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If I Ever Get Out of Here
If I Ever Get Out of Here: A Novel with Paintings | Eric L. Gansworth
Seventh-grader Lewis "Shoe" Blake from the Tuscarora Reservation has a new friend, George Haddonfield from the local Air Force base, but in 1975 upstate New York there is a lot of tension and hatred between Native Americans and Whites--and Lewis is not sure that he can rely on friendship.
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ImperfectCJ
If I Ever Get Out of Here | Eric Gansworth
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1) We moved house in April 2022, but last big move was Dec 31, 2017 to Jan 8, 2018, when we did a corner-to-corner road trip to move from Massachusetts to SoCal. I'm feeling the itch to move again (hoping for Europe this time), but my son wants to graduate high school first.
2) There's a military kid in the tagged, which as a former military kid myself, I really appreciate.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

TheSpineView Always wanted to live in Europe. Hope you get to. Thanks for playing 9mo
ImperfectCJ @TheSpineView Thanks for hosting! I'm currently at my 28th address and have lived in all four time zones in the US, so I think it's about time to branch out to another continent (or at least another country...I liked Quebec when I visited, and it would be a lot closer to our family on the East Coast). 9mo
ImperfectCJ *The contiguous US, that is. I've not lived in Alaska, Hawaii or Guam, so I'm missing those three. 9mo
TheSpineView @ImperfectCJ Hope you make all thise destinations 9mo
30 likes4 comments
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megnews
If I Ever Get Out of Here | Eric Gansworth
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Pickpick

This is listed as middle grade and YA. Considering it‘s length and some of the subject matter, I‘d recommend for YA. I‘d also highly recommend this. It touches on being Native among a white majority, loneliness, bullying, military families, and is a tribute music, particularly the Beetles and Paul McCartney.

#NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

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CoffeeNBooks
If I Ever Get Out of Here | Eric Gansworth
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#FallTreasures #NativeAmericanDay
Eric Gansworth is a Haudenosaunee novelist and part of the Onondaga Nation. This book is about a young man named Lewis- his life on the reservation, his love of The Beatles and Wings, and his hopes for the future.
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Eggs Oh I loved this! 3y
78 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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ImperfectCJ
If I Ever Get Out of Here | Eric Gansworth
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Thanks to the excellent homeschool history and literature curriculum we're using, my kids and I have read many more works by Indigenous authors this year than I'd read anytime in my life before. Above aren't all that we've read, but these are four of my favorites. Authors (left to right) are Eric Gansworth, Michael Dorris, Joseph Bruchac, and Louise Erdrich.

#IntegrateYourShelf @ChasingOm @Emilymdxn

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Onceuponatime
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Mehso-so

This took me a lot longer to read than it should have...I just couldn‘t get into it. A story of a middle school boy growing up in poverty on an Indian reservation in the 1970s. I was excited to read this at first, but I think it had too many unnecessary conversations, minor plot lines, etc. and could have used some more editing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #oregonbattleofthebooks

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ImperfectCJ
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Pickpick

This might be the first novel I've read that deals with what it's like to be a military kid. Gansworth did a great job of describing that travel light, friends-for-a-season existence, which provides contrast and context for the rootedness and connection to place of the reservation kids. It also helped me see in a way I hadn't before how even seemingly innocuous infrastructure can reinforce division and discourage understanding.

51 likes1 stack add
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ImperfectCJ
If I Ever Get Out of Here | Eric Gansworth
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Multitasking: Reading my book, taking notes for my son's FaceTime piano lesson, and texting my mom to ask if she still has my Smurfs figurines collection (she does!).

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ImperfectCJ
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"'Cut it off,' I yelled."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

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Cakeypal

Good novel about two teenage boys from very different backgrounds. Music plays a huge role—and there‘s an interesting sub plot that involves bullying. An alternative to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

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CoffeeNBooks
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Eric Gansworth is a Haudenosaunee novelist and part of the Onondaga Nation. This book is about a young man named Lewis- his life on the reservation, his love of The Beatles and Wings, and his hopes for the future. #ya #englishteacher #teachersoflitsy #RiotGrams #NativeAndIndigenousReads

CouronneDhiver Stacked! I had such big plans for Native reading this year and I just cannot get my hands on the titles in my (super Caucasian) town. 🤞🏽 for this one 6y
dragondrool I tried reading this, but couldn't seem to gain any traction. 6y
76 likes1 stack add2 comments
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CoffeeNBooks
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This is the story of Lewis Blake trying to come to terms with life on the reservation, his family, his friends, and his school experiences in the mid-1970s. It's all centered around Lewis' love for The Beatles and Wings. It also mentions David Bowie and Queen. I added this to my curriculum for the new year, and can't wait to play music in connection with the book!
#YAWednesday @TheFunkyBookworm

TheFunkyBookworm Oh this sounds like a great one!!! Love that u will be using this book to introduce some great music to your kiddos! Lol 6y
dragondrool I had great hopes for this one but just couldn't gain any traction. 6y
85 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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CoffeeNBooks
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Pickpick

This is the story of Lewis Blake trying to come to terms with life on the reservation, his family, his friends, and his school experiences in the mid-1970s. And it's all centered around Lewis' love of The Beatles and Wings. I read it to see if it would be good to include in my curriculum for next year, and I will definitely be adding it along with some Beatles and Wings music! 🎶 #ya #librarylove #englishteacher #teachersoflitsy #thebeatles

GingerAntics I want to be in your class!!! 6y
CoffeeNBooks @GingerAntics I hope my students next year feel the same way! I'm completely rewriting my curriculum for next year to include way more stuff like this because I don't want my clsss to be boring, and my #1 goal is always to encourage a love for reading. 📚 6y
GingerAntics It‘s amazing how much kids and teens don‘t read. What age group do you have? 6y
See All 6 Comments
CoffeeNBooks @GingerAntics Seniors. I do have several students who like to read, but I'm always trying to turn the reluctant readers and non-readers into readers. This year, I took my students to the school library for an entire class period one day each week to read any book they wanted, and I had several non-readers who became readers! 6y
GingerAntics Oh wow, you‘re good!!! I usually work with juniors, but I don‘t get to choose my own curriculum and it focuses entirely on grammar. 6y
dragondrool I thought this book sounded great. But I couldn't get into it. It just didn't click. 6y
83 likes4 stack adds6 comments
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Eggs
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Pickpick

It's 1975 on the Tuscarora Indian reservation and Lewis "Shoe" Blake has problems he wouldn't wish on anyone, mostly because of his predominantly white school, and their preconceptions. He's Indian and poor, skinny and lacking the muscle to overcome the white-trash bully who beats on him daily. Beatles' songs are woven through the story also, which was fun. Great YA read!

DieAReader My niece was supposed to read this for school! 😭📖 for school is not something she enjoys & for that reason I don‘t know that she read it all. 7y
61 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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ness
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Pickpick

Pretty decent! Lots of ableist language, but other than that, it was good. Wouldn't reread, though. #inls530
⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Caryl
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Pickpick

My text presentation for class last night was on this beautiful book. Please read it. I want you all to meet Lewis, and his mom, and his Uncle Albert, and his friend George, and... ❤️

20 likes1 stack add
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Caryl
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Social Justice in KidLit: Homework for Week 4.

22 likes1 comment
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Chelsibno
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#IndigenousAuthors #JuneBookBugs
I read this great #youngadult title for my resources & services for young adults class last fall. I was about halfway through the book before I realized Gansworth grew up in the Tuscarora Nation, making this an #OwnVoices work. I really enjoyed this book about a teen navigating high school, dealing with racism, and making his first real friend off the reservation.

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Yamich49
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed this one. There was a lot I could relate to on growing up on the rez, dealing with ignorance of non-Native friends and classmates, and the unique community of a reservation. And I'm grateful that I was able to attend school on the Rez and had to deal with less in-school racism than these kiddos. I plan on bringing it into work for our junior high afterschool students - they're always looking for more Native lit. ❤ #indigenousauthors

Chelsibno I read this for my YA resources and services class and loved it. I often wonder what people of certain races, religions, and cultures think of books that focus on their groups, and whether or not those books accurately portray their culture and the issues they face. I'm glad to see that this book resonated with you. 8y
Lindy @Chelsibno I enjoyed this one too. I trust depictions of Indigenous lives by Native authors. 8y
Chelsibno @Lindy I agree, #ownvoices works are typically the best representations of any group's experiences. I have a hard time finding actual Native American #ownvoices books. There've been times that I began reading a book focused on Indigenous lives only to find partway through that the author isn't really a Native writer. But sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't realize that Gansworth was a member of the Onondaga Nation until I was nearly done. 8y
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Yamich49 @Chelsibno @Lindy Yes I enjoyed it. Even as a Native person from a completely different tribe across the country and in a time period different than the book, I enjoyed it and found some similarities between our experiences. I have found that's what well-written #ownvoices Native books do - provide a realistic experience that speaks to similarities across Native peoples' experiences despite being from completely different cultures and people. 8y
JazzFeathers Staked 😆 7y
Caryl Do you know about Debbie Reese's blog? @Yamich49 @Chelsibno She's awesome. Great lists there: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/p/best-books.html?m=1 7y
Chelsibno @Caryl No, I didn't. Now, I will definitely check it out! Thank you so much for the suggestion! 7y
43 likes3 stack adds7 comments
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WeeziesBooks
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Mehso-so

I liked this book and the story it had to tell, but I think it probably could have been told with 100 less pages. Still a good read.

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Yamich49
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And one last #bookmail post today. I've had this one on my TBR for a while now and finally added to it an Amazon order last week! Rez kid outcast in the 1970s? 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽 Can't wait to read it. Started a few pages and already hooked. Now to decide if I read it today or wait until I finish one of the books I'm already in the middle of reading?

42 likes1 stack add
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BookInMyHands
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#NovemberTBR
#photoadaynov2016

I've been working on a personal project to read more diversely. This month I'm just reading for comfort, but it's also looking diverse, which makes me happy since that was the point of my personal project.

celtichik Loved The Book of Unknown Americans 8y
Reviewsbylola I would like to read more diversly too. Maybe I will consciously select a TBR stack in the next few months to reflect that. Great idea! 8y
raelaschoenherr The book of unknown Americans was really good! 8y
39 likes3 comments
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LeaKelley
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Really enjoying this story of the friendship between a boy from the reservation and a new student, the son of a military officer.

bookhouseboy I've been meaning to read this ever since it first came out! Another one for the summer TBR list.... 9y
LeaKelley Even though it's set in upstate New York during the 70's, it resonates with here since we have Native Americans and a big military presence. 9y
2 likes2 comments