A Medicine Dream and Warrior Ghosts
A Medicine Dream and Warrior Ghosts
Fourteen-year-old Blackfeet Native American Johnny Bear Child witnesses his great-grandfather’s death.
At his new school, Larry, Skinny, and Chub bully Johnny. He runs away to pursue a medicine dream’s power hoping it will help him defeat them. His great-grandfather’s ghost appears, gives him advice, a feather, and his warrior name. Searchers, Rob Bear Child, and Whiterobe, Johnny’s dog, find Johnny barely alive.
Johnny and classmate/neighbor Sarah discover a cave while horseback riding. They plan to explore it—without adults. The bullies follow them. Inside the cavern, three warrior ghosts capture the explorers. Jeffrey Carlisle, a ghost trapped by the warriors a hundred years ago, appears.
Using sign language, Johnny tells the warrior ghosts that his great-grandfather’s ghost will take them to their happy hunting grounds. Disbelieving Johnny, they drop him into a whirlpool. Great-grandfather’s ghost rescues Johnny, and then disappears with the warrior ghosts.
Johnny and Chub go for help, leaving Sarah, Larry, Skinny, and Whiterobe. Returning, Johnny and Whiterobe lead a rescue team to find Larry who went searching for treasure. The boys fall into a raging river. Whiterobe saves Johnny, but is swept away.
Injured, Whiterobe returns home.
The bullies apologize, and Larry reveals surprises. Johnny’s medicine dream is fulfilled. He and his new friends plan to return to the cave in search of the treasure (the sequel).
Plot/Idea: 7 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Prose: 7 out of 10
Character/Execution: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7.00 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: Babcock’s book offers deeply compelling material. However, while the novel has the crossover potential of wilderness novels such as Jean Craighead George's My Side of the Mountain and coming-of-age novels focused on the lives of Indigenous people, neither angle is examined to its fullest capacity.
Prose: The prose is polished and clear. While the book is intended for young adults, many of the high-school aged characters have speech mannerisms more befitting of younger readers. The style may therefore miss the mark with its target audience.
Originality: This novel contains many unique and alluring details. While writing about Indigenous peoples living in contemporary America is long overdue for more widespread examination, Johnny Bear Child's experiences dealing with racism are at moments oversimplified in service of the general coming-of-age story.
Character/Execution: Many of the characters feel over-determined in their roles, causing their particular arcs to feel flat. Johnny Bear Child could be any new boy in town with a loyal dog and the particulars of his hardships could be easily altered to accommodate those of other racial or ethnic groups in America. While there is clear potential for his story, it rarely scratches the surface of the realities of Indigenous people in America.
Date Submitted: August 31, 2021
