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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Violence against children in institutional settings; murder and danger throughout the journey
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
Barely any
Some alcohol use in Depression-era settings
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological wounds of institutional abuse, loss, and the resilience needed to cross a brutal country
What this book is about
In 1932, Odie O'Banion and three companions escape the brutal Lincoln Indian Training School in Minnesota and flee by canoe down the Gilead River toward relatives who may not exist. Krueger's novel is a Depression-era odyssey — picaresque, morally rich, and heartbreaking in its portrait of what America did to children.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Violence against children
Abuse in institutional setting
Murder throughout
Reader Verification
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