This is a fantastic story, masterfully told and set in the Great Depression that captures so many aspects of the era, from hobos and children riding the rails to Indian schools and the Bonus Army's march on Washington, D.C. in 1932.It's the story of 12-year-old Cal, who we meet after he's ridden the rails as a hobo with his father for the past year. The Great Depression is in full force. There's no work, Cal's father lost the farm, and his mother is dead. Cal's father decides, after a harrowing

A surprisingly good middle-grade novel about a Depression-era hobo boy who rides the rails with his father until he's put into an Indian boarding school so his father can join an ongoing veterans' protest in Washington in hopes of getting a better life for the two of them.This is a great book in a lot of ways. Cal is an easily likeable kid, and as an outsider to his own culture is a perfect vehicle for readers to learn about how things were for many Indians at the time. Set against a historical

Great story about a boy and his father. America for vets, specifically minorities, during Hoover's presidency. It is well-written from a native voice. Will be passing this one along to middle-age kids looking for an #ownvoice book.

Reading 2020Book 49: Two Roads by Joseph BruchacSaw this on a list of great historical fiction YA/middle grade books. I got a bit wild and ordered three or four from Amazon. 🤩This book is a tale of Cal and his dad, William Blackbird, set in 1932, during the Great Depression. The books opens with the guys riding the rails as Knights of the Road. They have nothing left after losing their farm and Cal's mom dying. Cal is content with his life, but there are some things dad must take care of, and he...

3.5 stars. Reads less like a historical novel of road and boarding school life in the 1930s and more like a lyrical chivalric romance (the protagonist repeatedly refers to himself and other hobos as “knights of the road”). Feels old-fashioned in that regard: there’s hardly a female character in sight, and the protagonists are characterized by ability and honor and fraternity. Such a masculine ideal is deservedly met with more skepticism these days, and yet a child could do worse than Cal for a r...

I really enjoyed this #OwnVoices historical fiction! I haven't read any other books for young readers about hoboes specifically and I as an adult think hobo code is so interesting and I think kids will too. I did know a bit more about the Indian boarding schools but I think this look at one hits a little different--it's set later in time than some other Indian boarding school books, after some reforms have been made, and you get the sense that the schools are still racist but that things are som...

Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac, 320 pages. Dial Books (Penguin), 2018. $17. Content: Language: PG (3 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG. BUYING ADVISORY: MS – ADVISABLE AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 12yo Cal and his dad have been living as hobos on the railroad tracks for the past year. It is 1932, during the Great Depression, and Cal likes living with his dad, but when Cal’s dad goes to Washington D.C. to support veterans from World War I, Cal finds himself at a boarding school for Native America...

Knowing Bruchac as a local Native American author makes it doubly wonderful when you read a book as well characterized and plotted as this. Cal and his father, a veteran are hoboes, working for their measly earnings around the country. But Cal didn’t know that his father was a Creek Indian. His Armenian mother sent west on an orphan train and his dad decided to raise him as if he was white. To make things easier. Yet know his dad wants to march and protest on Washington for earnings from the war...

A longer post today, and even then if feels inadequate. Bruchac tackles a lot of history and cultural conversation in this slim novel set in a single year.  I don’t often read books that are or are similar to biographies, and this felt like I was listening to an elder telling stories. It's written for middle graders, but I'm going to recommend it to my dad who, like Cal's dad, supplemented my Oklahoma History homework with our own oral histories.Joseph Bruchac’s Two Roads will come across to ma

1 star is for telling the story of the Bonus Army - a piece of history that is often overlooked and unknown1 star is for bringing awareness to the boarding schools This book is deemed NOT RECOMMENDED by the American Indians in Children's Literature website. You can read their full review here: https://americanindiansinchildrenslit...There are two specific issues that are raised in the article: the inconsistency of language and lack of proper information about the stomp dance. A few things that I...

Portrays a little represented part of history. I’m not sure the story holds the interest of intended audience. “Big reveal” on page 84 not real a big reveal if you’ve read the cover. There’s just no dramatic tension.

This was fascinating--12-year-old Cal Black finds out that his name is really Blackbird, and he's half Creek. His dad--with whom he's been traveling as a hobo, following an ethical code ("Try to be a gentleman", "decide your own life, do not let another own you", work for what you're given) after his mom died and they lost their farm--decides that he has to go to DC to join the protesting Bonus Army, who are picketing Hoover to get pay they were promised. The safest place for Cal to be, his dad

The right book at the right timeIt's the story of a father's son. A boy not yet a man, hopping trains and dusty roads longside his old man, unaware of so much and content with so little, til the day all secrets spilt and the road was split in two, and life for him would never ever be the same.I honestly can't say one bad thing about this book. It's got a bit of an old fashioned American boy adventure vibe to it, topped with train-hopping hobos of the Great Depression and a sad depressing little

Two Roads is an excellent (and refreshingly clean) book for 12 and up by Joseph Bruchac about Cal, a young boy traveling as a "Gentleman of the Road" with his father, Will, during the Great Depression. In order to take care of some business, Will must leave Cal behind--temporarily--at an Indian boarding school. Cal understands his father's decision, yet he knows nothing of being about being a Creek (which had been concealed from him) and yearns to stay with his father, his last living relative.T...

I had to read this book for school and from the start I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. While there was some feel-good moments as well as some slightly interesting sections of the novel I overall didn't enjoy reading it.

Two Roads (that Hardcover)by Joseph BruchacI began this story believing that Joseph Bruchac must have expanded his storylines, that he was talking about hobo's during the Great Depression. Only to be surprised that he was talking about Native Americans. I was as astounded as Cal when he found he was half Creek. I had been reminded that complaints about the treatment of soldiers had not changed, World War I veterans were not taken care of. Their bonds were not honored by the government, posted to...

Packed full of carefully researched historical detail while not sacrificing readability, Bruchac tells a heartfelt story about Depression-era U.S.A., hobo life, and facets of the Indigenous experience, including Indian boarding schools post the Meriam Report. A story about boys and men (main character Cal travels the roads with his dad after the death of his mother, and the Indian boarding school is sex-segregated), few women appear here-- but there is so much sensitivity, emotion, and solidarit...

Twelve-year-old Cal Black and his father have been Knights of the Open Road since his mom died and the bank foreclosed on their Kansas farm two years ago. Cal loves the adventure of railroad hopping, sleeping under the stars, and the freedom of the open road, but when his pop hears news about a bonus army of WWI vets gathering in Washington D.C. to collect their promised bonus money, things are about to change. Pop wants to join the bonus army and hopes that in collecting his money, they can buy...

My BooktubeI really enjoyed this read. It handles boarding schools while focusing more on the friendships that are forged between students while still holding that this was an awful experience. It also focuses on the many ways students used to rebel against the authority. It is also very informative so woo. No thoughts really. But I do really recommend this if you are looking for MG novels.

MS/HS, coming of age, historical fictionI liked this book, however, if a student is looking for some exciting action, this is not it. It is a narrative that takes you on a journey of a teen-age Creek boy as he is figuring out life. Cal and his father are "riding the rails" after losing the family farm. Cal's dad is a WWI veteran and is hoping to get his promised war bonus. (true historical fact). When dad drops Cal off at an Indian school and tells Cal that he is half Creek Indian, Cal is lost a...