Broken Trail
Broken Trail
by Jean Rae Baxter
$11.95
- February 2011
- print ISBN: 978-1-55380-109-2
- ebook ISBN: 978-1-55380-124-5
- 5-1/4″ x 7-5/8″ Trade Paperback, 240 pages
- Young Reader Novel – Ages 9 to 12
Broken Trail is the story a thirteen-year-old white boy, the son of United Empire Loyalists, who has been captured and adopted by the Oneida people. Striving to find his vision oki that will guide him in his quest to become a warrior, Broken Trail disavows his white heritage — he considers himself Oneida. But everything changes when Broken Trail, alone in the woods on his vision quest, is mistakenly shot by a redcoat soldier.
Broken Trail is taken to the soldier’s camp and then sent south on a mission to deliver a message to Major Patrick Ferguson that could save many lives. Narrowly escaping being slaughtered in the Battle of Kinds Mountain, Broken Trail finds his long-lost older brother, who had been fighting for the British and has been captured by the rebels.
Seeing his brother seriously wounded, Broken Trail knows he must try to rescue him, but a choice must be made: do his loyalties lie with his brother, or with the Oneida who offer him the chance to become a warrior? And with his knowledge of both ways of life, can Broken Trail find a way forward that will benefit both peoples? A sequel to the best-selling The Way Lies North, Broken Trail is an absorbing and swift-paced story that brings to vivid reality one of the most exciting eras in North America’s past.
Click here to read an excerpt from Broken Trail.
Reviews and Awards:
- Winner of the 2011 Gold Medal, Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards
- Best Books for Kids and Teens Selected, 2012
“Historical novels should entertain, and Baxter excels in keeping her central character moving through the woodlands from one challenge to another. . . . Recommended.”
—CM Magazine“This well-written coming-of-age tale is highly recommended for American students interested in alternative (Canadian, Loyalist, and Indian) views of a historical period that Americans tend to see only in triumphant, patriotic terms. Broken Trail is an appealing hero who comes through a major battle, several violent skirmishes, and other tests of character—not to mention his original vision quest—with cool-headed courage and resourcefulness, never firing a shot in anger.”
—VOYA Magazine (USA)“Broken Trail is a gripping tale whose believable hero is genuinely torn between the Oneida people who have become his loved family and his earlier life before he was captured. His confusion and emotional stress, as he lies between care and duty to his injured brother, and his devotion to his new family and the need to prove himself to them, is thoroughly convincing. A tumultuous period in North American history becomes more real for young people through the adventures and loyalties of Broken Trail, his brother Elijah, and his companion in adventurer, Red Sun Rising.”
—Deakin Newsletter“[Jean Rae Baxter’s] careful research and lyrical narrative style bring to life a momentous time in North American history. Although this is a sequel to The Way Lies North, enough information is provided to make the story quite accessible. In fact, I want to read the first one now!”
—Resource Links“Author Jean Rae Baxter has written an engaging, absorbing story — well-plotted, full of detail and full of sympathy and understanding of human nature. Broken Trail’s quest for his true identity is one every adolescent can identify with.”
—Canadian Children’s Book News“Jean Rae Baxter has written her second novel with the same skill and sensitivity as her first. The reader can’t help but develop empathy for the native plight and respect for the customs and knowledge of survival that a boy must learn to become a man in this unforgiving environment.”
—The Loyalist Gazette
