(Published Dec. 3, 2014) "Jim Remsen’s Visions of Teaoga, also aimed at readers 10 and older, follows Maddy Winter, a middle-schooler who comes north from Houston to join her father for two weeks in rural upstate Pennsylvania, where he is temporarily assigned as an engineer. They settle into an extended-stay motel outside a town whose glory days ended a century ago. Here, in the roadside monuments and markers that most travelers barely notice, Remsen finds grist for an engrossing read that’s part historical fiction, part coming-of-age novel, and part spiritual awakening. At first, Maddy struggles against her alien surroundings, but as her father introduces her to the town of Athens and its history, Maddy is drawn to its remnants of native American culture. ... She also encounters people – both from the past and present – who help her in what becomes a quest to be her best self. Visions of Teaoga successfully wraps native American history in a likable 21st-century coming-of-age tale."
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Here's a Sample of the Many 5-Star Reader Reviews of Visions of Teaoga Posted Online:
"A fascinating book about our forgotten past"
It is rare to find a book that is historically accurate, entertaining, reads like a novel and leaves you wanting to know more about our forgotten past.
Visions of Teaoga is an exciting saga set in the 1700s. The Colonists, British and French are fighting each other and the Indians and the Indians are fighting for their land and survival.There are bloody massacres committed on all sides.
The story seamlessly takes you from a vacation with a father and his teenage daughter, Maddy back to a life changing encounter with the past.
When Maddy sees a roadside monument to an Indian known as Queen Esther, she is determined to find out the truth, was Queen Esther a woman of peace, a heroine or a cold blooded killer?
The author has respectfully and skillfully revealed the daily life, customs, languages, ceremonies and complex societies of several tribes including the Seneca, Mohawk and Delaware.
The Illustrations of Queen Esther and Chief Red Jacket remind us these were real people, the best and the worst, living their lives and building a nation.
The book is written especially for a Middle-school audience but don't pass it by thinking it is a book for "kids". It's an exceptional book, one of the best and most honest books I've ever read about Native Americans.
Visions of Teaoga will change the way you feel about American history. There should be a copy in every school.
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"The prodigious research that the author has done is beautifully woven into the story"
This book brings to life a long-neglected area of Pennsylvania history and geography. It's about real people---Indians, settlers, soldiers--who become alive to the reader and live in the mind long after the book is finished. The prodigious research that the author has done is beautifully woven into the story, with the result that the characters are multidimensional and the places cry out to be visited. I've lived in Pennsylvania many years and never knew about Queen Esther or Colonel Pickering---but now I'll be watching for signs and memorials on the road and reading them much more carefully.
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"This book presented the story of Teaoga and her people ..."
This book presented the story of Teaoga and her people in a very personal way. If only all history could be related in this format, it would be more enjoyable reading, and more likely to be absorbed and remembered. Hats off to Mr. Remsen!
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"Bravo for a well written book!!!"
The story pulled me in and I hated to see it end as I wanted to have it go on and on. I learned a lot about the Native Americans of the area and it has driven me to wanting to know more about this history. If you are looking for a book that tells it as it truly was in history you will love this book. I can't wait to see more from Mr. Remsen. You have my undivided attention forever.
