My Name Is Not Easy

By: Debby Dahl Edwardson

Narrated by: Nick Podehl, Amy Rubinate

Luke knows his I´nupiaq name is full of sounds white people can’t say. He knows he’ll have to leave it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles from their Arctic village.

At Sacred Heart School things are different. Instead of family, there are students - Eskimo, Indian, White - who line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there’s some kind of war going on. And instead of comforting words like tutu and maktak, there’s English. Speaking I´nupiaq - or any native language - is forbidden. And Father Mullen, whose fury is like a force of nature, is ready to slap down those who disobey.

Luke struggles to survive at Sacred Heart. Buthe’s not the only one. There’s smart-aleck Amiq, a daring leader - if he doesn’t self-destruct; Chickie, blond and freckled, a different kind of outsider; and small quiet Junior, noticing everything and writing it all down. Each has their own story to tell. But once their separate stories come together, things at Sacred Heart School - and in the wider world - will never be the same.

©2012 Debby Dahl Edwardson (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great until the end

I was really interested in this book and actually thought most of it was good. But it ended very abruptly and I was left thinking what the heck just happened? And not the good version. I was disappointed with how the author wrapped up the book.

EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD READ THIS!

The fictionalized (but based on truth) story of Alaskan (mostly-) native children, wrenched from their homes & sent all over the U.S. to school, where they were made to speak only English & where many tried to beat the "savage" out of them, bending to the Western idea of culture. So very many Americans don't know the story of this horrid chapter of our history, but we all should learn it. This book is very, very well written; the reader is engaged from moment one & never loses interest throughout. The narrators are exactly right. Read/listen to this. I promise, you will not be sorry.

Interesting and enlightening subject.

Enlightening subject, but I wish we were invited to become more emotional involved with the characters. Sometimes I felt alone in my outrage.

Captivating Story

What does Nick Podehl and Amy Rubinate bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Amy Rubinate and Nick Podehl do justice to the superbly developed characters in this captivating story. The book is written and narrated with such skill that the listener begins to see through the eyes of the boarding school students and feel with the heart of each character. It would be hoped that this book would be added to Junior High and High School Reading lists and included in classroom discussions.This neglected chapter of the history of Native Americans has waited too long to be told. It's audience reaches far beyond young adult readers. In addition to adding to our cultural awareness, this compelling story is difficult to set aside both while listening and after.

Boring

I'm not sure they is much of a story.... Bounced around between a few characters, but very weak story line.