We Still Belong

by Christine Day Narrated by Katie Anvil Rich

Overview

A thoughtful and heartfelt middle grade novel by American Indian Youth Literature Honor-winning author Christine Day (Upper Skagit), about a girl whose hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and plans to ask her crush to the school dance) go all wrong-until she finds herself surrounded by the love of her Indigenous family and community at an intertribal powwow.

Wesley is proud of the poem she wrote for Indigenous Peoples' Day-but the reaction from a teacher makes her wonder if expressing herself is important enough. And due to the specific tribal laws of her family's Nation, Wesley is unable to enroll in the Upper Skagit tribe and is left feeling “not Native enough.” Through the course of the novel, with the help of her family and friends, she comes to embrace her own place within the Native community.

Christine Day's debut, I Can Make This Promise, was an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book, was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, the Chicago Public Library, and NPR, and was also picked as a Charlotte Huck Honor Book. Her sophomore novel, The Sea in Winter, was an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book, as well as named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and School Library Journal.

We Still Belong is an accessible, enjoyable, and important novel from an author who always delivers.

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Katie Anvil Rich gives an engaging narration of a heartwarming middle-grade audiobook set over the course of one day in Wesley's life. Rich captures Wesley's nervous excitement for the upcoming celebration of Indigenous People's Day. She's publishing a poem on the holiday in her school paper, and she's going to ask her cute gaming club crush to the school dance. When nothing goes as planned, she feels heartbroken and uncertain about her place in the world. But at an intertribal powwow, new friendships and loving support from her intergenerational family help restore her pride and sense of belonging. Rich's dynamic youthful voice captures all of the story's ups and downs and will have listeners grinning as Wesley proclaims her place in her community onstage. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 07/03/2023

During a “rough patch,” 12-year-old Wesley Wilder and her mother move into her maternal grandfather’s house in an Indigenous community outside of Seattle, which he shares with Wesley’s aunt, uncle, and baby cousin. Seeking a place to fit in at her new school, Wesley joins the Native/Indigenous Student Union and the Gamer’s Club, where she meets and crushes hard on white classmate Ryan. But when a teacher harshly criticizes a poem she writes celebrating Indigenous People’s Day, and she discovers that Ryan is attending an upcoming school dance with another girl, Wesley struggles with feelings of inadequacy. These emotions amplify when she learns that she can never formally belong to the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe; because her verbally and physically abusive father, who left her mother before she was born, is white, Wesley’s “blood quantum is too low to gain citizenship.” Upper Skagit author Day (The Sea in Winter) presents Wesley’s multilayered emotions, as well as myriad facets of Native life (including citizenship parameters), with crystal-clear prose. Via Wesley’s self-aware and astoundingly perceptive first-person voice, Day highlights everyday tween conflicts about fitting in alongside experiential concerns surrounding identifying with one’s heritage in this warmhearted approach to searching for—and finding—community and inclusion. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

Christine Day has told a story that doesn’t shy away from hard truths of the past and the present. But with a keen ear for the voice of an Indigenous girl finding her way, with compassion and love and poetry, this is a celebration of community, family, and identity. It will stay with you for a long time, in the best possible way.”  — David A. Robertson, author of the Misewa Saga series

“Wesley Wilder is big-hearted, thoughtful and kind. She’s figuring out who she is in the context of a wonderful family while bravely becoming her unique, starry self—and she holds space for readers to do the same. I can’t wait for them to meet her." — Natalie Lloyd, author of A Snicker of Magic and Hummingbird

"Told over the course of one day, this cozy and warm story captured my heart. Readers will root for Wesley as she follows her heart and finds her voice. An important story of belonging and identity." — Jasmine Warga, author of Other Words for Home

“Christine Day writes books I want to crawl inside of. Here she brings us a cast of beautifully-drawn characters and creates a heartfelt story about young crushes, blooming friendships, and finding—and claiming—belonging.” — Tae Keller, Newbery Medal winning author of When You Trap a Tiger

"This story, which weaves diversity into the supporting cast, incorporates layers of Native identity throughout, as Wesley connects with a new friend who is a young Native activist, learning more about Christopher Columbus. A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This is a story of quiet determination and triumph, with well-defined characters who push each other and are there for each other, and which culminates in sweet heart-to-heart conversations at a powwow in a high-school gym." — Horn Book Magazine

"Via Wesley’s self-aware and astoundingly perceptive first-person voice, Day highlights everyday tween conflicts about fitting in alongside experiential concerns surrounding identifying with one’s heritage in this warmhearted approach to searching for—and finding—community and inclusion." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Cozy descriptions, likable characters, and teachable moments animate this occasionally didactic but ultimately heartwarming story about belonging. Acutely relatable and contemporary, this snapshot of a single day in Wesley’s life authentically captures the struggle of being 12 and of finding—and using—your voice." — Booklist (starred review)

"'We Still Belong,' the title of Wesley’s poem, becomes an essential invitation for children of all backgrounds." [audio edition] — School Library Journal

School Library Journal

07/01/2023

Gr 5 Up—Wesley Wilder, whose family are members of the Upper Skagit Tribe, is about to have a big day. Not only is it Indigenous People's Day, but her poem celebrating the occasion has been published in the school newspaper and will be discussed in her seventh grade English class. She has also prepared the perfect card referencing her favorite online game to ask blond-haired, green-eyed, suntanned, good-smelling Ryan to the school dance. The school day does not go according to plan, and though comforted by her best friend Hanan, she arrives home in tears. Things only get worse as her grandpa and mom have a fight about her job, and Wesley learns her aunt and uncle might move out of the house with her baby cousin. In the midst of all this, Wesley makes a new friend and by the time the family arrives at the local powwow, she is looking forward to the dancing and food. Her day has turned completely around and ends on the highest note. Wesley is a believable seventh grader who struggles with family, social, and identity issues as an Indigenous student in Washington state. All of that and more happening in just one day might stretch believability, but there is enough background from past scenes to provide context, and readers will get a well-rounded view of her life. There is also context of Upper Skagit tribal culture and politics to provide even unfamiliar readers an understanding of this central theme. The text realistically touches on discrimination by dismissal, lack of understanding, and complete ignorance, encouraging tweens to consider why Wesley had to write a poem called "We Still Belong." VERDICT A creative peek into the life of a relatable gamer girl who is finding her place in the social and emotional world of middle school while dealing with the ways Indigenous peoples are ignored and celebrated.—Clare A. Dombrowski

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Katie Anvil Rich gives an engaging narration of a heartwarming middle-grade audiobook set over the course of one day in Wesley's life. Rich captures Wesley's nervous excitement for the upcoming celebration of Indigenous People's Day. She's publishing a poem on the holiday in her school paper, and she's going to ask her cute gaming club crush to the school dance. When nothing goes as planned, she feels heartbroken and uncertain about her place in the world. But at an intertribal powwow, new friendships and loving support from her intergenerational family help restore her pride and sense of belonging. Rich's dynamic youthful voice captures all of the story's ups and downs and will have listeners grinning as Wesley proclaims her place in her community onstage. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2023-05-09
A coming-of-age story bringing awareness to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, “a holiday no one in this school seems to care about.”

Seventh grader Wesley Wilder, an Upper Skagit Indian Tribe descendant living just north of Seattle, proudly awaits the publication of her celebratory work, “We Still Belong: An Indigenous Peoples’ Day Poem!” But when her English teacher doesn’t mention her poem, despite always giving extra credit and class discussion time to students who are published in the school paper, she feels hurt and confused. Later, Wesley’s plans to ask the boy she’s crushing on to the school dance are derailed, adding to her emotional roller coaster. Day (Upper Skagit) crafts believable, complex characters: Wesley lives in a multigenerational Native family, is an outstanding student, a musician, and a gamer. She is kind and helps others in need. Her grandfather’s words—“the things that scare us the most in this world are usually the most worthwhile things in our lives”—help ease her vulnerability and self-doubt. This story, which weaves diversity into the supporting cast, incorporates layers of Native identity throughout, as Wesley connects with a new friend who is a young Native activist, learning more about Christopher Columbus. The triumphant ending shows Wesley raised up by family, friends, and community.

A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers. (author’s note, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith of Heartdrum, We Need Diverse Books statement) (Fiction. 9-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159816344
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/01/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	974,225
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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