If I Ever Get Out of Here

 If I Ever Get Out of Here

Gansworth, E. (2013). If I Ever Get Out of Here: A Novel with Paintings. Arthur A. Levine Books. ISBN 978-0545417310

Plot Summary:

Lewis "Shoe" Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he's not used to is white people being nice to him -- people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family's poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan's side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis's home -- will he still be his friend?

(Gansworth, n.d.)

Analysis:

Eric Gansworth creates a multi-layered tale about Native American life for a teenager living on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation in upstate New York in the 1970’s. Lewis “Shoe” attends school off the reservation. He is known as a brainiac at home, but feels invisible at school. It’s hard for him to know exactly where he belongs.With his family and a few good friends by his side he faces the challenges of being an American Indian attending a mostly white school. This book examines minority and marginalized characters who face lingering discrimination due to race, class, socio-economics. It also touches on prejudices Vietnam veterans and military families faced during this time. Gansworth expertly weaves Lewis’ love for Paul McCartney and the Beatles into each chapter making this a musical anthology and a relatable expression of teen life. There are some references to pornography and some physical violence in the writing, so I would consider these things when recommending this book.

Book Reviews:

Gansworth, himself an enrolled member of the Onondaga Nation, explores the boys' organic relationship with generosity and tenderness and unflinching clarity, sidestepping stereotypes to offer two genuine characters navigating the unlikely intersection of two fully realized worlds.... And although Gansworth manages the weighty themes of racism and poverty with nuance and finesse, at its heart, this is a rare and freehearted portrait of true friendship.

 -- Booklist, starred review

Readers will appreciate the teenager's sharp insights into being an outsider and Gansworth's intimate knowledge of the prejudices and injustices inherent to Lewis's life.

-- Publishers Weekly

Connections:

I would love to connect this book to a pop music unit (I am a music teacher). It could be used as a way to talk discuss sensitivity when addressing historical and cultural aspects of music.

Awards:

American Indian Youth Literature Award,  2014

This review was created as an assignment for SHSU LSSL 5385.