Children's Odyssey

This Tender Land

by William Kent Krueger

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This Tender Land is the tale of Odie and his brother Albert, and their friends Mose and Emmy. The majority of the story is about their journey as they escape from the abuse they received at The Lincoln Indian Training School in 1932 Minnesota. 

Odie and Albert are orphans when they come to Lincoln. They are the only white kids at the boarding school. Their friend, Mose, is mute because someone cut out his tongue when he was just a baby. Although Mose can't speak, he eloquently communicates with ASL. Odie and Albert know signing since their late mother was deaf. 

The headmistress of the Lincoln Indian Training School is Mrs. Thelma Brickman, who is called The Black Witch behind her back. She regularly sends Odie (and sometimes Albert) to the "Quiet Room," which is actually a jail cell in an old stockade. A common punishment is withholding food.

"No kid was allowed to speak his Native tongue. It was a strict tenet of the Indian boarding school philosophy, which was 'Kill the Indian, save the man.' "

The four kids run away from their abusive captors by paddling down the nearby Gilead river in a canoe. They encounter both wonderful and terrible people on their journey. At one point, they are made to perform forced labor by an alcoholic farmer they call One-Eyed Jack. They temporarily join up with the Sword of Gideon Healing Crusade, a traveling tent revival. Each stop along the way has hard lessons for the children. They press onward to their goal: to find their Aunt Julia in St. Louis.

Eventually, Odie makes the last leg of the journey by himself, because the other three elect to stay with the Crusade. Sister Eve of the Healing Crusade tells Odie what she knows each of the children is looking for. 

“You’re the easiest of all, Odie. The only thing you’ve ever wanted is home.”

Odie, whose real given name is revealed when he reaches Saint Louis, finds his Aunt Julia and realizes that she is not at all what he expected. 

"With every turn of the river since I’d left Lincoln School, the world had become broader, its mysteries more complex, its possibilities infinite."

This Tender Land is a beautifully written story about hope, love, and forgiveness.

"Of all that we’re asked to give others in this life, the most difficult to offer may be forgiveness."