"There is something different about this animal," she (Poison Woman) said then, "I can see in his eyes that he has the heart of a human. He will have big medicine…"
Poison Woman, sister to Medicine Man, agrees to heal the nearly dead dog that Sasa found in the forest. Sasa takes him back to her lodge and names him Wheezer because he wheezes. He recovers and becomes Sasa's protector.
Sasa, a thirteen-year-old Cherokee girl, lost her family on the "Long Walk" from the native Cherokee lands to their new home in Indian Territory. With a hurting heart and hunger as constant companions, she soon buries her little brother, Usti Yansa. His slow and painful death leaves many questions in Sasa’s mind. Wheezer senses her need and becomes her constant companion in this new unfriendly home.
As Sasa meets white men, she must learn who is friend and who is foe. She wants a home, food and an answer to how and why her brother died.
Whether or not you know the history of the Cherokees' forced march from their lands, Wheezer and the Painted Frog presents history on a personal level. Author Kitty Sutton makes you taste and smell the hunger, living conditions and fear that abruptly and cruelly invaded the lives of the Cherokee people.
She weaves a mystery, history and likable characters into this fictional tale. The plot flows smoothly, interwoven with multiple subplots. The dialogue reveals the characters and through it, brings out the cultural issues and prejudices of that time and place. Wheezer’s character adds an honest and understandable flavor of Sasa’s youth and need for a friend.
Sutton’s heritage is Cherokee and Irish. This mixed ancestry comes alive in her treatment of a less-than-honorable time in American history. She tells the story with poignancy rather than bitterness, leading us to draw our own conclusions.
It’s our good fortune that Wheezer and the Painted Frog is the first in the “Mysteries from the Trail of Tears” series. I look forward to the next book.
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