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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Time Blurs/Cultures Cross in a Contemporary Vision Quest, October 9, 2001
This review is from: The Night the White Deer Died (Paperback)
The only Anglo teen in the tiny town of Tres Pinos, 15-year-old Janet finds herself something of a loner. Close to her artistic but newly-divorced mother, the girl struggles with racial isolation and strange, macho dating customs of the hispanic youth around her. At night she is haunted by a recurring dream, in which an Indian brave aims his arrow--in slow motion, never quite reaching its target--at a peaceful white doe. Is this dream symbolic of Janet's emotional purity or of the slender, quiet girl herself? Is this a hint of things to come or a link to someone's past? By day she is confused and embarrassed about her unexplained interest in the town bum, Billy Honcho.
Why does she feel drawn to help and befriend the old Indian wino, whom reputable townsfolk shun. Could he really once have lead his people with pride and dignity, demonstating compassion for human beings and respect for Mother Earth? Delight in Paulsen's magic--a tale of the survival of the soul; his deft literary fingers weave a gentle story of a girl's coming of age in a hostile social environment. As Janet embarks on her own personal vision quest, both centuries and cultures blur mysteriously. Is it permitted for two lonely seekers to
briefly share a love which never was, but could have been?
This book will appeal to middle schooll girls and offers excellent cross cultural insight.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected!!, October 12, 2010
A Kid's Review
This review is from: The Night the White Deer Died (Paperback)
The book, The Night the White Deer Died, is written by three time Newbery award winner, Gary Paulsen. It is about a fifteen-year-old girl named Janet Carson, who lives in a small town in New Mexico in the year 1978. Janet is lonely and hardly has any good friends. What worries her is a recurring dream she has each night. In her dream, a beautiful white doe begins to drink from a moonlit pool. Suddenly, an Indian brave appears, notches a bow, and then shoots it at the deer. Time then freezes, and Janet wakes up.
Janet is not able to understand the dream at all, and it begins to haunt her. She becomes depressed, until she meets Billy Honcho, a drunken, fifty-three year old Indian. In meeting him, Janet not only makes sense out of her mysterious dream, but she also falls in love.
I chose the book because I was attracted to its title. However, I was disappointed because the book was not very suspenseful, and that was a major let down for me. For this reason, I would not recommend this book to readers who like action-filled and suspenseful plots. On the other hand, readers who enjoy books about troubled characters and how they overcome their problems may want to read this book.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Outstanding book, It completely changed my life, June 30, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Night the White Deer Died (Paperback)
Janet and her mother live in Tres Pinos, New Mexico. Janet throughout the story, lives an interior world of loneliness and confusion. Her mother always worked and she didn't get along with the girls in town. The weird thing about this girl was that almost every night she had a dream, where an indian is shooting a deer with his arrow, but she never gets to see the Indian's face nor the deer being killed. Janet meets an old Indian, who drank wine all day long. His name was Billy Honcho and lived in the Indian Pueblo. The few times Janet was with him, she felt comfortable and thought he was interesting. Se then realized she wasn't dreaming anymore. Janet started to love him and wanted to keep seen him, until one night Billy appears in her courtyard on a horse...My best part of the book was when Janet meets Billy. The mood of the story changes since the feelings of loneliness aren't mentioned anymore. Instead of loneliness the author expresses anxiety from Janet to see Billy again. The story shows a different view of two different cultures. It also compares the experience and non experience and how they learn to relate.
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