Five Little Indians by Michelle Good: Book Review

Five Little Indians by Michelle Good offers an honest look at the struggles of many residential school survivors. First published in April 2020 by Harper, Five Little Indians follows five survivors from the 1960s-1990s.

CW/TW: alcohol abuse, drug abuse, off-page sexual abuse, physical abuse, sex, death

Synopsis from Goodreads

Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie, and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention.

Alone and without any skills, support, or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission.

Fuelled by rage and furious with God, Clara finds her way into the dangerous, highly charged world of the American Indian Movement. Maisie internalizes her pain and continually places herself in dangerous situations. Famous for his daring escapes from the school, Kenny can’t stop running and moves restlessly from job to job—through fishing grounds, orchards, and logging camps—trying to outrun his memories and his addiction. Lucy finds peace in motherhood and nurtures a secret compulsive disorder as she waits for Kenny to return to the life they once hoped to share. After almost beating one of his tormentors to death, Howie serves time in prison, then tries once again to re-enter society and begin life anew.

My Opinions

Background Information

Usually, I would share some positives and some negatives about the book before sharing my opinions. But with Five Little Indians, I can’t do that. Why? I found this book too important to do that. This book tells a story that not many people know. What story? The story about residential schools survivors and the struggles they faced after leaving the schools.

For those who don’t know, residential schools operated in Canada from the 1880s through the 1990s. These schools were often run by religious organizations under the guise of educating Indigenous children. Usually, these children, usually 5 or 6, were forcibly taken from their families and villages and lived at these schools until they were around 16 years of age. While at the schools, the children were not allowed to use their own language or acknowledge their traditions. Punishment was often unfair and humiliating. Sadly, many children died as a result of their time at the schools. For more information, please visit The Indigenous Foundations website.

I knew of these schools, as they existed in the United States, but I never realized they still existed in my lifetime. Nor did I know, or understand, what the children suffered through while there. The horrors of these schools were brought to national if not international attention recently as Spring 2021. A massive gravesite was discovered at the site of one of the schools earlier this year and contained 215 unmarked graves.

I am explaining the book’s backstory over discussing the book because I feel it is essential to know its backstory.

My Takeaway

Now about the book itself. The story opens in 1967 when Lucy is sent from the school to Vancouver at the age of 16. She has no family to return to. Armed with a few dollars and a bus ticket, she must make her way in the strange world. From there, the rest of the characters are introduced, all of whom attended the same school, though not all simultaneously.

This book is told from 5 different points of view. It isn’t confusing, as each chapter is a different POV and is labeled as such. One chapter is more graphic than the others and contains many of the CW/TW mentioned above. That chapter is the one belonging to Maisie.

While the book is short, just over 300 pages, it is not a quick read. The reason for that is the subject matter. Some chapters are easier to read and move quicker than others. I found that I needed to take a break every chapter or so.

I feel as though this book offers a look into a world that not many people know and understand. And as such, I think that it is one that people should read. It’s not an easy read, but it’s an essential read.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.