The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864 (Dear America) [Hardcover]

Ann Turner (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Dear America

In her first book for the Dear America series, acclaimed historical fiction writer Ann Turner brings readers the deeply affecting story of a Navajo girl on the Long Walk.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-Sarah Nita, 13, tells the story of the Navajo's forced 400-mile Long Walk from their ancestral homeland through winter snow to Fort Sumner. The confusion, fear, and suffering of The People are drawn with clarity and immediacy. A factual afterword gives a larger picture of the times with captioned period photographs of the Navajo. The story is rich with details of Native life gracefully woven into the telling of events. Characterizations are complete, even for minor participants. The publication information is at the rear of the book, as it is for all titles in this series, which has given rise to a general criticism that the stories are easily mistaken for actual period diaries. The CIP classification is 813.54; granted, that is American fiction, but placing this book in the nonfiction section of the library only adds to the confusion. The author's comments allow readers to believe that Sarah Nita was a real girl ("born in 1851"). All the same, it is a compelling story, and its power will attract readers.
Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; First Edition edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590972162
• ISBN-13: 978-0590972161
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in a small town in Western Massachusetts to creative parents who always encouraged my writing and painting. I went to Bates College, majored in English, and spent a wonderful year abroad in Oxford, England, giving me a taste for neat Scotch, Evensong, and very old churches and buildings. I've been married long enough to break all records and have two grown children. I am especially drawn to telling stories about outsiders, rebellious girls, and people who don't fit in--as I didn't growing up. I was always a bit too loud, too passionate, moved too fast, made up too many stories, and thought that life moved just a tad too slowly for me. I love to cook, garden, swim, pet my wild Jack Russell terrier, talk to friends and my "kids," and laugh at my husband's wild, original stories. I also actually answer letters and emails sent to me by fans, and when I do school visits, I tell people--"Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't do it!"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good, But Not Dynamite, May 26, 2004

By 

That One Guy (The Rez, USA . Yeah!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864 (Dear America) (Hardcover)

This book was not entirely that good. The writer (who is Anglo)wrote this book with the historical facts all wrong. The main character Sara Nita has an English name and the Navajo's didn't get English name until they were forced to the American schools. It is good to have someone write about the Navajo's but they should get their facts correct. The Americans were too nice in this book. I am Navajo and from what my Elders tell me they were cruel to my people.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, August 17, 1999

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864 (Dear America) (Hardcover)

This book was about a thirteen-year-old Navajo Indian girl on the Long Walk in 1863-1864. It showed how terrible the Native Americans were treated back then, even more than My Heart is on the Ground, another wonderful Dear America book. I highly reccomend reading this.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lacking in accuracy, March 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864 (Dear America) (Hardcover)

First of all I would like to say that I am not Navajo, do not know Navajo culture and therefore cannot talk about this book's cultural content. But I do study US history and can say that it is definitely lacking in historical accuracy. As a reader I can say that it is confusing.

The book is about Sarah Nita (I have to wonder how a girl who speaks only Navajo got an English name) is living with her family, peacefully, when one day her family is carried off by United States soldiers. Sarah Nita and her sister travel for many days to reach some of their father's relatives in a distant area. But after the girls reach the relatives, they too are taken by the American troops. The people are forced to walk for days on little food and water. They reach a camp and are then forced to walk some more.

Okay now you know what the story is about. Let me tell you why I gave this book only one star.

First of all it is a well known fact that if a pregnant woman was going into labor, on this death walk, would be shot because her giving birth would slow everyone down. In the book this only happens once or twice. In actuality it happened on a daily basis.

One statement in the book says that the soldiers were sometimes cruel to the women. Which is true, but that statement makes no sense to a ten-year-old child reading it. Take it from me; I read this at a fairly young age (about ten or eleven) and I did not understand that statement until about a year ago (I am a teenager now).

One more thing. This book glorifies the white soldiers! There are several instances in the book that refer to nice soldiers. Which of course might have happened but if it did there is no recorded evidence of it. As a Native American I personally find that insulting.

I would not reccomend this book to anyone.

P.S. In writng this reveiw I mean no disrespect towards the people, and their descendants, who had to suffer through such a horrible atrocity. I am only trying to state my opinion.