Heart of a Chief, The

This is an incredibly powerful and stimulating coming-of-age story about a Native American boy whose class project evokes positive change in his school and community. Through the course of the novel, Chris deals with the issues of self-discovery, his parents' absence (his father is at a rehabilitation centre for alcoholics; his mother is dead), fitting in at a non-native middle school, and life on the reserve, including the unwelcome prospect of a casino being built there.