This 2010 NBGS book follows an Alaskan Eskimo family through generations of obstacles and secrets. The story is told first by Nutaaq, a young woman who survives the influenza in the early 1900s and must start over when most of her family succumbs to the disease. Nutaaq's great granddaughter Blessing tells the rest of the story, picking up in 1989. Blessing's present takes her into Nutaaq's past, and family secrets are revealed.I loved this book because it showed me a culture that I knew nothing about, and it presented this culture at multiple points in time. I liked learning about the intricacies of Nutaaq's and Blessing's family history and relationships as the story was told by both characters. This would be a great book to use in the classroom to illustrate the meaning of family in a culture with which students are likely unfamiliar. In 1917, two Inupiac sisters are separated forever when one marries a Siberian Inupiac and leaves for Russia. Nutaaq, who stays behind in Alaska, soon sees her family and her village devastated by the Spanish flu. All she has left of her sister is a Siberian cobalt bead that Aaluk gave her before she left. In 1989, Nutaaq's great-grandaughter Blessing, whose Inupiac name is Nutaaq, has a difficult life in Anchorage with her alcoholic mother. Sent to her grandmother in Barrow, Blessing gradually comes to understand and appreciate her heritage, and to discover that families and names have power.This book got starred reviews pretty much across the board, and it deserves them. It's written lyrically and succintly; things happen fast, but lose no impact. I learned a lot about Inupiac culture, and the book was nowhere near as sad as I thought it might be. There is sadness, of course, but having recently read suicide and dystopia books, this was refreshing in its hope.
What do You think about Blessing's Bead (2009)?
Lovely story about Native Unuit Indians that we normally don't hears as much about.
—karenannie
I thought that Blessing's Bead was a fantastic book. It and it has a great climax.
—MarkSokalski
