The Spirit Line by Aimée and David Thurlo
WAW 2006 Award Nominee (Gr. 6-8)
December 30, 2006
For her traditional Navajo rite of passage ceremony, known as a
kinaaldá, Crystal Manyfeathers is weaving a rug, but it is
stolen from her loom. There are a number of suspects in this
crime.
Henry -- also known as Junior in the story -- is studying to be a
hataalii, or Navajo healer. He believes the theft may be
punishment for Crystal's failure to include the spirit line, an
intentional flaw or imperfection that is the weaver's tribute to
Spider Woman.
On one level, this story is a detective mystery, as Junior and
Crystal rush to find the stolen rug before the day of the ceremony.
Yet the story is also a tale of man vs. man, or in this case, woman
vs. woman, as Crystal confronts her own anger at being a Navajo and
living up to their expectations and beliefs, but she also must come
to grips with the unspoken anger that she feels over the death of
her mother.
Obviously, this story will bring the reader some insight about
the customs, beliefs, and rituals of the Navajo people. Crystal's
character is similar to Dina in A House of Tailors, in that
both have a natural gift or talent but are reluctant to accept it
as part of who they are.
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