LitPick Review
We are named for those who have passed on. Our names come with their own kinship, their own memories.
Blessings Bead opens on a trade fair on mainland Alaska in the time of
caribou-skin tents, native dances, and caribou-skin tents. It introduces Nutaaq,
a strong-willed young girl, many of whose characteristics carry through to her
namesake descendent seventy years afterward. At the dramatic dénouement of
Nataaq seniors story, Blessings Bead morphs into the tale of a Native Alaskan
girl and her quest for identity. Removed from an alcoholic mother, Nutaaq
(called Blessing in her Americanized home) and her brother are sent to live with
their grandmother in a community still strongly tied to its native heritage.
Caught between the life she has always known and a new life that feels more
natural than anything has before, Nataaq must learn about where she came from
before she can move forward.
Opinion:
Based on a true story, the Debby Dahl Edwardson brings to life realistic characters and real events that influenced her life in 1980s Alaska (around the fall of the Ice Curtain that separated Alaska from Russia). The novella is laced with native Inupiaq words and authentic
indigenous names that are confusing at first, but come together as one
continues reading. The story is genuinely interesting, expecially the beginning
chapters which flash back to a time before the Cold War and give the story
depth. Personally, I was disappointed when the story morphed into an
adolescents search for acceptance; Blessings Bead would be enjoyed by middle
school girls seeking an interesting twist on the timeless (if somewhat cliché)
themes of identity and the meaning of family.
KEYWORDS
Read more reviews by this Litpick Book Reviewer: BBow