This Tender Land: A Novel [B1213]

2020 PB in nice clean condition. The unforgettable story of four orphans who travel the Mississippi River on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression. In the summer of 1932, on the banks of Minnesota's Gilead River, Odie O'Banion is an orphan confined to the Lincoln Indian Training School, a pitiless place where his lively nature earns him the superintendent's wrath. Forced to flee after committing a terrible crime, he and his brother, Albert, their best friend, Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own. Over the course of one summer, these four orphans journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an enthralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "What a sweeping tale set in 1932! Odie, Mose, Albert, and Emmy took me on a journey I will never forget! This one played like a movie for sure and had so many humanity nuggets sprinkled within. I loved it!"; "The history teacher part of me loved this book! Social awareness and history and adventure. It was great!"; "A lovely story and beautifully written. It's about forgiveness and possibilities. Also a sad remembrance of residential schools and the 1932 depression. A great historical fiction which was thoroughly researched by the author."; "This was like a modern-day Huck Finn in some ways. It kept me interested all the way through. I loved the ending. I loved how Kreuger tells readers about Indian Training Schools and the way Indigenous people have been treated. Overall, a great read."