Worlds Apart

By Kathleen Karr

Book Overview

Fifteen-year-old Christopher West befriends a young Native American boy his own age in the Carolinas in 1670. Christopher's new friend teaches him how to hunt, forage, and respect the land and in exchange Christopher teaches his Sewee acquaintance English and how to play chess. As the English move inland and take land and resources from the Indians, Christopher experiences conflicting loyalties. Based on true facts, this is an exciting tale of a little-known chapter in American history.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761451951
• ISBN13: 9780761451952
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Two Lions
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 9 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 6

Customer Reviews

This could happen, and much really did.

This is a story of the colonists coming to the Carolinas. This is based on real people like the father of Christopher West, who are in historical records. However, Christopher himself is fictitious. When the colonists first arrived there, the local “Sewee” Indian tribe of the South Carolina region befriended them. There, they were provided a big meal that consisted of bowls full of nuts, root cakes, and a curious warm gruel. They sat down and talked about many things. Christopher found friendship with one of the Sewee boys, “Asha-po.” The actual story is about the lives of colonists trying to make a safe, secure home. They must take into consideration other Indian tribes and the Spanish in Florida. There is an actual attack on the Indian boy, and Christopher must fight off the Spanish and the Westo tribe using a cannon. The writer is a good writer, and I like her style of writing. However, the explanation of what happened to the tribe sounded a little far-fetched, so I looked it up, and the demise of the Sewee was described. Lawson, writing in 1700, stated that the Sewee were a large tribe. A large portion of the able-bodied men had been lost at sea to open closer trade relations with England.

A deftly written novel about European colonists who crossed the dangerous Atlantic to arrive in the

Worlds Apart is a deftly written novel about European colonists who crossed the dangerous Atlantic to arrive in the strange new world of Carolina. Christopher West is the fifteen-year-old boy who narrates this fascinating story about making friends with Asha-po, a young Native American of his own age. Asha-po teaches Christopher how to hunt, and Christopher teaches Asha-po to play chess. But while the two boys are fast becoming friends, their respective peoples are at increasing odds with each other. Worlds Apart is a thoroughly entertaining and enthusiastically recommended adventure novel for young readers ages 10 and older that author Kathleen Karr has based on records from an actual colony and weaves a tale filled with marauding Spaniards, warring tribes, and colonial family conflict.