Black Apple

Sinopaki is taken from her home and family and sent to a Residential School run by nuns who are determined to ‘save’ First Nations students from eternal damnation. Her journey from a scared young girl through to a young woman struggling to find her identity and questioning whether she can return to her First Nations roots or should stay at the school provides a glimpse of the difficulties First Nations peoples had trying to reconcile their heritage with their Western education. Suitable for grades 9-12, the novel could be used in a literature circle and to foster discussion of residential schools, coming of age, identity, and the journey to adulthood. Social considerations noted.