The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B. Cooney

Portrayed mostly as rigid, angry and dogmatic, the Puritans contrast poorly with the generally kind and commonsensical Indians, and Mercy's final choice is thus compelling. Just how much her perspective broadens can be measured by the fact that, in addition to adopting many Indian ways, Mercy can find something sacred and comforting in the Catholic mass a rite she was raised to believe led straight to eternal damnation. Uncertain whether she will be adopted by the Mohawk who captured her or whether the English will pay the ransom that would allow her to return to Massachusetts, Mercy struggles to balance loyalty to her own family and traditions with a growing appreciation for the Kahnawake way of life.

Some of the novel's most riveting chapters describe the difficult winter trek that takes them 300 miles north to Canada, where Mercy settles into life in a traditional Indian village near Montreal.

After their village is burned and many of its residents killed, Mercy and more than 100 other settlers are taken prisoner by the Kahnawake Mohawk, who have been converted to Catholicism by the French. Publisher: Random House Children's Books Date of Addition: 12/20/11 Copyrighted By: Caroline B.Based on actual events, this latest offering from the accomplished Cooney (The Face on the Milk Carton Driver's Ed) is a gripping and thought-provoking account of the 1704 Indian raid on the English settlement of Deerfield, Mass. She slowly discovers that the 'savages' have traditions and family life that soon become her own, and Mercy begins to wonder: If ransom comes, will she take it?From the Hardcover edition.Ĭopyright: 2011 Book Details Book Quality: Publisher Quality ISBN-13: 9780375899232 Related ISBNs: But days turn into months and Mercy, who has become a Kahnawake daughter, thinks less and less of ransom, of Deerfield, and even of her 'English' family. At first Mercy's only hope is that the English government in Boston will send ransom for her and the other white settlers. The grueling journey - three hundred miles north to a Kahnawake Indian village in Canada - takes more than 40 days. Mercy and hundreds of other settlers are herded together and ordered by the Indians to start walking. In 1704 an Indian tribe attacks the town, and Mercy Carter becomes separated from the rest of her family, some of whom do not survive. Deerfield, Massachusetts is one of the most remote, and therefore dangerous, settlements in the English colonies.

The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B. Cooney