Collin has always been an outsider at best and the target of bullies at worst. His OCD manifests as counting letters. Every time someone speaks to him, his brain tallies the letters and blurts them out of his mouth. He can't control it, but he's always trying. It's doesn't matter. The OCD always wins in the end.
His parents were never together, and he's never even spoken to his mother. When he was born, his grandparents wanted a grandson to continue the family line, so they raised him for a while until it became clear the counting wasn't going to go away. He's been living with his father for several years now. Collin knows he is a disappointment to his dad. Bullies always make him a target at school, and he's no good at sports. His father is drunk most of the time, and his only real friend is his therapy dog, Seven.
When yet another principal suggests this school just might not be the right fit, Collin's dad decides it's time for him to live with his mother. Collin is shocked. His dad always refuses to talk about his mother. Collin knows nothing about this woman, and now his dad is sending him from California to Minnesota to live with a stranger!
Collin isn't really sure what he expected, but his mother is a total surprise. He knows she is Ojibwe, but that is about all he knows. She is instantly loving and affectionate, and the numbers don't seem to bother her or his grandmother. And then there is Orenda. She's the most beautiful girl he has ever seen, and he instantly wants to spend time with her.
Orenda isn't bothered by the numbers either, so even when kids at the new school begin to bully him, Collin still has his afternoons with Orenda in her treehouse to look forward to. She wants to train him to be physically strong, and he obeys all her demands. Orenda uses a wheelchair, and Collin notices her health declining, but all she will say is that she is transforming into a butterfly.
Can Collin finally make peace with himself and accept the new family he has found?
After looking at most of the other reviews for James Bird's debut novel, I fear I am in the minority. I always love magical realism, and the writing is beautiful in this book, but it just didn't land quite right for me. First, we are supposed to believe a kid who has been abandoned by every adult in his life has no abandonment issues? He's not angry at all with his mother who left him with a life of loneliness? Especially after he sees what he's been missing? I'm not buying it. Also, his OCD is cured by a magical ceremony after he learns his lesson about self-acceptance. Umm...no, mental health is serious. I'm not saying immersing himself in the culture of the Ojibwe people wouldn't help, but therapy is important. To suggest otherwise is harmful to those with mental health disorders.
I only found one review online from a native person, and he objected to Bird's portrayal of Ojibwe life. It all seemed a little too Magical Indian Experience to me, too. I know the author has Ojibwe ancestry. I would like to hear opinions from other native people.
Finally, this last thing is not the biggest issue, but it was very jarring for me as a reader. As a person who grew up in peach country, there is no way there are peach trees laden with juicy succulent fruit in Minnesota in October. Was this supposed to be part of the magical realism? It just seemed like poor research to me.
Unfortunately, I can't recommend this book. I was really hoping it would be good because there are so few Own Voices books from a native perspective, but it just isn't a success for me.
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