The story

Ninth-grader BJ Maki knows there is an evil presence on a killing spree in the hills above his Lake Superior home.

And, thanks to strange messages he has been receiving, he knows that the Red Hand Warrior can help protect his family and community.

But what he doesn't know — until he climbs out of a mysterious cave — is that the warrior he is supposed to find lives five hundred years in the past.

Description by the publisher, Calumet Editions.

Two times, one shore

The Grand Marais lighthouse today — TodayGrand MaraisBJ's home above Lake Superior. Something is killing in the hills, and strange messages keep finding him.

Canoe on a misty lake — Five centuries earlierAn Ojibwe villageThe time of the Red Hand Warrior, on the same shore of Gichi Gami.

III

The characters

BJ Maki

A ninth-grader on the North Shore. Guided by strange messages, he goes looking for a warrior.

Charley

BJ's sister, at his side on the shores of the Big Lake.

The Red Hand Warrior

The one who can protect BJ's family and community. He lives five centuries in the past.

Drawn from the publisher's description and reader reviews. To be completed with Robert.

Words from the book

Gichigami: A sea, a large lake; Lake Superior.

Definitions from the Ojibwe People's Dictionary (University of Minnesota). To be reviewed with Robert.

What readers say

“An audacious coming of age tale across cultures and time. Has the voice of Vision Quest.”

Will Weaver, author of Memory Boy and Power & Light

“Saxton knows the north woods, and his respect for and enjoyment of Ojibwe culture is obvious. He also knows kids, and doesn't patronize them.”

Johannes Beta

“The book is gripping, thoughtful, and funny. My children and grandchildren and I have all loved the author's descriptive writing as well as his dialogue and plot.”

Pahasapa Belle

“A wonderful, enlightening adventure for young and old alike. It's steeped in the mystical, in very real indigenous skills all wrapped around an intriguing mystery and looming chaos.”

Lafmore