The basic story: a white girl (Rachel) is kidnapped by native Americans for seven years where she is adopted by a loving family, but is then forcefully returned to her white family, which is dominated by her abusive minister father.

To be honest, this is the kind of book I would have loved at like age 10, and probably read repeatedly. As an adult, I can see it's problematic on many levels. I was relieved that it didn't go for the "Indians are bad, white Christian man is good" binary; both societies are depicted with nuance, with good and bad people in each. That said, the depictions of the Native Americans feel... like they were derived from watching a lot of westerns.

Considering the simplistic prose and middle grade presentation of the book, I was startled that the book mentioned Rachel getting raped repeatedly at age 10, and that another character is also raped and impregnated, and it was all described in a way that was very victim-blaming that was never challenged. As historically-accurate as that is, it also makes me cringe because I would have (and did) internalize that kind of stuff as a kid.

The villain of the piece, Rachel's father, feels like a stock character. His actions at the end don't feel like they fit at all. The hopeful ending feels shoe-horned in.

Even by 1980s standards, this feels like hack-level historical fiction for the juvenile market. ( )

This was the first historical fiction I truly fell in love with. An interesting, seldom seen side of American history, well told and beautifully unfolded. ( )