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Book Review of Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea

Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea
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This was an interesting approach to the story of Sacajawea. The tale was written by a Native American author whose insight into the beliefs of Native Americans surely add to this fictional story. Sacajawea was so young when she took this trip with the Lewis and Clark group. The author chose a journalistic style alternating fictional observations by Sacajawea with excerpts from the Lewis and Clark journals. I found this approach a bit disconcerting when I began the read but soon became accustomed to it.

Yes, I knew that Sacajawea was not as much of a leader as some tales would have us believe. And, I understood how she was treated by the explorers and her husband. I particularly enjoyed the comments from the explorer journals and found myself trying to identify the birds that were described. It was interesting that the explorers treatment of the Native Americans they met was sometimes inconsistent, probably due to what was occurring at the time or what seemed expedient. I did not realize that she died at the very young age of twenty-five and found myself wondering what happened to her young son who was so enjoyed by the group.