My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson 248 pages

This book was eye opening. It is the rather horrifying tale of a Sacred Heart School that is a boarding school for Eskimos, Indians and Whites. Luke's Inupiaq name is impossible for white people to say. So he loses his name, his brother and almost his identity attending this school hundreds of miles from his Arctic village. This is told by several points-of-view: Chickie, blond, freckled and an outsider, Amiq, the natural leader, Junior, small, but smart and Luke. These very different children become a family in spite of the brothers attempts to educate the life out of them. It is almost a companion piece to Fatty Legs, an autobiographical story about a young Inuit girl. This is for older readers and should be enjoyed by the many fans of Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This won several awards last year and should be added to school reading lists soon.