Turtle belly

by Joel Monture

Sam, hero of Turtle Belly, is a mixed blood with skin the color of a turtle's belly. In this coming-of-age story, Joel Monture describes Sam's struggle to form an identity that combines his violent father's white world and his mother's traditional Mohawk culture. Attempting to escape her abusive husband, Sam's mother takes her six-year-old son to live with his cousin Ellie and her family on the Six Nations Reserve. There Sam learns the ways and stories of ancestors he has never known, and he learns to trust in the love and loyalty of family. Stories of the Little People, the Old Ones, and the Three Sisters capture the young boy's imagination, and Sam learns to express his views by painting - a talent that eventually earns him a scholarship to Dartmouth College. Coming full circle, Sam must now learn the ways of the white world in order to survive.