BOOK CLUB WEEK 1: KAYA's BOOKS 1-6 (1764)
Welcome everyone! Happy Thursday my fellow AG readers! I am happy to have you all here for our very first book club meeting! Today we will be discussing Kaya's original six books. I think I will do separate reads of the short stories, mysteries, and girls of the year books since those are harder to come by. For now as we read through American history with our AG girls we will focus on their original six or seven book set.
With each discussion I encourage everyone to join! I will provide a summary for each book so if it has been a minute since you have read them these will serve as a refresher. :) Without further ado let's get discussing!
Book 1: Meet Kaya
The story begins with our main protagonist Kaya who from the Nez Perce tribe as they return to the big river for their annual salmon fishing season. She was tasked to look after her twin four-year-old brothers Sparrow and Wing Feather, but she instead she leaves them with her blind sister Speaking Rain to look after races her horse Steps High after boasting how fast her horse is with the other children. The race does not go well because although Steps High is fast, she is also still skittish and nearly kicks Kaya off. On top of it when she returns to her siblings her brothers ran off from Speaking Rain, but was found once again. However, Kaya as well as the rest of the children face punishment for her actions and are whipped. After told a story how only a magpie thinks of itself the other children begin calling Kaya a Magpie (this nickname will be the overarching plotline as she proves her worth and tries to loose it throughout the series). By the end of the book there is some redemption as Kaya has to race Steps High to rescue Speaking Rain as she nearly drowns in a river proving she is not selfish and her horse is fast.
Book 2: Kaya's Escape
One night raiders invade Kaya's camp and when she goes to save her horse Steps High instead of hiding in the forest like her mother tells her, she and Speaking Rain are kidnapped by the rival tribe. They are then dragged across the prairie and turned into saves. There, they meet a Salish boy named Two Hawks who is also a captive. Speaking Rain and Kaya soon plot their escape, however, Speaking Rain insists Kaya must go without her since she would never be able to keep up with her blindness. Kaya takes Two Hawks with her as they then make their escape, Two Hawks breaks his ankle when he falls and both could have died in the cold. However, a strange woman appears before Kaya, who turned into a wolf and guided her to where her father is. She is reunited with her father and Two Hawks lives with the Nez Perce people until they meet with the Salish again in the spring.
Book 3: Kaya's Hero
In this book we meet Kaya's hero a woman named Swan Circling who is like a warrior and excellent with animals. Most of the book is how much Kaya admires Swan Circling and hopes to grow up to be like her. However, when Swan Circling goes to fetch medicine for a sick baby she dies in a riding accident. Kaya then has to learn to deal with the grief of loosing her new friend, but receives Swan Circling's saddle and her name to have when she feels worthy of it.
Book 4: The Lone Dog
A pregnant stary dog shows up in their camp and remembering the promise she made when enslaved, Kaya feeds and takes care of the stray, but is not allowed to bring her near camp since the alpha dog Snow Paws and her grandmother Kautsa does not trust this new dog. However, after Long Dog has her puppies and trusts Kaya and her brothers, when a bear attacks on of the twins Lone Dog saves his life. She is then granted to live with the Nez Perce people, but Lone Talk tells Kaya she wants to be free again and leaves with most of the puppies (Kaya and Lone Dog share a spiritual connection and can speak to each other in that way). Kaya is heartbroken her dog has left, but one of the pups stayed and his name is Talto. Oh and Two Hawks returns to the Salish people when his uncle and another tribe member come to trade with the Nez Perce.
Book 5: Kaya Shows the Way
Summer comes again and they are back at the big river for salmon season. What is also wonderful is the Salish people are camping across the river from them. Even better is when Kaya visits them she reunites with her sister Speaking Rain! Speaking Rain was essentially abandoned by the traitors but White Braids found her and nursed her back to health and is like her second mother. However, Speaking Rain vowed never to leave White Braids and to take care of her in a repayment for saving her life. This is devastating to Kaya because she wants her little sister home again. However, they come to a compromise that Speaking Rain will spend some of her time with the Salish people and the other part with the Nez Perce tribe so she can be with both sides of her family.
Book 6: Changes for Kaya
In the final book in the series Kaya is reunited with her horse Steps High! And her horse now has a foal with her. However, there are wildfires everywhere in across the prairie and she is stuck in the middle one of the fires! But she, Steps High, and her foal escape the fires. The foal is then named Sparkes Flying from their epic escape.
You guys, I love this series! This is one of my favorite series from these books and is probably my second favorite after Addy! Kaya is not only a strong character, but I love the fact she is so reflective in all of her books and makes strides to become a better person for herself and others. I also loved learning about the Nez Perce tribe and its people, and I would love to learn more about them and their ways. I wish we would have gotten a book on Kaya's vision quest and her meeting her Waayakin.
My favorite secondary character is Kausta and I wish I had a grandmother like her. She makes me miss my Grandma so much because I lost mine when I was eleven. Today she reminds me of my best friend who is over thirty years older than me and like Kausta is very wise about life issues and I respect her counsel.
I also just love the spiritual pieces scattered throughout the books and each short story in the "looking back section" from the Nez Perce folklore. It is clear they respected the earth and animals much like we all should.
What did you guys thing of this series? Leave your thoughts below let's discuss! Also share with me your Kaya dolls I hope to get her sometime this year! For now this is a photo of her I found online. :)
Next week we will be reading Felicity's six book series and her best friend Elizabeth's books. I will also be watching Felicity's movie after reading the books. If you do not have them or have access to your local library here is a link to the Internet Achieve's library which has all of these books. It is free to use and sign up and a great alternative to a physical copy! Happy reading!
Internet Archive Link to "Meet Felicity"
https://archive.org/details/meetfelicityamer0000trip_s5r2
Youtube Link to watch Felicity's movie (FREE LINK):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8WIKfipQ94&t=2370s
Oh and one of our book club members has been kind enough to leave content warnings for each series so please upvote them until I can figure out how to pin their comment so they are the top comment. Thank you all! :)