A Promising Life: Coming of Age with America: A Novel

by Emily Arnold McCully Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

Overview

Award-winning author Emily McCully's most adventurous book to date draws a dramatic portrait of life in nineteenth century America.

For as long as he can remember, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau has been told that a promising future lies ahead of him. After all, his mother is the great Sacagawea, who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition of discovery. And thanks to his mother, Baptiste's life changes forever when Captain Clark offers him an education in the bustling new city of St. Louis. There, his mother charges him to "learn everything" -- reading, writing, languages, mathematics. His life becomes a whirl of new experiences: lessons, duels, dances, elections. He makes friends and undertakes unexpected journeys to far-off places. But he also witnesses the injustices Clark, as a US agent for Indian Affairs, forces upon the Osage, the Arikara, the Mandan, and so many others. He sees the effect of what some call "progress" on the land and on the people who have lived there for generations. And he must choose what path he will take and what place he will have in a rapidly changing society.

Editorial Reviews

JANUARY 2018 - AudioFile

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was an infant when his mother, Sakakawea, carried him while guiding the Lewis & Clark Expedition across the wilderness. Her faith in America’s promise of freedom and opportunity led her to agree to Clark’s request to raise this “butifull promising boy.” Narrator McLeod Andrews’s voice is easy to listen to, although his use of accents is not quite successful. Duke Paul, a German aristocrat who gives Baptiste an opportunity to see the world, sounds more French than German. However, Andrews effectively takes listeners into the mind of Baptiste as he struggles to find his place in the world, balancing his biracial heritage, his awareness of being indebted to an American hero, and his yearning to find his own purpose and path. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly - Audio

11/27/2017
Masterful actor Andrews succeeds in capturing the multiple voices and accents presented in McCully’s ambitious imagining of the life of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, son of Sacagawea and French-Canadian Toussaint Charbonneau. Using scant records and journal entries, the author charts Jean-Baptiste’s early life under the wing of explorer William Clark, as well as his experiences in school and with traders, merchants, and Duke Paul Wilhelm—and, eventually, his adventures in Europe. Listeners will be intrigued by the many references to the philosophical and political influences and the factors that drive this young man to “learn everything” in order to fulfill his destiny. Andrews’s skill is evident throughout; he dramatizes anticipation, anxieties, wit, sarcasm, and anger in the dialogue of both male and female characters. Aided by Andrews’s talent, this audiobook is both educational and entertaining. Ages 12–up. A Scholastic/Levine hardcover. (July)

Publishers Weekly

05/15/2017
As an infant, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau traveled with his mother, Sakakawea, and father, Toussaint, on Lewis and Clark’s expedition, after which Captain Clark offered to “raise this ‘beautiful and promising child’ as his own son.” McCully (Ida M. Tarbell) provides a fascinating fictionalized history of Baptiste’s life from 1810, when his parents delivered him to Clark’s care in St. Louis, through 1830, when he returned from European travels. His mother’s admonition—“You will have a different life.... White men are spreading their ways everywhere.... Learn!”—guides Baptiste to excel at school while observing America’s turbulent growth: treaties taking land from native tribes, the steamboat bringing “drastic change that favored a few and ruined others,” elections (in which he could not vote), Clark’s ownership and abuse of slaves, and the work of missionaries, blacksmiths, furriers, and adventurers. “I will always be pulled in two directions, an educated man of Shoshone and French blood, on the outside looking in,” Baptiste reflects. A tumultuous period in American history comes alive through the eyes of this compelling protagonist. Ages 12–up. Agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House. (July)

From the Publisher

"McCully (Ida M. Tarbell) provides a fascinating fictionalized history... A tumultuous period in American history comes alive through the eyes of this compelling protagonist." — Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal - Audio

01/01/2018
Gr 5–8—Not much has been written about Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of noted Native American guide Sacagawea, who helped the Lewis and Clark expedition, and a French fur trader. We know that General William Clark promised to raise him but ultimately only paid for his schooling. This fictionalized biography of Baptiste shows him to have been highly intelligent, resourceful, and mature beyond his years as he made his way through various schools, to Europe, and, eventually, back to the United States. Basically raising himself from the age of seven, Baptiste faced injustice and racism due to his mixed-race heritage. MacLeod Andrews reads and performs the many accents easily, smoothly differentiating among the characters. He deftly shows Baptiste's frustration at not being fully integrated into the Clark family life. Andrews's expressive narration brings to life sections that might have been somewhat dull in written form, such as Baptiste's lengthy stay in Germany living off the largess of a wealthy man. The audiobook concludes with an afterword by the author and a revealing Cast of Characters that clearly informs listeners which characters are fictitious and which are historially accurate. VERDICT Libraries lacking in biographical historical fiction audiobooks will be interested in this recording.—Julie Paladino, formerly of East Chapel Hill High School, NC

School Library Journal

05/01/2017
Gr 5–8—This coming-of-age tale set in an exciting historical era promises adventure but ultimately falls short. This is a fictionalized narrative about the real-life son of Sakakawea (also known as Sacagawea, who guided William Clark and Meriwether Lewis on their expedition through the Louisiana Purchase), Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, a Shoshone French Canadian boy. The novel begins with Sakakawea bringing young Baptiste to St. Louis to become the "son" of William Clark. Clark had grown fond of the boy, who was born during his famous expedition. But before Baptiste arrives in St. Louis, General Clark marries and has his own biological children. Instead of becoming Clark's son as planned, Baptiste becomes his ward. Although Clark doesn't bring Baptiste into his family, he does pay for the education Sakakawea yearned for her son to have. Baptiste is intelligent and quickly rises to the top of his class. He also faces racism, though his status as the ward of a powerful white man tempers some of his experiences. But Baptiste eventually learns that despite his intellect and excellent education, his Shoshone heritage means that he cannot vote. Later, when he travels to Europe, he is the only Native American in German royal circles. Baptiste also bears witness to the policies Clark enacts against the Osage, Arikara, and Mandan tribes. Though McCully addresses some of the injustices committed against various Native peoples, these descriptions are limited to the fictionalized perspective of Baptiste and don't resonate strongly enough. The writing is solid, but the plotting and characters are not likely to engage the average middle grade reader. VERDICT While stories about little-known Native Americans are needed, readers will find this fictionalized biography overly optimistic and ultimately dull.—Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

JANUARY 2018 - AudioFile

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was an infant when his mother, Sakakawea, carried him while guiding the Lewis & Clark Expedition across the wilderness. Her faith in America’s promise of freedom and opportunity led her to agree to Clark’s request to raise this “butifull promising boy.” Narrator McLeod Andrews’s voice is easy to listen to, although his use of accents is not quite successful. Duke Paul, a German aristocrat who gives Baptiste an opportunity to see the world, sounds more French than German. However, Andrews effectively takes listeners into the mind of Baptiste as he struggles to find his place in the world, balancing his biracial heritage, his awareness of being indebted to an American hero, and his yearning to find his own purpose and path. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2017-04-17
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born to a Frenchman, Toussaint, and a Shoshone woman, Sakakawea, who assisted Lewis and Clark on their legendary expedition. When Sakakawea's husband's post-expedition plans fall through, they decide to leave St. Louis behind, leaving their only son in the nominal care of Capt. Clark, who had offered to adopt the boy. Problem is, Capt. Clark is hundreds of miles away, and Jean is left to attend an all-boys school of "mixed bloods"—children of Native and white parentage. Jean adapts. When Capt. Clark finally makes it back to St. Louis, Jean learns that his place as Clark's "son" has been taken by Clark's natural-born newborn son. Though Clark continues to financially support Jean's education, Jean is left to grow up on his own and becomes further immersed in "white" ways. This narrative distances readers from the harshness of life for Native American children who were forced to attend missionary schools. McCully creates a fictionalized character who interacts with apologetic yet complicit racists, including Clark himself, a slave owner who contributed to the western expansion that destroyed Native American nations. Sakakawea's voice is muted as she permanently leaves her 7-year-old son behind, only wishing the young child well in his adaptation to the white world. The depth of Sakakawea's experience is lost, her depiction merely that of a passive captive who lacks any real emotion. A slow read with an emphasis placed on the "benefits" of Jean's Christianized education and a focus that glosses over the genocide that occurred among Native American people. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171291525
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/25/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

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