Book Review for HOW I BECAME A GHOST: A CHOCTAW TRAIL OF TEARS STORY

Book Review by Allie Davis
MLIS 5653 Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tingle, Tim. 2013. how i became a ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story. USA: The Roadrunner Press. ISBN 9781937054533

Book Trailer:  
https://youtu.be/H5EUFSFG28s

Connect with the Author 
http://www.timtingle.com//

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
      The opening paragraph of Tim Tingle's How I Became A Ghost Trilogy begins with the lines, "MAYBE YOU HAVE never read a book written by a ghost before. I am a ghost.  I am not a ghost when this book begins, so you have to pay very close attention." This attention-grabbing exposition by the main character, Isaac, lends itself to the reader becoming actively involved in the remainder of the story.  Isaac characterizes himself in the first chapter, and the reader learns about him and his family, his home, and the Choctaw Nation of the 1830s. If a reader is unfamiliar with the 5 Civilized tribes who were forced off their homelands because of the Indian Removal Act, he/she may be surprised to learn that these Natives did not live in tee pees or primarily hunt for a living.  They may be surprised that they lived in wooden houses in towns or that they were farmers, already settled into educated societies whose members had participated in The War of 1812.  Tingle does a fine job of describing the Nation in terms of intellect, economics, and history.  He writes of the treaties that were made between the elders of the Choctaw Tribe and the American Government, as well as, their lack of understanding of the consequences of them.  However, in terms of perspective, only the views of the Isaac and the Choctaw nation are presented.  The one-sidedness in relation to the terms of the treaties are quickly identified when the rising actions entail the burning of the Choctaw homes and the forced evacuation of the people.  It is during this time that we learn that Isaac is a "seer."  He sees the future and ghosts.  He knows who will die and who will live.  We also meet talking dogs and shape-shifting humans.  We see a deep regard for nature in all aspects of the story, including one of my favorite parts of the story.  Isaac says, "I learned something about houses that night.  This will sound strange.  On the night I almost became a ghost, I learned something about houses.  Houses are alive.  Every house shook before it fell, every house shook.  Every house shouted, too.  As loud as the thunder, every house shouted.  One by one, every house shouted and fell" (17).  Tingle's haunting words here are the first echoes of the Native spirituality we see presented further into the novel.  
     The novel's setting begins in Mississippi, the original homelands of the Choctaw Nation.  Isaac is happy and carefree at his family's plot of land that they farm.  He has no worries except what he is going to have for supper that night.  He hunts and fishes.  He plays with his dog, Jumper, who can also speak Choctaw.  And life is good... at least until one evening when his father comes home and tells his mother that they must leave.  This foreshadows what will happen as the novel progresses.  It is this same evening that Isaac learns he has the power to see the future deaths that will occur.  When the elders of the tribe are saying their goodbyes to their homelands, Isaac sees how many of the Choctaw elders will die.  Smallpox. Fire.  Cold.  His prophecies help set the stage for the events that occur as the story unfolds.   
       There are numerous cultural values that are touched on in this quick-read.  The first one that is most obvious is the love of the Choctaw language.  The reader is introduced to many Choctaw words during the story such as hoke (okay), Nahullo (White men), and Chi pisa lachike (I will see you again.)  Each word is presented in context to define the word as relevant to the plot. Once the words are introduced, they are used over and over again, helping the reader to remember the words.  I really like this idea, but I also wish that there had been a glossary of terms and pronunciations at the back of the book for students to refer to, if needed.  The closeness of family is deeply rooted in this novel.  Isaac's family, and then the family they travel with Nita's family) are very close.  They work together, eat together, sing and tell stories together, worship together, and even grieve together.  After Isaac dies, and he continues to tell his story, he describes how even the ghosts stay with their families forever.  This helps pave the way to the aspects of the native spirituality that are presented in the book.  Besides the mention of the Choctaw Church and songs like Amazing Grace and other Christian values, traditional aspects of their earlier religion are portrayed also.  We see the Choctaws staying close to the swamp to get away from the Nahullo because of their fear of the land.  The elders are respected and well-cared for, even while on the awful journey.  Then, there are the bone pickers, a Choctaw version of morticians, but in a religious aspect.  Finally we see the elements of nature-worship: people that can shift their human form into an animal, animals that can talk, and elements of nature that have "souls" and "feelings."  The wonderful thing about this part of the book is that it is never heavy or forced.  Told in the oral storytelling tradition, they seem natural and unobtrusive.  The reader is "learning" about a culture, not being forced to accept it as truth.
       In my opinion, the overall presentation of this Choctaw Trail of Tears story is done accurately from a historical perspective.  Tim Tingle spent months researching the Choctaw Trails, even following the path back to Mississippi from Oklahoma, his current home.  His book , Walking the Choctaw Road, comes from that research.  In historical fiction fashion, real-life Choctaw characters like General Pushmataha take part in the story.  Pushmataha fought right beside Americans at the Battle of New Orleans, and in the story, his ghost says, "Always remember, we Choctaws are a strong people, a good people.  We fight to protect two nations, the United States of America and the Choctaw Nation" (139).  This line touched me emotionally because it lends credence that humans may have more than one allegiance without being disloyal to the others, still united.  In the end, even though Isaac dies, he has come full-circle into a "man" of the tribe.  Some of his final words are advice to the living.  His words are still powerful and meaningful to anyone of the tribe today.  He says, "When the sun sets on this day, we want everyone to be safe.  If they scatter Nita's bones, we will gather them.  If they burn her bones, we will gather the ashes.  We are Choctaws.  We are stronger than the soldiers" (124).  And nearly 200 years later, the Choctaws are still proving that his words are true.  

AWARDS  

• Sequoyah Book Award; Nominated for Award in 2016 
• American Indian  Youth Literature Award; Winner in 2014
• 2014 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
• Kirkus Reviews: The Best Books of 2013

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Horn Book Guide, "Isaac is alive and well at the start of this Trail of Tears story, beginning in the Choctaw Nation in Mississippi in 1830.  But soon there is Treaty Talk, followed by the arrival of Nahullo (white) men, and the Choctaw must begin their journey west.  Tingle, a Choctaw storyteller, relates his tale in the engaging repetitions and rhythms of an oft-told story." (C) April 7, 2014.
• Horn Book Magazine, "Maybe you have never read a book written by a ghost before...The novel comes alive in Isaac's voice and in rich alliance of the living and the dead--Choctaw ghost walkers, a shape-shifting panther boy, elderly bone pickers, a five-year-old ghost girl, a tough teenage girl, and the legions of Choctaw enduring their trek." (C) January 8, 2014
• School Library Journal, "The ghost is Isaac, a Choctaw boy who dies on the Trail of Tears, yet continues to interact with Joseph, another Choctaw boy who is a shape-shifter.  Tingle's historical novel normalizes Choctaw spirituality, presenting it as part of the fabric of life of those who lived, died, and were killed on the Trail of Tears of the 1830s."(C) Nov. 1, 2013.

CONNECTIONS

Use as an introduction to Native-American Indians/Choctaw, storytelling, Trail of Tears, genocide,  treaties, Native-American religion, ghost stories, and death.

https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?aid=1498&a=1&a2=1
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/how-i-became-a-ghost-by-tim-tingle/

• Investigate smallpox.
• Create a map of the Trail of Tears routes.
• Write a spin-off story based on how Joseph discovers he can shape-shift into a panther.

Other Tim Tingle titles to read:

• Maple Leaf  ISBN 1463421184
• Walking the Choctaw Road  ISBN 0938317822
• Inca Land   ISBN 1491830034

Gather more Native-American titles:

·       Feder, Harriet K. Death on Sacred Ground  ISBN 0822507412

·       Ochoa, Annette, et. al. Night is Gone, Day is Still Coming  ISBN 0763615188
·       Olsen, Sylvia.  The Girl with a Baby  ISBN 0763615188