Where was the law then when he was beating us, breaking bones and other, even worse things?” pg 16 He deserved what he got and a whole lot more.

“You have no idea what that man did to me and a whole lot of other boys. “Pray? You mean talk to myself and imagine some guy in the sky will make it all better?” pg 193 He was not as hollow then as he was now.“ pg 106Ĭlara stiffened, the familiar rage rushing through her veins. Not just for his encouraging notes and shy smiles, but because he ran and ran and ran. I looked close into my own eyes and saw a truth there I knew I would never be rid of.” pg 76 “I sat in front of the vanity mirror, looking at the reflection, this stranger. Below is an introduction to some of the characters Good creates with an enticing quote. Good unfolds a tapestry that illustrates how these young adults limp through the Naïve to the difficult conundrum of living alone, and under employed in Vancouver, each one is confronted with the bias of the colonial world. Their ages vary somewhat from 16 to early 20s when they are ‘dropped’ into their new lives. The characters, already Isolated and torn from their natal families, these children became masters of survival while at residential school but life in the cloistered church school could hardly prepare them for life on the tough Vancouver streets.

Residential school survivors, fresh and innocent to the horrors of living in a big city, are woven into a compelling tale.

Michelle Good reminds me of my grandfather and the time when storytellers spun words into magic.

The five little indians