An incredibly heartbreaking story of a young Scottish girl who faces sickness, death and misfortune in a new land. The comparison between Scottish Highlanders and The Indigenous peoples of Canada was very interesting. This story will have me digging into the history books again on a mission to learn more of my heritage. Anangokaa was fantastic but I want more of Flora's story. I will be praying for a sequel. ( )

I really thought this was a great book. I especially liked that it was a story about a place and time in Canada that there has been little written about. Being a Manitoban, I am very familiar with the story of the Selkirk settlers that were one of the first non-Indigenous people in this area. However, if I ever knew there were other settlements in Canada to which Lord Selkirk brought Scottish families, I had forgotten. I certainly didn't realize how hard their circumstances were.

This is the story of a young Scottish girl who came to Canada with her family and other families from the Scottish Highlands. They were all poor tenants who were facing eviction from their land so the offer of free land in Canada was enticing. Flora MacCallum was fourteen years old when they arrived in Baldoon in Upper Canada. It was already fall and the land they were to settle was virtually a swamp from the overflowing river. Malaria was rampant and many, including Flora, her sister Aimil, and her father and mother became ill with it. Only Flora survived and she had infected bites all over her body that left scars. The parents' deaths left eighteen year old brother, Hugh, and sixteen year old sister, Isobel, in charge of the remaining family, Flora, Maggie and Anna. Hugh goes off every day to work at the main house and lands. It is while he is there that he meets two Ojibway men, Chief White Cloud and a younger man called Niiganii who speaks some English. Hugh likes Niiganii especially and he trusts the Indians. A little while later Flora goes to work at the main house to milk the cows and do other duties to free men up for the land work. She also meets Niiganii as he comes quite frequently to give the settlers food. Niiganii notices the scars on Flora's face and says his grandmother has some salve for them which he brings to her on a subsequent visit. It is decided that the MacCallums will live on the Island of St. Anne for the winter to look after half of the settlement's sheep. Again, Niiganii is a help to them and he asks them to come visit his family. Hugh, Flora and couple of other men go for the visit. Flora cannot converse with the women as they don't know English but she nevertheless meets with Niiganii's grandmother who is a herbalist and healer like Flora's mother was. Flora had started to learn from her mother but realizes she can learn more, especially about plants in this new land. When work on the farm can no longer be performed, Hugh and Isobel teach the youngsters of the settlement which means crossing the river every day. They first go by boat and when the ice freezes they walk, using snow shoes Niiganii has provided. This leaves Flora alone on the island every day. Isobel warns Flora not to let Niiganii visit while they are away but when he stops with some more provisions he takes her on a deer hunt. The meat that results from this successful hunt is welcome but Flora has to pretend that Niiganii just dropped it off. (At any rate, as Flora has learned even before coming to the island it is not Niiganii she has to fear but her mother's cousin, Ralphie Morrison, who attacked her by the river one day.) Over the winter Flora and Niiganii have more visits and they develop feelings for each other. It is Niiganii who calls Flora Anangokaa, which means "many stars", because of the white scars left on her face. Flora is afraid Niiganii is going to speak to her brother and she is even more afraid what that will cause Isobel to do. And yet, she dreams of going off into nature with Niiganii who with his gentleness, goodness and friendship has caused her to come to appreciate this land. There is also the suit that her brother's friend, Angus MacDougald, is gently pursuing with her. She obviously can't have both men but she is torn.

There was so much to absorb from this book: Scottish sayings, Ojibway language, herbal knowledge, natural life in the bush etc.
And the story, while fiction, seems so real that I felt like I was there in Baldoon. Well done Ms. Alam. ( )

This is a wonderful historical fiction account of early Canadian history, the experiences of Scottish settlers hoping to find a prosperous new life only to be betrayed by the greed and arrogance of government. Told through the eyes of Flora (Anangokaa), a teenage girl who survives an illness that took the lives of both her parents, a sister, and numerous settlers. Flora and her brother Hugh make first contact with a Chippewa tribe and befriend 16-year-old Nigaani, who forms a bond with Flora, teaching her the ways of his people... a bond that is forbidden by Flora's kin.
I enjoyed this story and the perspective. The depiction of the Indigenous people is respectful and not stereotypical. The only part that I am uncomfortable with is the use of the Ojiibwe language solely from dictionaries. It is not clear whether any actual First Nations people were consulted in the writing. ( )

I found this historical fiction to be well written and very well researched. The detail and depth put into this story displays the author's dedication to and love of this work. The characters and their struggles -- internal and external -- are engaging and relatable. My only gripe, which may be just a feature of historical fiction to which I'm not accustomed, is that the plot moved a little slowly at times. ( )

When reading historical fiction books, I tend to be a harsh critic. This book, leaves little to be criticized. Anangokaa is beautifully researched and meticulously put together. I knew nothing about the attempted town of Baldoon in Upper Canada, and absolutely nothing about the history of Scottish immigrants to Canada and their interactions with the Chippewa. Alam's writing beautifully puts together a story of friendship that was "forbidden" and yet completely necessary to survive. Through the learning of language and the learning of culture, the reader is drawn to the stories of both Nagaani and Flora, wanting to learn more about their past and what will happen in their future (both concerning relationship and township). One part I especially enjoyed was the phenomenal use of language learning. I feel like this is an incredibly hard skill to convey in a book - learning a language. Through her use of character development, we see how Flora is slowly learning a language unfamiliar to her - even including how certain words sound with her Scottish accent. This book definitely makes me want to do more research on Baldoon and the people who lived there. The reasoning for four stars is I wanted more closure, as the reader, for what her uncle did to her. I feel like this was such an integral part of the story and yet there was almost no closure to this situation. I also wished to see a little more of the Scottish culture in the everyday lives of Flora and her family.

One more thing I absolutely loved -- the ending! It is so satisfying and yet so unsatisfying at the same time!!! You will just have to read it to find out why. . . ( )