I Go With You: "News of the World" by Paulette Jiles

Not long ago, the question was posed on my Facebook Cozy Book Nook Club of how long someone reads a book before they give up on it.  The answers were varied and I shared my answer which is: I give it 50 pages before I decide. However, the book I'm going to share with you today is one that had I given up at 50 pages I would have missed one of the most intriguing and heartwarming stories I've read in a very long time. Once again I was grateful to have bookworm friends with impeccable taste in books because it meant I sat down and forced myself to read "News of the World" by Paulette Jiles.

As you may recall, my dear friend Tana has recommended a solid number of books for me to read.  The last book I wrote about was "Winter Sea" by Susanna Kearsley. If you haven't read that book or the review, be sure to check it out.  It's such a great book!! Click here for the review.  

"News of the World by Paulette Jiles" was written in a genre that I've never read before.  Based on the raving review my friend gave me, however, I was willing to give it a shot.  The book is based in the wild terrain of Texas in 1870 and explores a side of Native American culture that I had never studied prior to reading the book. The author also writes in a very odd style that doesn't include quotation marks. For many of you who have a solid case of grammar OCD (me!!!) that might be somewhat intimidating, but I promise you'll get used to it.

The main characters in the book are Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd who makes his living by going to towns and reading newspapers from large cities to folks who don't have a lot of access to the world's happenings.  In the course of his travels he is asked by members of the Kiowa Native American tribe to return a beautiful blonde-hair, blue-eyed Caucasian girl, named Johanna, who was kidnapped by other members of the tribe four years prior. The tribe recognizes that she needs to be with her family again and pays Captain Kidd a hefty sum to bring her back to her biological family safely.

What Captain Kidd doesn't realize is this--even though he may have a young child who looks similar to his own grandchildren she does NOT act like his grandchildren. She doesn't speak English, is extremely fearful of being with a Caucasian man and has far more natural instincts of a Kiowa warrior than you'd expect.  Captain Kidd constantly struggles with trying to communicate with Johanna so she feels safe and doesn't run away.

In my personal life, I've recently changed careers and now work with foster children.  It's a very humbling line of work and the real-life experiences I have daily, deepened my understanding and empathy for Captain Kidd & Johanna's struggles.  I've seen first-hand what kind of trauma occurs when children have to be displaced from their home so I could only imagine the sheer terror that would happen in a child's heart and brain if they were kidnapped and held captive by someone.  The perspective of Captain Kidd and Johanna are written so beautifully and the reader can really feel both sets of emotions.  As I shared earlier, at first the missing quotation marks made it a little challenging to keep track of character voices, but over time, I recognized the humor and voice inflection of Captain Kidd and other characters.  Johanna slowly learns some words and she figures out how to communicate with Captain Kidd on a very simple level.

The climatic event of this book was truly one of the BEST I've ever read.  The writer's ability to share the details of characters, the scenery and logistics of the event were astounding. I felt like I was in the middle of a Oscar-worthy film.  This particular scene is also when the reader knows 100% that Johanna loves the Captain and she will defend him forever.  It melted my heart, but also had me reminding myself to breathe.  Oh Nelly, it was incredible.  I will also say this--I will never look at dimes the same. Ever. Brilliant moment in the book. One of many.

There are a number of elements in this book that really touched my heart. I loved to read about the devotion this man channeled for this girl because he was such a devoted father and grandfather. It was refreshing to read about. He did a lot for Johanna that he didn't have to do, but chose to because he would want someone to do the same for his grandchildren.  Next, there was a sweet element of love between a widow and Captain Kidd that was only in a few chapters. This sub-plot gave even more depth to both Captain Kidd and Johanna all through introducing this amazing woman to the story. Brilliant writing.  Lastly, I really enjoyed learning about pieces of American History that I had no idea existed through such well-written fiction.  The author really did a wonderful job at setting the stage for each event and I felt like I was in the middle of it. 

As you know, I am a very tough critic of how authors end books.  I despise books that it's obvious the author wrote the last chapter in a hurry and tied too many loose ends because they didn't plan their plot well enough and had publisher deadlines and standards to meet.  This was not the case in "News of the World." In fact, what happened at the end completely surprised me and had me cheering. Captain Kidd is faced with some ethical dilemmas and he goes against what is expected by the characters in the book and definitely the reader. I loved every element of the ending and can honestly say it was so happy. 

My recommended reading group would be age 16 and above.  It's a PG-13 read with violence between the characters.

The moral of the story: Sometimes what meets the eye is not the full reality and we may have to go against the grain to stand up for those we love.

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R

Missed last week's book review? Click here to read it!

Like what you read above - purchase this book by clicking the Amazon link below! Thank you for reading The Thrifting Ginger.  

Other Books by Paulette Jiles