Morning Girl

Title: Morning Girl
Author: Michael Dorris
ISBN: 0-7868-1358-X
Format: Chapter Book
Pages: 74 pgs.
Awards: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Review: Narrated by both a brother and sister, this book tells in very descriptive words, the story of a Taino family living on a Bahamian Island in 1492. You actually do not learn the year until the very end when, a journal entry by Christopher Columbus is shown in the Epilogue. The sibiings are Morning Girl, since she is an early riser, and Star boy, since he is a night owl. Their narration interchanges by each chapter and gives a look at life from these two very different perspectives. They tell about events that happen to the family, such as their mother losing a pregnancy, an awful storm that destroys most of the village, and their feelings about these situations. It is interesting to see how they are so differently affected by the same circumstances and how even though they are not the closest of siblings, they still love and respect each other. The story ends with an encounter for Morning Girl that implies big change for the family and the village.

At first, I must say that the narration changes by chapter confused me. I did not realize what was going on and got a little lost in the story. There was no explanation of this on the cover, so I think for a younger reader, this too might be quite confusing as most books maintain a consistent narrator at this age level. The book was very descriptive with lots of colorful language, strong imagery, and explanations that really drew upon the readers senses. I enjoyed that fact, since most literature at this level usually lacks this quality. I would even go as far to say that is was almost poetic. This might lose some tween readers that have not been exposed to the use of descriptive language. The author took more than one page to describe a storm, and some younger readers by become bored by that. On the other hand, younger readers that are not exposed to this style, might find that they love it, so it could provide a good introduction to descriptive language in literature. I think tweens can identify with the two narrators even though they are a native Taino people living on an island during the 15th century. The relationship with the brother and sister is very similar to any sibling relationship, and it is interesting to get both sides of the same story from two very different perspectives. Most tweens would be able to relate to the same annoyances as Morning Girl and Star Boy. Overall, this is a good quick read with much to learn and relate to for a tween reader.