Minik's Story [Hardcover]

Jennifer Owings Dewey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2003

Minik, an adolescent Inuit girl, relates the conflicts brought into her tribe by the arrival of a priest from a whaling ship in the late nineteenth century.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Minik, a 12-year-old Inuit, tells of coming of age before the introduction of outside cultures. Interwoven with daily activities are many cultural facts, such as the belief in shape-shifting, taboos, and tattooing a girl's face in preparation for marriage. When the Dog Children (white whalers) arrive, the tranquillity of the camp is disturbed as the two worlds collide. Ashoona, Minik's wise grandmother, warns against trusting these strangers, believing that this will only bring unhappiness to their people. After a short, disruptive visit, the whalers depart, leaving behind an English minister who hopes to teach and convert the Inuits. Trouble does arrive at the camp, and even though he is not at fault, Longskirt is blamed. He is banished from the camp, and must find his own way back to his society. Minik's first-person narrative reveals her thoughts, fears, reactions, and misconceptions about these strange people. She calls on the fulmar, her "helping spirit," to guide her as she deals with each new experience. Readers come to know her as a caring, competent young woman, true to her environment. At story's end, she is married to the young man she was promised to as an infant, and pregnant. Through language that is appropriate and consistent with the times and culture, Dewey provides an accurate view of the Inuit way of life, yet this background information does not overwhelm the story.
Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 142 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corporation; 1st edition (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076145134X
• ISBN-13: 978-0761451341
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,503,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So real, I felt like part of the tribe, September 13, 2007

By 

Laura M. (Kansas City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minik's Story (Hardcover)

This book got me right into the Inuit culture, which is very foreign to me, but it still captured the emotions of any girl's coming of age story. Lots of great details, both historical and cultural, and on top of that, an endearing romance as well. Minik's Story had me engaged from cover to cover.