Interesting coming-of-age story as we follow Skyco on his journey into manhood. Slow moving with nice descriptions and easy to follow adventures. It's a great story to take your time with and really digest the situations.

Skyco is an Algonquin Native American that is going through the rituals and ceremonies he must do before he becomes a man in the Algonquin tribe. A shaman, Roncommock teaches him including how to contact the spirit world and communicate with the spirits. Coming back from a fight with another tribe of Native Americans, Roncommock is attacked by a bear. Skyco having no weapons defeats the bear. How does he do that? Skyco finds that his spirit animal is the bear.

The novel is filled with different adventures and discovering nature that he didn't notice before. It is detailed about nature. It is fascinating for me as this novel takes place before the English colonists arrive. The author imagines and also bases her story on a true Algonquin boy's life as describes in notes and airy entries by the English people. It is a story that can be read by anyone children or adult.

I really enjoyed this one! While it's slower than I am used to, it's an interesting read, and well written!

Let me start by saying this book was totally not what I expected when I requested it but in a good way. I thought this was going to be an action-packed adventure MG novel but it actually turned out to be more of a coming of age novel with a heavily ritualistic focus. The reason this book is so good is because of the amount of information the author squeezes into it, Spirit Quest focus heavily on Native American culture which I don't read about often, but it was clear that the author hadn't only researched the culture she is using in the novel but the geological factors in this region as well. Although this book wasn't the quick read I was initially expecting I found myself completely immersed in the world Jennifer Frick-Ruppert had created. In the end, I really enjoyed Spirit Quest and the small illustrations peppered throughout just added that little something extra that most MG and YA novels are missing.

Spirit Quest is exactly the type of book I loved to read when I was in elementary school & junior high and for that, I'm giving it 4 stars. This book wasn't what I expected when I picked it up. I thought it was going to be a fast paced adventure and have the husquenaugh be the main focus of the story. The husquenaugh is a ritual that boys go through to become men and full fledged members of the tribe. The ritual is a focus of the story, but its more a background focus. You follow Skyco's preparation for the husquenaugh and everything that leads up to it.

This book is fascinating simply because of the amount of information wrapped up within the story. There is a lack of books featuring Native American culture, and I really appreciate the amount of research the author put into the subject matter. She didn't just write a book based on what she saw on TV and in movies. It is quite obvious while reading, that she not only researched the tribe, but also plants and animals of the region as well.

This wasn't a book I sped through trying to get to the ending. In fact, I read it over the course of a month (while reading other books). This was a book I picked up here and there, read a chapter, and then mulled over the information. I savored the experience and enjoyed the journey.

One last note is that Lorna Murphy did an exceptional job with the illustrations peppered throughout. Every single time I saw one, it added just a little bit of joy to the book.

I received an advance reader copy of this book that I have chosen to review.

YA needs more indigenous characters, so I was excited to pick this up. It is a sort of magical realism / coming of age story set in pre-European contact America in what today would be the state of North Carolina. There is a lot of historical context which seemed well-researched and accurate. The author's note adds a lot of richness to the reader's experience, and her background in environment science shines on every page.

Yay for more indigenous voices in YA literature! Jennifer Frick-Ruppert transports readers back to pre-European contact America in what today would be the state of North Carolina. Skyco is a member of the Algonquin nation and is about to begin the all important transition from childhood to adulthood by making his spirit quest. Along with other young men of the tribe, Skyco is given a teacher and must complete a series of tasks that will lead him to his destiny. Will Skyco be the next chief of his tribe? Or will he become a medicine man?

Heavily researched, imagine my surprise when I completed the book and discovered that Skyco was a real person. It certainly adds an extra dimension to the story. The author's note was quite fascinating and is accompanied with an appendix of Algonquin vocabulary. Due to the latter, I would suggest that readers find a bound copy rather than an ebook so that you can flip back and forth.

"Spirit Quest" transported me to the right time and place and rang true about Native American life before interactions with the Europeans. The story affirms the customs and teachings of the people with a great deal of respect and the illustrations created by Lorna Murphy are carefully placed within the text.

Although this book didn't have me on the edge of my seat, I really liked the story for its focus on the teachings of the Algonquin nation.

Skyco, an Algonquin Indian boy, learns the values of honesty, family, and pride during his journey into manhood, which was exciting and well researched. I not only learned a lot about the Indian struggles to survive, but about their culture and beliefs. This was an interesting, exciting book.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This is a fictional story based on the Californian Algonquin before the landing of the British in America. It is about a boy called Skyco and his quest to become a man, his eventual following of the line of his mother, and to become chief. The idea of the spirits and connecting and understanding the different animals was an interesting line, and something that I enjoyed reading.

There was a lot of the story which I enjoyed, the characters are fleshed out and we are given humorous back stories of the children and life of the tribe. However, it felt like an over-simplification at times and a little too much information where it wasn't needed, bogging the story down for slow reading.

Overall, it was a fun and informational story, based loosely on a true character and notes and information gathered on tribes from the 1500s.

cute story loved it! the cover is so cute. it really was a wonderful read and I liked all the characters

I really like the fact that the plot is simple. Essentially, the writer takes us on the protagonist's journey from childhood to manhood. Although there are minor tensions and problems, the main narrative is single-tracked. This gives the reader the space and time to truly explore the characterisation, setting and description. Nothing happens fast so there is opportunity to absorb it all.

I found the dialogue stilted. Indeed, the characters felt more rounded when described by the writer than when interacting with one another. I'm sure their linguistic structures were a deliberate narrative device to suggest they are speaking in their Mother Tongue but I found it grating and preferred the pages where description flowed unimpeded by dialogue.