INDIAN NO MORE

"What if I can't be Indian in Los Angeles?" worries 11-year-old Regina, voiced by Jennifer Bobiwash, a member of the Mississauga First Nation, in this story based on author McManus's own experiences. When the Umpqua girl's family is uprooted from their reservation home in Oregon in 1957 and relocated to the city, misunderstandings, microaggressions, and out-and-out racism continually assail her sense of identity even as she makes friends in her multicultural neighborhood. Bobiwash captures Regina's jumbled emotions as she struggles to understand her new world. Adult characters are given less range, with the exception of Regina's complicated father, an optimist who believes in the American dream. His jovial tones disappear when that faith is cruelly tested. V.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2023]