Reviews: (by author)

Faas Rice, Bebe. The Place at the Edge of the World. New York: Clarion Books, 2002. $15 ISBN 0-618-15978-9

The Place at the Edge of the Earth follows two characters from entirely different backgrounds and time periods: Jonah Flying Cloud, a Lakota Indian from the end of the Nineteenth Century and Jenny, a blond-haired girl living in recent years. The connection is that both live at the same site—for Jonah it was a school with the purpose of assimilating Indian children, and for Jenny it is a military fort at which her step-father is stationed.

Jonah dies soon after his arrival, but his spirit does not transition to the next world. Jonah's ghost visits Jenny on a nightly basis—and Jonah and his friend see visions of her while they are still alive. Jenny and Jonah become friends, and Jenny—and thus also the modern reader—learns about the past. She learns about the history of the fort, her school, and the town that lynched Jonah's friend after he killed the superintendent of the school.

Faas Rice researched and visited the sites of these schools, and incorporates historical fact into her story. Though sometimes predictable, the book is an entertaining blend of historical novel and ghost story. Jenny's relationship with the ghost of Jonah is never played for comic effect. If nothing else, this book will inform a young audience about a shameful part of American history they are probably not familiar with.

Frank H. Sweeney, February 2004

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