A Promising Life: Coming of Age with America: A Novel

by Emily Arnold McCully Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

Overview

Award-winning author Emily McCully's most adventurous book to date draws a dramatic portrait of life in nineteenth century America.

For as long as he can remember, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau has been told that a promising future lies ahead of him. After all, his mother is the great Sacagawea, who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition of discovery. And thanks to his mother, Baptiste's life changes forever when Captain Clark offers him an education in the bustling new city of St. Louis. There, his mother charges him to "learn everything" -- reading, writing, languages, mathematics. His life becomes a whirl of new experiences: lessons, duels, dances, elections. He makes friends and undertakes unexpected journeys to far-off places. But he also witnesses the injustices Clark, as a US agent for Indian Affairs, forces upon the Osage, the Arikara, the Mandan, and so many others. He sees the effect of what some call "progress" on the land and on the people who have lived there for generations. And he must choose what path he will take and what place he will have in a rapidly changing society.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"McCully (Ida M. Tarbell) provides a fascinating fictionalized history... A tumultuous period in American history comes alive through the eyes of this compelling protagonist." — Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

2017-04-17
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born to a Frenchman, Toussaint, and a Shoshone woman, Sakakawea, who assisted Lewis and Clark on their legendary expedition. When Sakakawea's husband's post-expedition plans fall through, they decide to leave St. Louis behind, leaving their only son in the nominal care of Capt. Clark, who had offered to adopt the boy. Problem is, Capt. Clark is hundreds of miles away, and Jean is left to attend an all-boys school of "mixed bloods"—children of Native and white parentage. Jean adapts. When Capt. Clark finally makes it back to St. Louis, Jean learns that his place as Clark's "son" has been taken by Clark's natural-born newborn son. Though Clark continues to financially support Jean's education, Jean is left to grow up on his own and becomes further immersed in "white" ways. This narrative distances readers from the harshness of life for Native American children who were forced to attend missionary schools. McCully creates a fictionalized character who interacts with apologetic yet complicit racists, including Clark himself, a slave owner who contributed to the western expansion that destroyed Native American nations. Sakakawea's voice is muted as she permanently leaves her 7-year-old son behind, only wishing the young child well in his adaptation to the white world. The depth of Sakakawea's experience is lost, her depiction merely that of a passive captive who lacks any real emotion. A slow read with an emphasis placed on the "benefits" of Jean's Christianized education and a focus that glosses over the genocide that occurred among Native American people. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170536955
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/25/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

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