I CAN MAKE THIS PROMISE, by Christine Day--a review by Ashleigh, 13

This is the kind of book you can't put down. But you don't want to read it all at once either--because then it will be over! It's a novel I related to personally, and I think many readers will enjoy it, young and old.

                    The more I look at this cover by Michaela Goade --all the details--the more I love it!


The Upper Skagit author, Christine Day, has a "Dear Reader" note at the beginning of the ARC that is very heartfelt. She talks about being a graduate student and going on a trip "to visit a Suquamish Elder, the Suquamish Museum, and the historic site of Old Man House." She remembers the exact date--January 21. 2017--because it was the same day as the Women's March. She talks about seeing "Instagram flooded with pictures from the protests," while she ate breakfast and listened to professors.

                                                                   pink hats

This is kind of a perfect image of a Native woman being connected to a White feminist movement while also being on her own, separate journey--which is not less important, but maybe more. Day was asked, "Who do you carry with you?" We all know what it's like to think about what we should have said later. Day is different. She turned her answer into a book: I CAN MAKE THIS PROMISE.

The Prologue starts with: "I never thought of myself as "different" until the first day if kindergarten." I was nodding my head when I read how Edie's (short for Edith) teacher talked to her. Ms. Vespucci says, "Wow...What are you?"

I told her, "I'm Edie."

"Oh, Edie, that's your preferred name? Where are you from, sweetheart? You're such a pretty girl."

"I live in Seattle."

"Yes, that's true. But where are you originally from?"

"Seattle?"

Ms. Vespucci laughed, but I wasn't sure what was funny. "Do you know where your parents lived before they came here?"

Her questions made me feel panicked. This was my first test, and somehow, I was failing. I couldn't speak. I didn't understand what she was asking. I didn't know what she wanted from me.

I hope White people reading this will never again repeat this conversation with a Native or POC child. I am often complimented for my light brown skin and curly black hair. No one should ask a child, "What are you?" Usually, I am asked if I am "part Black." [Day: "They ask me about the percentages and ratios of my blood."] Like Edie through much of the story, I don't know exactly who all my ancestors are, for complicated reasons.

My "mom" left and Mom adopted me

The next scene shows Edie at a 4th of July Tulalip powwow with her parents. It's perfect insider outsider's POV. For those of us who go to these events, the sights and smells and Edie being called "little sister" are very familiar. So is the t-shirt that says: FIND OUR MISSING GIRLS. Edie meets a friendly, scruffy dog (a powwow bowwow--love that book!) that she immediately falls in love with, but her parents tell her she can't take it home. She also meets a cute boy named Roger who asks, "What nation are you?" That makes her nervous. When she asks her mom if they can make fry bread at home, she won't commit. You get the idea there are some family secrets--and not just that fry bread recipe!

I like the way Day uses tech stuff. Edie is always texting with her two best friends, Amelia and Serenity. The group is working on a movie project together. Edie finds new inspiration in the homeless dog. Serenity is quickly interested--Amelia is cool. Uh-oh. Friendship problems. It's very true to girl's lives.

But even Amelia gets excited when the three girls are in Edie's attic and they come across a box with a photo of a woman who looks like an older version of Edie--and whose name is also Edith! Edie's parents tell her that they just picked her name out of the air, even though she points out it means: "preposterous in war." There are some clues in the box: a chic headshot and a postcards from California.

Hold up there, Nancy Drew!

There's a new girl detective in town--Edie Green. With my friends, I have been reading and talking about a lot of Native books. There are many really good ones. This one has something special for me.

It's about Native families being separated and discovering who you carry with you. It has beautiful description:

I'm sketching an outline of this one flower in the garden. Its blooms are my favorite shades of purple: bright and soft, like lilac but not. Its petals are spread out in the shape of a star. Little yellow sprigs pop up from its pollen-filled middle.

But it's also easy to read and enjoy--it could honestly be a Nickelodeon movie! Seriously, I think the character of Edie and her story could reach a lot of kids. They would be drawn in, like their favorite series---and also learn something about tribal nations from the Coast Salish region and the ICWA.

The relationship between Edie and her mother is well done. It takes time for her mom to talk about her history because it's painful. Edie keeps pushing, because she feel a piece of herself is missing too. There is a great scene when they are at the movie theater and Edie decides she wants to see a different movie than they have tickets for--because she sees a poster with a stereotypical Indian woman. "I can't keep my eyes off the poster."

                                                                    Ughh

Edie's mom says, "Erm, no sweetheart, I don't think so." Through the mysterious Edith's postcards, Edie learns how Native people were treated in Hollywood. Those are more clues to the mystery--which I am not going to spoil and I didn't figure out till the end. But it's an important reveal at this time in history. The book also shows who your friends really are, a theme I like to read about.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book. I can imagine myself reading it a couple more times and sharing it with my little sister Vi when she's older. I hope it gets all the loves. It makes me proud to be me--even with some of the puzzle pieces in my family still to be discovered.

Shonabish, Christine Day!!!! And can we have another books about Edie?

*Thanks to Alexis for helping with this review! And my great Mom who gave permission for me to use my photo and talk a little about my life. I <3 <3 <3 you!!!!