Reservation (Minn.) -- Juvenile fiction.

Publisher:

Feiwel and Friends,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9781250811561

Publication Information:

New York : Feiwel and Friends, 2022.

Call Number:

M BIRD

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003650242	Middle Fiction	BIRD	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

A middle-grade novel by James Bird about a boy sent to his Ojibwe family to straighten out his life.

Benjamin Waterfalls comes from a broken home, and the quickest fix he's found for his life is to fill that emptiness with stuff he steals and then sells. But he's been caught one too many times, and when he appears before a tough judge, his mother proposes sending him to "boot camp" at the Ojibwe reservation where they used to live.

Soon he is on his way to Grand Portage, Minnesota, to live with his father - the man Benny hasn't seen in years. Not only is "boot camp" not what he expects, but his rehabilitation seems to be in the hands of the tribal leader's daughter, who wears a mask. Why? Finding the answer to this and so many other questions prove tougher than any military-style boot camp. Will answers be enough for Benny to turn his life around and embrace his second chance?

Author Notes

James Bird's debut middle-grade novel, The Brave , was a Book Riot Best Book of 2020. He is also a screenwriter and director at the independent film company, Zombot Pictures; his films include We Are Boats and Honeyglue . Originally from California, James Bird is of Ojibwe descent, and now lives in Massachusetts with his wife, the author and actor Adriana Mather, and their son.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Thirteen-year-old Ojibwe Benjamin Waterfalls excels at shoplifting and justifies his myriad offenses by citing the usurping of Native lands ("This is America. Everybody steals. This country was founded on theft"). When a judge sentences him to juvenile detention, though, his mother suggests an alternate punishment: sending Ben to the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, three hours north of their home in Duluth, Minn. There, he will spend time with his father, whom he despises, and stepfamily, while attending an Ojibwe "boot camp" led by the chief's 12-year-old daughter Niimi Waatese, who wears a mask over her eyes. As Ben struggles through the camp's regimen, he must reconcile the thrill of stealing with the growing awareness that his actions affect others, and that this may be his last chance to "find the right path home." While a too-neat ending undercuts the book's emotional resonance, Ben's voice is snappy and captivating, and Bird (The Brave), who is Ojibwe, delivers an uplifting narrative that demonstrates how returning to one's roots can have transformative power. Select chapters open with an Ojibwe word or phrase; Native customs and traditions feature throughout. Ages 10--14. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.(Apr.)