Medicine River - Thomas King

The second book I undertook in 2011 was Medicine River by Thomas King. This one has been sitting on my bookshelf at home for quite awhile - a discarded library book purchased by my mom years ago.

Essentially the story follows Will, an Aboriginal photographer who moves back to his hometown of Medicine River and opens a studio. The story chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Will and a variety of friends who live both on and off the reserve.

The story is interesting as it is very conversational in tone and in terms of plot it really never goes anywhere. Not to say that nothing happens in the novel, but there is really no standard plot structure in terms of rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion. The story is more a snapshot of Will's life, and as such there is not the "perfect storybook ending" that I was almost expecting.

Overall Medicine River was a good book. It read quicly, it was interesting, and when I did a bit of research on it I discovered that it can be/has been taught in the BC Curriculum. Check out this Unit Plan from School District 74 (Gold Trail) for ideas to use Medicine River to incorporate a Canadian Aboriginal author into your classroom!