Black Apple

Rose, a young child living during World War II, is torn from her happy home in rural Canada and required to attend the St. Mark's Residential School for Girls. Like all the young Blackfoot girls, she finds adapting to straight rows, staying quiet, and learning Catholic prayers difficult. Mother Grace thinks that Rose Marie is destined to become a nun, and she does have an innate gift from her medicine man father—she sees spirits. The sisters claim that this is a miracle, and the newly adult Rose is sent to serve as an initiate in the neighboring coal mining town of Black Apple. The sheltered Rose eventually learns about women of ill repute, men, friendship, and happiness—and that Mother Grace and the sisters may not have her best interests at heart. The horrors of Canada's forced indigenous boarding school program come to life in this novel—girls are beaten, starved, and abused. But there are moments of kindness and grace, too. Parts of the book are written from the elderly Mother Grace's point of view, and teens will find her self-righteousness and hypocrisy fascinating. Crate, an award-winning poet, was born in the Northwest Territories, and her beautiful writing reflects her love for the landscape and people.