Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac

Cal is a twelve-year-old traveling with his father as a hobo during the Great Depression in 1932. Cal's mother died, and his father lost their farm, so they decided to become hoboes. Soon, Cal's father decides he must march with his fellow veterans for his government benefits in Washington, D.C., but must leave Cal behind at a government boarding school for Native American children. On their way to the school, Cal learns that his father is a Native American making him half Creek, which confuses Cal because he was raised to believe he was white. At the school, Cal makes friends with other Creek boys and learns more about his language, customs, and heritage. A rare look into the Native American history of the boarding school experience "that promises the excitement of riding the rails." (Twelve-year-old Cal, 2018)

Critical Analysis

Two Roads is a historical fiction story with a plot that is easy to follow. The story is told by Cal in the first person, while themes include prejudice, identity, and homelessness. Cal's character traits include being strong-willed, patient, and honest. The story is rich in cultural details regarding the Creek language and customs. Likewise, there are references to Cal's skin tone and his ability to fit in with other Creek boys rather than the white-looking Native American boys at the boarding school. Author Joseph Bruchac explains in his afterword that he used historical events like the veterans marching on Washington D.C. and modeled the boarding school in his book after an actual boarding school called the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in Oklahoma. Bruchac is a Native American, which may make readers more confident in his ability to deliver an authentic story. Bruchac won the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and the Cherokee Nation Prose Award for previous works.

The story's strength is that it can tell the story of the historical wrongs of the U.S. government concerning placing Native American children into boarding schools. Its weakness is that it reads like an adult is telling the story. Readers may enjoy The Warriors by Joseph Bruchac, a book about a Native American boy struggling to fit in after recently leaving a Native American reservation.

References

Bruchac, J. (2018). Two Roads. Dial Books for Young Readers.

Twelve-year-old Cal. (2018, October 23). Two Roads. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joseph-bruchac/two-roads/