I really enjoyed this book at first. It tells the story of Tanu, a Salish Indian girl who her people believe has the powers of a healer or Shaman. After a tragedy in her village, Tanu leaves to attend residential school where she is called Saylah. Saylah then goes to live with a settler family, the Ivys where she brings her powers of healing the soul to the dying father (Jamie) and brooding son (Julien).

However, the book is long (549 pages) and the story became too melodramatic over time. Saylah's "Indian wisdom" grew cliched, Jamie's dying, apparantly of nothing but his own determination to do so, was tedius.

It was also clear that the author knows little of the history of Canada's residential school system. At the time in which the story is set, it is extremely unlikely that a young girl would enter such a school voluntarily. Indian children were forced into these schools, often abused, and this has left a sad legacy that Canada continues to deal with. The Ivy family's acceptance of Julian's love for a "half-breed" would also be exceptional in that time period.

As I said, I was enjoying this story at the beginning, but the author didn't know when to stop and the story became more unbelievable, wrought with juvenile-style angst and tedius as it went on, and on, and on. ( )

Being told she had powers from birth, Tanu did not realize that lives events and happenings would have been that way whether she was involved or not. She learned to drop her guard and married in the end. ( )

Victoria, BC. Indian Salish seer in the 1800's. ( )