Review of Written in Stone by Rosanne Parry

[obiebookworm]

May 1999. Eighty-nine-year-old Pearl Carver, the daughter of a great whaler from the Makah tribe, is about to experience an historic moment that evokes childhood memories of her struggle to save her people from extinction.

Pearl reminisces, telling what life was like back in 1923 when she was thirteen years of age. Always full of ideas like her papa, Pearl wanted to be a whaler. However, her tribal traditions disallowed women this type of role, but that didn’t stop her from secretly practicing harpooning logs on the beach while awaiting the return of papa’s eight-manned whaling boat. As she spotted the boat and saw that only seven were aboard and there was no whale, happiness quickly turned to horror as she realized that papa, the great whaler, was lost at sea. The truth of what happened that day, as the tribal leaders soon discovered, was that Japanese, U.S., and Russian ships destroyed the lifeblood of Pearl’s tribe. As a result, whale hunting came to a sudden halt.

It was only five years earlier when Pearl lost mama and her baby sister to influenza. Now with no immediate family, she felt that her heritage and status as the daughter of a great whaler from her tribe were lost, too. Keeping the memory of her family alive was important to her. Unfortunately, the only tangible memory she had was an abalone shell from mama’s button blanket, and she had nothing from papa. However, to keep papa’s memory alive, she would have to come up with a plan to steal from his regalia, which would be given away during papa’s potlatch (a distinctive custom to mark an important event).

Pearl also wanted to keep her parent’s traditions alive, but was uncertain as to how to go about that task. Troubled, Pearl was in need of direction; taking note of her emotional condition, her aunt and grandma arranged for her to learn basket weaving from grandma’s people, the Quinaults. Pearl adamantly refused, determined that she would learn how to weave like her mama once did. However, in the process of learning this craft, word came to the village that a “museum man” was planning to visit them to purchase merchandise, which would be a means of income for the tribe.

But upon meeting this Museum Man, as he was called, Pearl and her cousin, Henry, sensed something fishy about him and began making plans to find out the truth behind his visit. As the cousins gathered clues, it was Pearl who finally discovered his sinister plot. Recognizing that this plot was far greater than her interest in stealing papa’s regalia, Pearl had to alert the surrounding tribes of the Olympia Peninsula. However, as she sought a solution, Susi, Pearl’s favorite aunt, reminded Pearl that though her tribal status may have been lost, she still had powerful ideas to share with her people. But she would need courage, like her papa once had, to do so. Following Susi’s advise, Pearl came up with a plan, and as she explains at the close of her story, it was truly life changing.

Much praise goes to award-winning author Rosanne Parry, who has taken her talents and used them to breathe life into a Native American story that has been silenced for much too long. There is no doubt in my mind that this incredible work of historical fiction should not only be a part of your personal book collection, but a vital addition to classroom reading lists.
Middle Reader