#29: Flight

Flight is a pretty short novel by Sherman Alexie, which I picked up shortly after finishing The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (review coming soon). It describes the life of a nameless Indian (at least in part) protagonist known as Zits (although his name is revealed later) who is about to embark on a terrible action.

Zits has been in and out of various foster homes throughout his life. At the beginning of the story, he runs away from a foster home, but not before hitting the foster mother on the way out. He is arrested, and while in jail, he meets a white boy named Justice. After his release, Zits goes to stay with Justice in an abandoned warehouse. Justice has guns, both real and paintball, which he and Zits fool around with. Justice apologizes for the treatment of Native Americans over time, and he and Zits spend time training, leading up to the incident when Zits enters a bank in Seattle with the guns and the intention of using them.

At this point, it jumps into the interesting narration technique used in the book. Zits begins inhabiting other people's bodies at various points through time, including a racist FBI agent working against Native American activists, an aged Indian tracker and a mute son of an important Indian leader at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Each of these situations is developed nicely as the story goes along.

As Zits passes through each of these situations, he is struck by his inability to do what is right, whether real or just because he is expected to act a certain way. He develops compassion, and is compelled to do what he believes is right, even if it doesn't quite fit with the beliefs of the time.

Flight was an excellent book, although I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Part-Time Indian. As you read, you get to follow the growth of the character, who is basically a throwaway as a human being, into something much more. It makes you hopeful for some of those who are in situations like this in real life.

#28: Escape

Escape by Carolyn Jessop tells the author's story of escaping from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) with her eight children. Ever since reading Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, I have been interested in the lives of these polygamists, and this book kept my attention easily.

Carolyn Jessop grew up in Utah with a large family. When she was young, her father took a second wife as part of his religious beliefs. As Carolyn grew up, she was accustomed to the lifestyle of FLDS. Still, she was saddened when at the age of 18, her father told her that she would become the fourth wife of Merril Jessop, a man much older than her.

Although she was married to Merril, Carolyn was able to attend college and become a teacher. Still, she became enmeshed in the Jessop family, with its constant infighting among the wives to try to claim superiority. Along the way, she had eight children as Merril also gained other wives. Carolyn spent most of her time trying to avoid her husband and protect her children. Eventually, she began to realize that maybe the religion she had grown up in was not what she really wanted, so she decided to escape.

Escaping the FLDS is not simply a matter of leaving - those who leave are tracked down and persuaded to return. What made things more difficult for Carolyn is that she refused to leave any of her kids behind. With the help of family members and sympathizers on the outside, she was able to leave and start a new life.

Escape was a fascinating book to read, as Carolyn Jessop described what life was like on the inside. It is hard to imagine that her experience was actually a true story that happened in the U.S. As I read, I did find myself comparing it to "Big Love" and looking for resemblance between the characters. Jessop is admirable for her courage and she definitely has an interesting story to tell.

#27: Vacaville

Vacaville: The Heritage of a California Community by Ronald Limbaugh is a book that tells the history of my hometown. Since I am teaching my Boy Scout troop the American Heritage merit badge, I picked this up at the library to learn more about local history.

The book is full of interesting facts about the growth of the town. The town was settled due to its climate and soil being ideal for growing fruit. However, this golden age of agriculture lasted only a short time, as early farmers did not know much about caring for the land and production took a nosedive by the Great Depression. The book then went into the development of the local Air Force Base and the rapid growth following World War II.

The book had a lot of interesting stories. The main problem was that it was written in 1976, so there has been a lot of change since then. Still, it was an interesting resource for looking back in time and I was able to learn a lot.