Trouble's Daughter: The Story of Susanna Hutchinson, Indian Captive [Paperback]

Katherine Kirkpatrick (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Susanna Hutchinson is nine years old in l643, when her mother, Anne, has a vision that leads the family to settle in the wilderness where the Dutch and the Native tribes are at war. Anne is infamous throughout the Colonies for her religious freethinking, and her visions have brought the family in and out of trouble.

One horrifying afternoon, Lenape warriors massacre Susanna's family and take her captive. Though haunted by grief, she adapts to the ways of the Lenape people. When she begins to have spirit dreams, she is terrified that she has inherited her mother's powers. But Susanna comes to see that these powers are her destiny and the bridge between her two worlds.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This novel recounting the 1643 abduction of Susanna Hutchinson, daughter of Anne Hutchinson, who was persecuted by the Puritans for speaking about her visions of God, "presents a searing portrait of divided loyalties," said PW. Ages 10-14. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-In this rich and engrossing fictional account of actual events, nine-year-old Susanna is captured by the Lenape after witnessing the massacre of her family and spends the next four years as a member of the tribe. Initially not wanting to "become an Indian," she holds the murder of her family close to her heart, attempts escape, and resists learning the Lenape language. She gains strength from her memories of her famous mother, Anne Hutchinson, the strong-willed and outspoken 17th-century heretic. Gradually, Susanna learns to communicate and partially accepts her new identity as Mee-pahk ("Pretty Leaf"). She finds a strength similar to her mother's in the wise medicine woman, Som-kway, and enjoys the friendship of her sister, Sa-kat. Susanna comes to recognize the inherent humanity of her new family, despite radical cultural differences, and discovers one day, somewhat to her dismay, that she "could no longer hate" them. When arrangements are made to trade her back to her white family, she does not wish to leave the Place of Stringing Beads. Susanna is a heroine after her mother's blood: strong and visionary. Readers will avidly follow her physical and spiritual development as she moves through incomprehension and anguish to self-discovery and an appreciation of Lenape life. The people and culture are warmly realized with a wealth of careful detail and sensitivity that make the characters and sense of place memorable. Top-notch historical fiction.
Jennifer A. Fakolt, Denver Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (February 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440415799
• ISBN-13: 978-0440415794
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 0.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Native North & South Americans
  • #100 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Death & Dying

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite captive story!, August 23, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Trouble's Daughter: The Story of Susanna Hutchinson, Indian Captive (Paperback)

Trouble's Daughter is the best book I've read about an Indian captive! It tells the story of Susannah Hutchinson, a girl who lives with her family in 1600's America. One day Indians raid her farm and massacre her family. However, for some reason Susannah is spared and she is taken to live with the Indian tribe. At first she is angry and upset, and she tries to run away, but after a while she begins to open up to the tribe and she learns their language and ways. Will she stay with the Indians forever, or will she return to civilization?

This book was written well, and it was very interesting! I'd recommend for ages 11 and up. If you like books on captives and American Indians, I'd also recommend: Standing in the Light; I am Regina; Sweetgrass; and Dawn Rider.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful addition to story of the Indian captive., March 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Trouble's Daughter: The Story of Susanna Hutchinson, Indian Captive (Paperback)

This book follows a familar plotline: an Indian attack on an isolated frontier cabin, family members brutally slain, a child spared by the attackers, the numbing march into captivity, the hostility and strangeness of the Indian village, the despair of the captive, the dreams of escape or ransom, the kindness of a few individual Indians which eases the captive's loneliness and pain, the gradual acceptance of the new life and family, becoming a full-fledged member of the tribe in spirit as well as body, and the eventual return to the whites which is met with reluctance or refusal. This story has been told before, and very well too, by Lois Lenski in "Indian Captive" and Sally Keehn in "I am Regina." Yet "Trouble's Daughter" is as good as any other Indian captive story.

No, the story is not unique; but how the characters are developed within that story is very well-done. The book is very well-written, and is a fast-paced read which makes for a real page turner. The reader will have a tough time putting this one down. Excellent historical fiction.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish this one were a movie!, May 16, 2000

By 

Cheryl Chapman (Brookfield, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trouble's Daughter (Hardcover)

TROUBLE'S DAUGHTER is one of the most satisfying and wise pieces of historical fiction around. In terms of promoting a compassionate understanding of Native American people and their customs and views for non-Native Americans, this book is tops. In addition to providing an accurate as possible historical setting, the book provides sustenance for its young readers - and our children do need this nourishment. Whether Som-Quay is offering words of wisdom on love or peace, or whether the young heroine is agonizing or growing, this book takes kids gently by the heart and helps them to develop the ability to look at the world with a more open-minded attitude. The study of history is changing from the memorizing of names and dates to the understanding of people and culture and forces; Katherine Kirkpatrick is an accomplished author, researcher, and historian, and her book ought to be a part of every middle school curriculum regarding America's colonial days.