Traveling to be reunited with her family in the arctic, 10-year-old Margaret Pokiak can hardly contain her excitement. It's been two years since her parents delivered her to the school run by the dark-cloaked nuns and brothers. Coming ashore, Margaret spots her family, but her mother barely recognizes her, screaming, "Not my girl." Margaret realizes she is now marked as an outsider. And Margaret is an outsider: she has forgotten the language and stories of her people, and she can't even stomach the food her mother prepares. However, Margaret gradually relearns her language and her family's way of living. Along the way, she discovers how important it is to remain true to the ways of her people and to herself. Highlighted by archival photos and striking artwork, this first-person account of a young girl's struggle to find her place will inspire young readers to ask what it means to belong.

 

This book was recognised in the Multicultural Nonfiction - Teen category by the Independent Publisher Book Award.

There are 112 pages in this book. This book was published 2011 by Annick Press Ltd .

Liz Amini-Holmes has illustrated many children's books and lives near San Francisco, California. Christy Jordan-Fenton lives near Fort St. John, British Columbia. Margaret Pokiak-Fenton is her mother-in-law.