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: 8 out of 10
Originality: 8 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 8.25 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: When his great-grandfather’s spirit departs, 14-year-old Johnny Bear Child finds it hard to let go of the old Blackfeet chief. His medicine quest finds him reconnecting with his great-grandfather in unexpected ways, culminating in a dangerous journey for Johnny and his friends. His course is fraught with expected coming-of-age elements, but Babcock adds in threatening components that exponentially raise the stakes.
Prose: Teen readers will love Babcock’s crisp writing and clear worldbuilding, and the story's dialogue rolls across the pages in smooth, natural waves.
Originality: Rich in Blackfeet tradition, this book gives readers a peek into Indigenous life—and teems with wisdom and mystical connections.
Character/Execution: Babcock lightly touches on the deeper experiences of Indigenous people, though a deeper development would give the story more flavor. Johnny Bear Child and his friends evoke the universal joys and pains of adolescence as they teeter between childhood and the adult world.
Date Submitted: August 30, 2024
