Adaline Falling Star

This is a solid, clear narration of Kit Carson's daughter's fictional adventure. Born of his Arapaho wife, the daughter, Adaline Falling Star, is faced with discrimination and ignorance because she is half-white, half-American Indian. Told in the first person, much of the story reveals the thoughts of the young girl as she traverses the Missouri River. Although some odd words are read with the dialect and accent of the setting, the attempt defeats the purpose of adding authenticity by distracting from an even flow of narration. It's a bit annoying, but not enough to divert the attention of the listener from an enjoyable story. D.L.M. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

February 28, 2000
Osborne (The Magic Tree) strikes out in a new direction in this assured novel based on a real, though little-known character: the daughter of Kit Carson and his Arapaho wife. As the story opens, 11-year-old narrator Adaline has lost her mother to fever, and her father has deposited her with pious relatives in St. Louis while he heads west on a scouting expedition. "Hold your tongue, darter, was Pa's last words of advice, and ever since, I been as quiet as a rabbit in the grass," notes the normally outspoken girl. Though Adaline knows how to read, her father's cousin assumes she's ignorant and mute and puts her to work instead of enrolling her in his school. Her intolerant Christian relatives tap into historical stereotypes (Cousin Silas introduces Adaline as having a "devilish mixture of white and Indian blood"; his daughter, Lilly, tells Adaline, "You must have done some sinning before you were born, or you wouldn't have been born half red"). Readers may well breathe a sigh of relief when the second half of the novel takes a Huck Finn-esque turn, as Adeline heads downriver in search of her father. Vivid historical detail and descriptive prose ("my heart beats like it's filled with bird wings") fuel the narrative. Adaline possesses a wisdom marked by an often heartbreaking sense of humor. Ages 9-14.