Description
Jonny must travel to the distant past to understand the present.
As an orphaned white boy in a school full of Native students, fourteen-year-old Jonny Joe isn’t like any of the others at the island Redemption Residential School off the west coast. When the advances of Father Gregory disturb Jonny, he joins another boy in an escape to a mountain cave. But when they leave the cave, the world as they knew it no longer exists.
The boys travel to a native village in a sheltered bay, where Jonny becomes skilled in the art of carving. When a steamship enters the cove, the party of sightseers brings a disease that annihilates most of the people in the village. Meanwhile, Jonny has learned the secret of his past and when he returns to the present, Jonny carves a totem pole to honour the members of the village.
Contributor Notes
Jennifer Maruno is a long-time educator. Her debut novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Award and the Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Award. She is also the author of Warbird, Cherry Blossom Winter, and Kid Soldier. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 12 to 15
- Grade:
- 7 to 10
- Reading age:
- 12 to 15
Awards
- Commended, Dewey Divas and the Dudes Spring Picks
Editorial Reviews
With engaging language and action delivered at the perfect pace to maintain interest without overwhelming a reader with information, Totem is a masterpiece of middle-grade fiction.
— Quill & Quire
Maruno tells a well-realized story complete with brave young men and villains.
— School Library Journal
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Annotations
First Nations-Hatchet+timetravel
Interesting local time-travel adventure that seems weirdly misclassified. This is absolutely a Middle Grade/Children's read. It's Coastal First Nations-meets-Hatchet-plus-Time-Travel.
There's a blond orphan in an island residential school in the 20th century. A new friend escapes with him to a cave where they travel to the 19th century and blondie learns totem carving and gets a spirit animal. The resolution isn't really great; the kids don't really do much other than learn and get some better choices for the future. Arguably, the protagonist may actually be a wolf spirit, since it seems to be what moves the story forward throughout. Which would be a great twist if it had been developed more. What is cool is reading some great historical details and recognizing a very Pacific Northwest/BC/Coastal First Nations setting. But no idea why this was classified as YA. Some glancing mentions of kids being molested and going missing would have been well within the acceptable range for MG-level dark. Recommended short read for ages 9-12 or so who are interested in local history.
