Review: Wheezer and the Painted Frog
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2012
This is a novel that goes to the top 10 of my list of favourite books read this year. With vibrant and rich story telling and protagonists who take a piece of our heart with them on their journey.The main characters a dog, a man and a 13 year old girl come together in Indian Territory in Oklahoma where their story unfolds. But wrapped within the novel is the story of the Trail of Tears. The forced march of the east coast Cherokee tribe first to Florida and then to Oklahoma. A shameful time in American history, the tribes were taken from their lands with only the clothing on their backs and marched without any supplies or possessions. The loss of life is still uncountable. Left in Oklahoma without the basic necessities they continued to die throughout the winter.We meet the tribe in spring where Sasa, a 13 year old girl, is trying to survive. She has seen both her parents die, her mother on the trail and her father after they arrive in the new homeland. Now she has just buried her 5 year old brother. Alone, she must learn how to take care of herself.Jack, a terrier, has run into the woods in fear. A noise like nothing he has heard before has frightened him and he can't stop running. Finally exhausted and dehydrated he finds a creek and drinks his fill before falling asleep. He is lost and alone, frightened and now he has been bitten by a snake.Together Jack and Sasa will learn how to live and be happy in the new world they find themselves in. Jack will teach Sasa how ot open her heart and find joy and Sasa will find Jacks family. But there is much more to this story.At once moving, heartbreaking and life affirming. Wheezer and the Painted Frog is a story of the human will to survive. The adventures of Sasa and Jack are fun and interesting. How they form their relationship and become each others family is a lesson on the way we live with other denizens of our earth.Well written, there is a good deal of history woven in, but while it is there it is not intrusive or preachy, it simply tells the story. The characters are believable, the setting is well described and the dialogue makes sense and is appropriate to the ages and species of the protagonists.I didn't want this book to end. I hope we see more of Sasa and Wheezer in future.Karen Bryant Doeirng