The Bone Whistle

The Bone Whistle
by Eva Swan
Juno Books
ISBN 10: 0-8095-5792-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-8095-5792-9
208 pages, $12.95
Reviewed by Terry South for Bookpleasures

The setting is Lakota reservation in Greenview, South Dakota. Darly is a twenty year old and lives with her mother just outside of Denver. Every summer she accompanies her mother to an isolated cabin on the edge of Lakota reservation in South Dakota. This is no way for a college student to spend her summer vacation.

Darly is bored and has made the decision that this will be the last year she will accompany her mother to the reservation. Darly likes seeing Grandpa Jack and this year he gives her a bone whistle that has two blue feathers attached, he tells Darly when she gets good and bored to blow the whistle. She waits all of two weeks before blowing the whistle and learns the truth about her family and her father. She had believed her father was dead, but he is not dead nor human, but is wanaghi. Wanaghi are a shape changing people who left their tribes centuries before and now live in a magical land beneath the hill.

On the search for her father she is accompanied by Osni, but what she finds is a conflict among the wanaghi. Now she must choose her heart and feelings she has developed for Osni or her family. Will Darly be able to resolve the conflict between them? Before anything else she must discover own powers which puts her on a path of self-discovery.

Eva Swan combines both Native American and Celtic legends into a romantic fantasy. The author takes us through the story by different character perspectives. Her characters are believable and she maintains a good plot. This is Eva Swans debut fantasy novel, the only problem I found was that as a reader you need to pay attention as the author has point of view changes into different characters perspective which can cause some confusion while reading. I truly enjoyed the both the Native American and Celtic concepts she has incorporated into the story.

Eva Swan is the pseudonym for the author, editor, and artist, who is of Native American descent, who currently reside in England. I was unable to locate a website for the author to include with the review.