Customer Reviews

I Am Regina

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In I am Regina, Sally M. Keehn tells the story of a ten-year-old girl who is taken captive by Native Americans after they brutally kill her brother and father. In their village, Regina is given a new name, Tskinnak, and slowly adapts her new way of life. This young adult novel is well-crafted in terms of structure; it has a sound arc of conflict sustained by a strong narrator and cast of fascinating supporting characters that all possess individual goals and desires. Keehn masterfully juxtaposes Native American culture and the ways of the "white man" through the eyes of Regina/Tskinnak, her innocent narrator. As time progresses in the book, so does Regina/Tskinnak's understanding and acceptance of Native American culture. Though this transformation occurs slowly, the soul of her very being is forever altered. She is able to see the war amongst white men and Native Americans from both sides, and finds herself questioning where she truly belongs, a question that resonates in the minds of children and young adults of today. The only inconsistency in the book occurs during shifts in time. Keehn shifts in "moons" and at times it is confusing to judge how much or how little time has passed since the last scene. Keehn began the story using short choppy sentences, but as the book progresses, it outgrows this simplistic structure and evolves into a well-written text. I am Regina is a powerful and moving story that will captivate readers right down to the final sentence.

It was great reading this book. I read it for the first time in 1995 when I was 13 years old. My 7th great grandmother was Barbara Leininger, Regina's older sister, who escaped from the Indians. It was interesting finding a book on the market that pertained to something that I knew had happened in my family. Although I am not descended from Regina, I still feel for her and what she could have gone through as a child. I don't think everything happened to her that is mentioned in the book, but I do know that it must have been a miracle to see her mother from just singing a song in German, when she had been speaking the Indian language for 9 years. For those who love reading about history, this book is a must!

This is a very well written book about two tragedies. One tragedy is the story of a young German-American girl, Regina. She witnesses the brutal murders of her father and older brother. She sees the destruction of her home. She endures a forced march into captivity. She is seperated from her beloved sister and is forced to survive in a completely alien and hostile environment where she is not even allowed to speak in her native tongue. This is a horrifying story. A true tragedy.

Just as tragic is the story of the people who caused all the above to happen to this girl. They murdered her family, burned her home, forced her to carry a child on her back, and then attempted to brainwash her into becoming one of them. Yet by the end of the book one really sees the Indians as the real tragic victims of the story. War, disease, and alcohol, all brought by the Europeans, completely destroy the entire fabric of their lives. Regina, who discovers great kindness and love among the Indians, is a witness to both these tragedies.

Book Title: I Am Regina Author: Sally M. Keehn Reviewed by: Heather R. Lang and Kerry Beekman Book Rating: 9+ Book category: Historical Fiction We read this book and we want to review it. I Am Regina is a true story. It is such an exciting story!. But we wish Sally M. Keehn would tell more about what happened to Wolfin, the old Indian woman that raised Regina for the ten years that she was living with the Indians. We also would have liked to know more about Quetit the white girl. We are curious about her past and if she ever found out who she really was!?! We gave this book an excellent rating because of it's great plot!!!!!!

Book Title - I Am Regina Author - Sally M. Keehn Reviewed By - Jonathan Praino and Eddie Szabo Book Rating - 10 Book Category -Historical Fiction We read this book and we want to review it. We liked the book and we liked reading about the Indians. It made us see the Indians as a peaceful people. Regina, a white girl, goes to live with the Indians. We saw life through her eyes and from the point of view of the Indians. This story was based on true facts. It shows both how the white man and the Indians lived. The Indians and the white man traded with each other. The Indians got guns, ammo and liquor while the white man got furs and land .We learned that the white man showed the Indians their bad ways. Like when Tiger Claw traded furs for liquor and got drunk.The white man also brought diseases that sometimes killed the Indians like smallpox. We liked the book and the writing style of the author. It was easy to read and follow. We also liked how Regina sounded like she was actually talking. We recommend this book to all fourth and fifth graders!

Rould you believe that two indians would crash your cabin door open, holding rifles at that, intending to kill you and your family. Well this is exactly what happened to a girl named Regina in a historical fiction novel called I am Regina.

The main charactors are Regina, Sarah, Tiger Claw, and Woelfin. This book took place back in 1755, when the French and Indian War was starting in Pennsylvania.

In the colonial times of Pennsylvania, on a small farm in the cornffield, the Leininger family were held victom by two indians. While the mother and the youngest brother were at the mill on the hill, the father and brother were murdered and scalped and the two daughters held captive to go to their tribe. while going there the two indians that met up with other indians split up at a fork, seperating the two sisters. the younger sister, Regina, and her companion, Sarah, were now held captive by the indian known as Tiger Claw to his tribe. when she reached the tribe, Regina and Sarah were adopted by none other than Tiger Claws mother, Woelfin. Will she ever see her mother and brother again, will she be able to even survive. you must read the book to find out.

this book was one othe the best books my group ever read so far, there's so much action, lost lives, war, and other great things. My personal favorite part was when Regina's sister tries to run away from the indians, on a stallion at that, I thought that showed great courage unlike her sister at the begining of the book but she does get braver. this book is great for people who like action and sorrow because in the book, the French and Indian War was going on so there was a lot of fighting and bloodshed. the author, I think, was trying to tell us to not judge people for their appearence but get to know them because in the ook when Woelfin gets to know Regina, she starts showing her good side. hope you all like this reiew and bye.

Book Title: I Am Regina Author: Sally M.Keehn Reviewed by: Hannah McVeigh And Becky Kuts Rating: 9 Book Catorgory: Historical Fiction We read I Am Regina and we would like to review it. We rate this book Good. We liked it alot but there were some things that we would or wouldn't put. Like for instance, we would put some more information about Barbara and Sarah. We liked the writing style. It was like Regina was telling the story. It got us so interested. We think the author wrote this book because she liked the idea that Regina Leininger was really captured by the Indians and was a true story. She thought that it would be very interesting and she knew that it would sell alot of copies and guess what it did. We think the issues of I Am Regina are that the white man and the Indian were at war for the land. If the white man didn't keep on asking for the land Regina wouldn't have been captured. The Indians thought the white man were savages and the white man thought the Indians were savages. The Indians captured Regina and Regina stayed there for 10 years and stayed with a women named Woelfin and a man named Tiger Claw. She hated Tiger Claw so much. One day Tiger Claw caught small pox , a white mans disease and one day he died. Then mostly everyone in the village got small pox and they all died. Sarah got the small pox but she didn't die. One day the white man came and took Regina and Sarah to a camp and in the morning they went on a boat and went to a village and that was where they were identifying there children. When Regina thought she saw her mother but it was really a little boys mother. Then she saw her real mother and her mother put her arms around her, and took Regina and Sarah home. We would recommend this book to everyone because it was so good.

Book Title: I Am Regina Book's Author: Sally M. Keehn Reviewed by: Natalie Dimant & Anil Fermin Book Rating: 10 Book Category: Historical Fiction We read I Am Regina and we want to review it. We rated this book a ten for many reasons. One of the reasons was that we liked the writing style. It was written like Regina was actually telling the story. Another reason why we liked this book was that we liked the plot. It was both exciting and tragic. We think the author wrote this book because she wanted people to see how it was to live with Indians and because she wanted people to see the Indian's point of view. This book shows us that the white men did not like the Indians because they were in the way of getting new land. The Indians did not like the white men because they took too much of their land. If we were the author we would write more about what happened after Regina got reunited with her mother.

Indians are heathens! The white man is savage! That these two bitter enemies are more alike than different is a startling discovery Regina makes in Sally Keehn's "I am Regina," (Philomel Books, 1991). As the youngest in a family of German emigrants who have settled in western Pennsylvania, 11-year-old Regina lives in constant fear of Indian attacks as tensions over territory rights increase. But she still feels safe and secure among her loving family when her father reads from the Bible. Corn, the primary food staple, must be milled for the coming winter, so her mother and one older brother set off to do this. Little does the family know, however, that this casual good-bye will be their last. Their worst fears materialize when Indians set fire to their modest home,and brutally murder her father, another brother and kidnap Regina and her older sister.

Regina endures cold, hunger, pain and humiliation as the Indians beat her into submission during the long journey to their village. Gradually Regina adjusts to the culture by learning their language and customs, yet she never completely dismisses her original American-German identity or memories of her mother. Survival is difficult when harsh winters come and the men are unable to find game or other food, but empty bellies don't growl as loudly when she develops close relationships with the other Indian women.

Nine years later, as the French and Indian war ends, American soldiers arrive to free any remaining captives the Indians may still be holding, including Regina. Ironically, she is now terrified again and reluctant to leave what she's come to know as home. Yet dreams and flashbacks about her original family have troubled her sleep and she yearns to know if her biological mother is still alive. And if so, will the American soldiers help them reunite?

Set during the backdrop of the French and Indian war in western Pennsylvania, author Sally Keehn raises issues of identity, loyalty and faith in the dramatic "I am Regina." The story also confronts readers with irony and questions about who your neighbor is and who your enemy is. Keehn's vibrant writing and present tense use keeps the story a riveting, emotional page-turner from the beginning to end, and any middle-school reader can relate to Regina's challenges.

I just finished reading this with my 5th Grader. This has quickly sky-rocketed to my all-time favorite historical fiction based on a real person. I had the most tender moment with my daughter when we both cried at the end. I was so impressed with the writing, the character development, the way the author weaved faith into the novel in such a way that you saw how it connected from both the Early American and the Native American culture. Just so beautifully told. My daughter and I now want to find Regina's tombstone as a field trip! LOVED THE BOOK and think ALL should read it!!!