The Ransom of Mercy Carter (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Dear Lord, prayed Mercy Carter, do not let us be murdered in our beds tonight..." (more)
Key Phrases: white grandmother, Snow Walker, Father Meriel, Mercy Carter (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on actual events, this latest offering from the accomplished Cooney (The Face on the Milk Carton; Driver's Ed) is a gripping and thought-provoking account of the 1704 Indian raid on the English settlement of Deerfield, Mass. After their village is burned and many of its residents killed, Mercy and more than 100 other settlers are taken prisoner by the Kahnawake Mohawk, who have been converted to Catholicism by the French. Some of the novel's most riveting chapters describe the difficult winter trek that takes them 300 miles north to Canada, where Mercy settles into life in a traditional Indian village near Montreal. Uncertain whether she will be adopted by the Mohawk who captured her or whether the English will pay the ransom that would allow her to return to Massachusetts, Mercy struggles to balance loyalty to her own family and traditions with a growing appreciation for the Kahnawake way of life. Just how much her perspective broadens can be measured by the fact that, in addition to adopting many Indian ways, Mercy can find something sacred and comforting in the Catholic mass a rite she was raised to believe led straight to eternal damnation. Portrayed mostly as rigid, angry and dogmatic, the Puritans contrast poorly with the generally kind and commonsensical Indians, and Mercy's final choice is thus compelling. Though at times this account reads like the MTV version of the events (e.g., glancing over such important events as the death of Mercy's Indian father), the immediacy of Mercy's dilemma comes through despite its historical distance. Cooney's trademark staccato delivery keeps the pages turning. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-The drama of history unfolds in this gripping tale based on the actual destruction of Deerfield, MA, in February, 1704. In a surprise attack, Mohawk Indians entered the town, burned it, and took captives with them on a 300-mile march to Canada. This is 11-year-old Mercy Carter's story. Accustomed to caring for her younger siblings, she becomes the mother figure for several of the children on the long and harsh journey. Although she waits to be ransomed, when the opportunity arises more than a year after her capture, she refuses to go back. Cooney artfully combines the intense drama of the situation with historical details of the period and the Indian culture. The conflict between the English Puritans from Deerfield and the French Catholics is also well depicted. However, although Mercy is an intriguing, feisty girl, her maturity is often unrealistic. She never panics; she always thinks ahead and projects the outcome of her actions. Cooney carefully draws her other characters to show myriad reactions to the capture, including the rebellious Ruth and others who are too devastated by their losses to care about what happens to them. It is unfortunate that only cursory mention is made of the Indians' underlying plight against the invading white man that led to such horrifying attacks. Still, there is a great deal in this engrossing tale to recommend it.

Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners 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: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (November 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440227755
• ISBN-13: 978-0440227755
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #173,874 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #13 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( C ) > Cooney, Caroline B.
  #74 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Multicultural Stories > Native North & South Americans
  #92 in	Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > Fiction > Colonial

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable true story set during colonial times., January 6, 2001

By	Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Ransom of Mercy Carter (Hardcover)

Eleven-year-old Mercy Carter lives with her family in Deerfield, Massachusetts, the most remote settlement in the English colonies in 1704. Although life in Deerfield is both difficult and dangerous, with countless chores for even the youngest child and the constant threat of Indian attacks, Mercy takes comfort in her family and her faith. But even her prayers are not enough to save many settlers from brutal deaths at the hands of the Indians, and they aren't enough to save Mercy, who is among the survivors, from capture. Forced to march three hundred miles north to the Indian village in Canada through the brutal winter cold is almost more than Mercy can bear, and many do not survive the journey. Once she arrives in Canada, she finds herself a servant, and her only comfort lies in her faith, her prayers, and the faint hope that she will be ransomed and reunited with the surviving members of her family. Yet as time goes by, Mercy begins to think of herself as less of a captive, and more of a daughter of the tribe. And as this happens, Mercy wonders - if given the chance to become "English" again, would she even want to take it? Is she even still Mercy Carter, the Puritan girl from Deerfield, or an entirely new person? This was an absolutely wonderful book. The author really was able to get inside Mercy's head, to make the reader feel what she was feeling, as she struggles to love and not hate, to mourn her lost family and friends yet be happy among the people responsible for the deaths, and to remember her old life without causing herself pain. I can't say enough good things about this book, so I'll just highly reccomend that you read it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Account, but a bit slanted, August 27, 2009

By	K. Wenarsky "calamtykelagain" (Northeast) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thought this was an excellent account based on the known facts of the Deerfield Raid of 1704. The author endeavored to explore all the thoughts that might be in the mind of an 11 year old forced to endure such an experience and goes to great pains to write the known facts into the actual journey to Canada.

However, like most books regarding whites and native Americans (although these were Canadian Indians), I found this to be a bit slanted. I find it difficult to reconcile how the authors always seem to come across as a bit sympathetic, at least in Mercy's eyes, to the Indians who have stolen a number of the children after slaughtering some of their siblings and parents. If you put this in modern terms, imagine that a man breaks into someone's house and steals their child and adopts him/her into his family as his own. That man today is instantly condemned by society and will be justifiably punished for his crime. Kidnappings of that sort do happen and we as a society are relieved and rejoice if that child is found and returned to his or her family. Are not these Native American/Settler stories not exactly the same? Does it matter if the man is black, white, Asian, or Indian; isn't it the same crime, regardless of religion or culture? Innocent children stolen from families; most of whom have never harmed a Native American. Yet in the book, we are supposed to rejoice that Mercy has decided to stay with her captors rather than return to her father who has lost his entire family. And this after not much time has passed at all. Granted the real Mercy Carter did choose to stay, but it is still bothersome that the Indians who have done the kidnapping are mostly sympathetic characters in these stories. How does the fact that they are Indian somehow excuse such crimes? We are supposed to excuse the crime as "payback" for the crimes committed against Native Americans (even though the children and their Puritan families were not to blame for those atrocities.)

The other issue I had with the author is that she portrays Rev John Williams in such a poor light. She goes as far in the epilogue that he later wrote "brutal" letters to his children in response to their conversion to Catholicism (if you read the violence that was enacted upon some of these children UNTIL they converted, in today's terms we'd call it "brainwashing"). Anyone can read these letters online; I would hardly call them "brutal". Rather how is a reverend who has lost most of his family, some spiritually, supposed to respond? If you read his actual account "The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion" it speaks of a man of remarkable courage and bravery in the face of the most horrific experience imaginable. He continues to hold steadfastly to his faith in God throughout his ordeal, convinced that God is merciful, good and forgiving (a view of God we never see in the Cooney book). I think Cooney paints a poor picture of this remarkable man who was a real person who survived a terrible ordeal.

She also states that there is no indication that his 7 year old child, Eunice, wished to return to him, but rather wished to stay with her new Indian family. However, if you read Williams' actual account, he states that he was granted a visit with his child early on, at which time, "she was very desirous to be redeemed out of the hands of the Macquas". What a heartache for this father that his child was not redeemed, and eventually assimilated into Indian society, choosing her kidnappers as her new family and abandoning her real one after time had passed. In the book, Mercy helps hide her from her real father when he is spotted in the street and she is with the child. If you put this into today's context, we are supposed to think it somehow honorable that a child who is kidnapped by a stranger decides to stay with her captor instead of being returned to her own family?

I also found the book to be slanted against the Puritan religion in general. Remember it was the Puritans who landed on Plymouth Rock and enjoyed many many years of excellent relations with the Massachusetts Indians. Most distressing is her description of the Puritan's God; "The Deerfield frontier had been hard and God had not made it easier. Just when the sky seemed blue, the children sweet and the crop good, God would fling hail at the corn and smallpox at the babies. But the French God slipped like a strong shadow behind the path of the Indian spirits. He was a gentler God." It seemed that he author was clearly biased against the beliefs of the Puritan people and slanted towards French Indian Catholicism.

I suppose any author is going to bring their own personal biases into a novel of this depth and length, especially when there are so many different cultures and religions happening, but it seemed a bit too deliberate somehow. I'd still recommend the book, as there is much depth to it, but would also recommend reading the REAL first hand account by John Williams - it's a public domain book, so it can be read right on line or downloaded and taking ALL sides and beliefs into account.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ransom of Mercy Carter, December 27, 2002

By	MissKitKat (Somewhere in the USA) - See all my reviews

The Ransom of Mercy Carter was the best book I have read in a long time. It is about an 11 year old girl who lives in Deerfield, Massachusetts. She lives there with her stepmama and her father. Also with her siblings Benny, Marah, Tommy, John, and Sam. They are an English family living in this small village with many other families hiding from Indian raids. Then one night the indians come and take all the children that they can and many of the adults. Mercy's father is away buying things needed for the family. The indian's take almost every item belonging to the many families and burn all the buildings. Then they take the children and parents on a 3 hundred mile trek to Canada. Along the way many people become ill or hurt and die. Many are murdered out of pure hatred of the indians. Mercy and her family are spared all but her stepmama and Marah who are too weak and cry too much and have their lives taken by the indians. Then the indians take the children they want to adopt and go to their villages that they live in. The Carter family is completely seperated. Then it tells what happens to them in their lives and how they live. Mercy is torn between wanting to be ransomed and staying with the indians. I really enjoyed this because it told about indian life in the villages and how life was in the early 1700s. I deeply encourage you to read this book.This is the first book I have read by Caroline B. Cooney and I am looking forward to reading many, many more. ;)