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Apple in the Middle
Apple Starkington turned her back on her Native American heritage the moment she was called a racial slur. Not that she really even knew HOW to be an Indian in the first place. Too bad the white world doesn't accept her either. So began her quirky habits to gain acceptance. Apple's name, chosen by her Indian mother on her deathbed, has a double meaning: treasured apple of my eye, but also the negative connotation: a person who is red, or Indian, on the outside, but white on the inside. After her wealthy [white] father gives her the boot one summer, Apple reluctantly agrees to visit her Native American relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in northern North Dakota for the first time, which should be easy, but it's not. Apple shatters Indian stereotypes and learns what it means to find her place in a world divided by color.
229 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2018
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1590 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
April 11, 2020
Read for Librarian Book Group
Reasons this book needs a copyeditor:
*Grandfather served in WWII
*Grandfather is in his 60s
*The book is set in approximately 2002
*This makes Grandpa about two years old when serving in WWII
*Mom graduated high school in 1988
*Mom had Lief Garrett posters in her room
*Leif Garret was not popular in the 70s, not the 80s
*Mom was born in 1968
*This makes mom 20 when she graduated high school even though she was "very smart"
*House depicted as being on a long, gravel road
*House has alley behind it with another house on the other side of the alley. This doesn't fit any framework I've experienced when getting to a house on a long, graveled road.
In matters of style, the voice of this character felt like a 10–12-year-old, not someone in high school.
A lot of the writing is very conversational—many parenthetical asides and talking to the reader. This makes the book feel very unsophisticated and increased my dislike which is too bad, because I'm interested in the story's framework of a girl who had not been exposed to her Native American heritage.
Also, her grandparents dialog was great, but got lost by Apple's chatter.
I'm glad the North Dakota State University Press is recognizing contemporary indigenous voices. It would also be good if they employed some basic publishing standards such as a thorough copyedit, and possibly a better developmental and line edit.
Reasons this book needs a copyeditor:
*Grandfather served in WWII
*Grandfather is in his 60s
*The book is set in approximately 2002
*This makes Grandpa about two years old when serving in WWII
*Mom graduated high school in 1988
*Mom had Lief Garrett posters in her room
*Leif Garret was not popular in the 70s, not the 80s
*Mom was born in 1968
*This makes mom 20 when she graduated high school even though she was "very smart"
*House depicted as being on a long, gravel road
*House has alley behind it with another house on the other side of the alley. This doesn't fit any framework I've experienced when getting to a house on a long, graveled road.
In matters of style, the voice of this character felt like a 10–12-year-old, not someone in high school.
A lot of the writing is very conversational—many parenthetical asides and talking to the reader. This makes the book feel very unsophisticated and increased my dislike which is too bad, because I'm interested in the story's framework of a girl who had not been exposed to her Native American heritage.
Also, her grandparents dialog was great, but got lost by Apple's chatter.
I'm glad the North Dakota State University Press is recognizing contemporary indigenous voices. It would also be good if they employed some basic publishing standards such as a thorough copyedit, and possibly a better developmental and line edit.
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July 15, 2018This reads far more like middle grade than YA, and the writing itself is pretty elementary. But, it's a powerful story about a girl who has grown up without much investment in her Native heritage after the death of her mother after a car accident (Apple was born early, her life saved after the accident). She's since lived in the Minneapolis suburbs with her wealthy white father and stepmother, without much contact with her family in the North Dakota Turtle Mountains, who are Ojibwe. But when her dad and stepmother decide to go on a long summer vacation, Apple gets the chance to spend the summer with her grandparents in North Dakota, along with her big extended family.
The book follows as she learns more about her own cultural heritage and comes to understand her mother better. It's written with dialect and integrates Michif throughout where appropriate.
While the writing isn't spectacular, it's a story that's so rarely told. Besides Apple not having a connection to her background because of her mother's death, she'd also sworn it off because of a horrific slur she was called once. Being different in her town wasn't a good thing -- and this summer allows her to not only lean into her background and appreciate it, but she learns that one of her weirdest personal quirks is, in fact, one of her real spiritual gifts.
This is an ownvoices read, and it's a really fabulous addition to the tiny collection of contemporary Native American stories in YA. Again, I think this is more middle grade and will really work for those tween and younger teen readers, but any YA reader seeking out a story like this will be pleased.
The book follows as she learns more about her own cultural heritage and comes to understand her mother better. It's written with dialect and integrates Michif throughout where appropriate.
While the writing isn't spectacular, it's a story that's so rarely told. Besides Apple not having a connection to her background because of her mother's death, she'd also sworn it off because of a horrific slur she was called once. Being different in her town wasn't a good thing -- and this summer allows her to not only lean into her background and appreciate it, but she learns that one of her weirdest personal quirks is, in fact, one of her real spiritual gifts.
This is an ownvoices read, and it's a really fabulous addition to the tiny collection of contemporary Native American stories in YA. Again, I think this is more middle grade and will really work for those tween and younger teen readers, but any YA reader seeking out a story like this will be pleased.
November 24, 2018
Apple Starkington is half-Native American. Her Native mother died in childbirth, so April is raised by her white father, a wealthy Minnesota surgeon, and his second wife. Apple always feels like she is in the middle, not quite one thing, not quite another, not quite fitting in anywhere. She doesn’t look like the other kids in her school, and when a classmate calls her a racial slur, she can’t easily shake it off. Although Apple’s father rarely talks about his late wife, in the summer between tenth and eleventh grade, he decides Apple should get to know her mother’s family on the Turtle Reservation in North Dakota.
Apple is an appealing, quirky, funny narrator. Although back in Minnesota she considered herself odd, Apple discovers that humor is one of her tribe’s consistent traits. As she becomes accustomed to living in a pink double-wide trailer instead of a mansion, and begins to enjoy dressing less fashionably than is her habit back home, Apple starts to appreciate the priorities of her mother’s tribe: “But what they do have is a quiet, gentle knowledge of the beauty that’s found in life through four main things: family, faith,nature, and humor. You can’t buy that. Not even at the Dollar Store. Eya!”
Immersion in the tribe for the summer means Apple discovers a lot about her mother’s side of the family, including her tribe’s history and culture. As Apple learns about her people, readers share in the revelations about tribal traditions, including their spiritual practices, family relationships, and attitudes toward hardship.
Although Apple in the Middle is a character-driven novel, the plot includes intriguing elements of mystery, danger, and conflict. Still, the most memorable aspect of Apple in the Middle is its people. Author Dawn Quigley brings to life Apple’s two very different families, as well as her extended Indian family. Readers will be drawn to Auntie Auber, the tobacco-loving dream interpreter; Junior, the protective giant; Nezzie, the abandoned daughter who becomes everyone’s child; Grandpa, the mischievous, humble war hero and intellectual; and Grandma, the wise center of the family.
Native Americans are underrepresented in young adult literature, and Dawn Quigley’s YA debut is a welcome addition. Apple in the Middle is published by North Dakota State University Press and is the first offering in its NDSU Press Contemporary Voice of Indigenous People Series. Reading and sharing the terrific novel Apple in the Middle is an excellent way to support both a small publisher and the inclusion of Native Americans in young adult literature.
This review also appears on my What's Not Wrong? blog in slightly different form.
Apple is an appealing, quirky, funny narrator. Although back in Minnesota she considered herself odd, Apple discovers that humor is one of her tribe’s consistent traits. As she becomes accustomed to living in a pink double-wide trailer instead of a mansion, and begins to enjoy dressing less fashionably than is her habit back home, Apple starts to appreciate the priorities of her mother’s tribe: “But what they do have is a quiet, gentle knowledge of the beauty that’s found in life through four main things: family, faith,nature, and humor. You can’t buy that. Not even at the Dollar Store. Eya!”
Immersion in the tribe for the summer means Apple discovers a lot about her mother’s side of the family, including her tribe’s history and culture. As Apple learns about her people, readers share in the revelations about tribal traditions, including their spiritual practices, family relationships, and attitudes toward hardship.
Although Apple in the Middle is a character-driven novel, the plot includes intriguing elements of mystery, danger, and conflict. Still, the most memorable aspect of Apple in the Middle is its people. Author Dawn Quigley brings to life Apple’s two very different families, as well as her extended Indian family. Readers will be drawn to Auntie Auber, the tobacco-loving dream interpreter; Junior, the protective giant; Nezzie, the abandoned daughter who becomes everyone’s child; Grandpa, the mischievous, humble war hero and intellectual; and Grandma, the wise center of the family.
Native Americans are underrepresented in young adult literature, and Dawn Quigley’s YA debut is a welcome addition. Apple in the Middle is published by North Dakota State University Press and is the first offering in its NDSU Press Contemporary Voice of Indigenous People Series. Reading and sharing the terrific novel Apple in the Middle is an excellent way to support both a small publisher and the inclusion of Native Americans in young adult literature.
This review also appears on my What's Not Wrong? blog in slightly different form.
November 13, 2018
Summary in a sentence: Apple Starkington, who has been raised by her wealthy white father and stepmother, spends a summer with her maternal grandparents on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, growing into her Native identity.
What I liked: The rich cultural details. There's plenty of Native food, and there's an annual powwow, but this story also does an excellent job of giving readers a deeper look into the culture--the values, the humor, the beliefs--of this particular Turtle Mountain Ojibwe community. Apple meets her late Ojibwe mother's family members and is immediately welcomed into the fold. She learns about her family members' views on nature, interconnection, and family. The way of life on Turtle Mountain is vastly different from Apple's life with her dad, and Apple finds herself at home there and belonging in a way she's never felt before. (Great character growth.) I'm white and can't speak to the accuracy of the details, but the author is Turtle Mountain enrolled Ojibwe and includes an author's note with additional information and resources for learning more.
What didn't work for me: The writing is not very strong, and the dialogue in many places is cringe-worthy. There are a lot of places where there's unnecessary exposition, and I think the narrative suffers overall because it's trying too obviously to teach the non-Ojibwe reader. I also think that some elements of the plot are unnecessary and clunky, such as Karl and his sons feeling the need to exact some sort of payment or revenge for Apple's mother marrying a White man,
I also thought it was an interesting choice on the author's part to give Apple and her family "mystical" powers. (They have unexplained visions when around certain people, and it turns out these visions reveal something unfinished or unexplored by that person.) It reminded me of the magical Native American stereotype.
What I liked: The rich cultural details. There's plenty of Native food, and there's an annual powwow, but this story also does an excellent job of giving readers a deeper look into the culture--the values, the humor, the beliefs--of this particular Turtle Mountain Ojibwe community. Apple meets her late Ojibwe mother's family members and is immediately welcomed into the fold. She learns about her family members' views on nature, interconnection, and family. The way of life on Turtle Mountain is vastly different from Apple's life with her dad, and Apple finds herself at home there and belonging in a way she's never felt before. (Great character growth.) I'm white and can't speak to the accuracy of the details, but the author is Turtle Mountain enrolled Ojibwe and includes an author's note with additional information and resources for learning more.
What didn't work for me: The writing is not very strong, and the dialogue in many places is cringe-worthy. There are a lot of places where there's unnecessary exposition, and I think the narrative suffers overall because it's trying too obviously to teach the non-Ojibwe reader. I also think that some elements of the plot are unnecessary and clunky, such as Karl and his sons feeling the need to exact some sort of payment or revenge for Apple's mother marrying a White man,
I also thought it was an interesting choice on the author's part to give Apple and her family "mystical" powers. (They have unexplained visions when around certain people, and it turns out these visions reveal something unfinished or unexplored by that person.) It reminded me of the magical Native American stereotype.
January 6, 2019
2.5⭐️ I really wanted to like this book, especially since it had a Native American MC, but there were a few things that kept me from liking it as much as I wanted. First, I had a difficult time determining how old the narrator was supposed to be. At times she seemed like a teenager and other times she seemed like a middle schooler. Part of this may have been due to the odd narration style. The narrator jumped around, sometimes referring to things happening in the present, then referring to things from the past. Also, certain thoughts she had were in parentheses while others were not. I’m not sure why, and seeing the parentheses threw me. And the thing I really disliked that solidified my 2.5 rating was the unnecessary death near the end of the book. If you’re going to kill off a likable character, there ought to be a really good reason.
November 29, 2019
3.75 stars. A coming of age story about Apple who spends the summer with her grandparents on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Apple is a likable narrator who discovers secrets about herself, learns about her deceased mother and discovers the true meaning of family.
Give this to those looking for a story told from the perspective of a Native American, a clean read or a summer story.
Give this to those looking for a story told from the perspective of a Native American, a clean read or a summer story.
July 28, 2022
Wow, this book was absolutely powerful. It was a beautiful story about a girl coming of age, about the power of being Native American, and what it really means to be submersed into your own culture.
Quigley delivers a heartfelt message about family and unity.
Quigley delivers a heartfelt message about family and unity.
October 28, 2019
This book was on my #MustReadin2019 list, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I struggled to get into it, but once I hit the halfway point, I really wanted to read the rest. Apple Starkington was born to a native mother and caucasian father, but her mother died the same day she was born. She's currently a high schooler in Minnesota and her wealthy surgeon dad and step mom have decided to drop her off at her native grandparents' house for the summer while they go off on their belated honeymoon.
What I enjoyed: Having Apple grow up in the "white" world of Minnesota and then visit the reservation for a whole summer to discover her Native roots was a great way to explore common misconceptions and to address cultural appropriation. For example, Apple asked what costumes they would wear to the PowWow. She also learned how inappropriate it is to ask someone "how much" Indian they were -- because even if Apple was only half Native, she was 100% family. The lessons went on and on throughout this story. I adored Apple's Native American family. There was so much love and acceptance in her extended family and the story was incredibly descriptive for all the senses.
What I struggled with: 1. Apple had never met her native grandparents before and knows practically nothing about native culture when she's dropped off with little warning. 2. As far as we know, she does not hear from her parents all summer long. 3. Apple is very sarcastic and an inner jokester during narration, which would be fine except that it comes out in constant asides (usually squeezed into parenthesis... lots of interspersed parenthesis within this story that slow things down). 4. Without spoiling anything big, I'll just say that we discover mystical Native American powers--like seeing images of people's private lives without their knowledge. And this somewhat changes the realistic elements of the story halfway through. 5. There was a very difficult event near the end and I'm not sure I understand why it had to happen. 6. You know the saying show me, don't tell me? I wish there was more showing as some of the dialogue felt a tad preachy, at times.
Overall, this is an important #ownvoices book, even if there were elements that I found troubling. However, it was Dawn Quigley's debut middle grade novel, so I'll be interested in seeing what she writes on down the road after gaining more experience and feedback on this book.
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
What I enjoyed: Having Apple grow up in the "white" world of Minnesota and then visit the reservation for a whole summer to discover her Native roots was a great way to explore common misconceptions and to address cultural appropriation. For example, Apple asked what costumes they would wear to the PowWow. She also learned how inappropriate it is to ask someone "how much" Indian they were -- because even if Apple was only half Native, she was 100% family. The lessons went on and on throughout this story. I adored Apple's Native American family. There was so much love and acceptance in her extended family and the story was incredibly descriptive for all the senses.
What I struggled with: 1. Apple had never met her native grandparents before and knows practically nothing about native culture when she's dropped off with little warning. 2. As far as we know, she does not hear from her parents all summer long. 3. Apple is very sarcastic and an inner jokester during narration, which would be fine except that it comes out in constant asides (usually squeezed into parenthesis... lots of interspersed parenthesis within this story that slow things down). 4. Without spoiling anything big, I'll just say that we discover mystical Native American powers--like seeing images of people's private lives without their knowledge. And this somewhat changes the realistic elements of the story halfway through. 5. There was a very difficult event near the end and I'm not sure I understand why it had to happen. 6. You know the saying show me, don't tell me? I wish there was more showing as some of the dialogue felt a tad preachy, at times.
Overall, this is an important #ownvoices book, even if there were elements that I found troubling. However, it was Dawn Quigley's debut middle grade novel, so I'll be interested in seeing what she writes on down the road after gaining more experience and feedback on this book.
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
November 3, 2021
This book hit really close to home to me. The Native American family seems to be very fairly, and honestly portrayed. Mine wasn't as much as a shock and I didn't go live with them but I was just as accepted, and just as quickly as Apple was. I like how she said at the end that she isn't stuck in the middle like she always thought, between two cultures, but as a bridge between the two. Quick read, but it had a lot of really good thoughts and some funny parts. I hope some middle schoolers give it a chance. I'm sure they'd see someone they knew it as well.
July 1, 2019
Such a wonderful book. Apple is a girl who has never felt like she fits in. Then she goes and visits her mother's side of the family and learns what it means to be a part of a family and to face her fears. This book should be read by every teacher, as it is brimming with information about life on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
December 26, 2018
Many details about the Turtle Mountains ring true in this Young Adult novel.
June 15, 2024
I wasted too much time on this trash the main character was annoying and unrealistic she did not feel or act like a person and lacked common sense also Golden Gate Bridge she was so stupid and self centered when she went to go apple picking(because she’s special since her names apple) she decides to wear designer shoes while she apple picks in the mud but then is surprised and upset when she ruins then she also thinks she’s special because she suddenly starts to pretend she’s a foreign exchange student around people she’s known her whole life completely seriously and is completely surprised when she has no friends the author also decides to kill off a 5 year old because she’s not ready for her book to end there was almost no character development the entire book Apple was completely annoying,stupid,self centered, arrogant, and weird in a pick way she also thinks she knows everything when she really doesn’t and scared of a gang leader coming after her when shes 12 and doesn’t make good decisions overall at the end there’s a scene between Apple and this random boy she kind of has a crush on and he tells her that he thinks she’s funny and made him smile and laugh while his mom was dying from cancer and that they’ll be friends from then on she also fell in a grave and didn’t even try to get up someone also threw dirt in her window and she thought it was a death threat
In conclusion this book is a waste,time,energy,and money but not talent or skill this is trash
In conclusion this book is a waste,time,energy,and money but not talent or skill this is trash
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2020
Apple got upset whe someone called her a racial slur (her name is a slur for someone white and American Indian ). She was named by her mom on her deathbed (apple of her eye). One summer her dad wants to get rid of her so sends her to the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in northern North Dakota to spend the summer with her mother's relatives. Dealing with strange (to Apple) customs and language and dealing with a disgruntled man who was rejected by her mother is a lot for her to handle. In the end, she learns her place in the 2 cultures. I was born and raised in North Dakota (along the Red RIver) and worked with the indians on the Devils Lake Reservation while in high school. The book was okay. I didn't fine the disgruntled wanna-be-lover to be particularly essential to the story - or at least not shoved down my throat the way it was.
November 14, 2025
This story is about a biracial girl named Apple. She is both white and Native American, but struggles to feel truly connected to her culture. After spending a summer on a Native American reservation, she starts to feel more confident and comfortable in her identity. This book is suited for middle-grade readers. This book may appeal to students who are struggling with their own identity or feel "stuck in the middle" of different identities. I chose this book for my classroom library because it teaches about Ojibwe Native American culture and is told by an Ojibwe author. Key themes and topics of this book include cultural identity, Ojibwe culture, healing, acceptance, overcoming doubt, family, heritage, and healing.
May 31, 2022
I read this book because it was highly recommended by a fellow school librarian and it is one of the Fox Cities Reads. I enjoyed reading about Apple's summer with her relatives on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation as she discovers her Native American roots. The book includes a lot of humor and heart. However, I did not care for the writing style. Other reviewers point out specific issues with the writing and I have to agree with them. These problems really kept me from getting emotionally invested in the story and therefore just left me with a so so feeling toward the book.
November 29, 2020
As a Native American stuck in the middle, just like Apple, I will say this story just decided to take my heart and punch it to outer space. It was so good! Apple spends the summer with her mother's parents, her maternal grandparents, on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. Apple learns a lot more about her mother who has died when Apple was born.
I laughed, I definitely cried, and I'm glad to have read this book and I'm going to suggest to anyone, child, teen, or adult, who feels a bit in the middle.
I laughed, I definitely cried, and I'm glad to have read this book and I'm going to suggest to anyone, child, teen, or adult, who feels a bit in the middle.
June 4, 2021
I really liked this book because it was exciting and emotional at the same time.
July 2, 2021
Read to review for possible middle school adoption. We adopted it for 7th grade!
December 31, 2019
One of my fav YA reads of the year, for grades 8-10. Hard to source which is unfortunate.
October 6, 2024
Cute read. It was overall a good story with lots of Native American culture woven in. I enjoyed reading it with many Minnesota connections!
March 3, 2022
Excellent book!! Brought back memories of my young years visiting relatives up at Turtle Mountain. I love the fact that it is told by the young girls voice. Therefore it is understandable that some of the nitpicking on dates is off. Not too many youths pay attention to that.
I especially loved the recipes! Thank you!
I especially loved the recipes! Thank you!
December 31, 2018
More of a 3.5 stars.
A couple of weeks ago, Book Riot sent out an email titled "📚 Don't Sleep On These Great 2018 YA Reads." The titles on this list included real teen problems, grief, trauma and inclusive characters. The title that caught my eye was Apple in the Middle. I was intrigued and put myself on the hold list at the library. After I received my copy, I finished the book in one night. I fell in love with Apple, the characters and the setting, but had some major issues with the ending that knocked my review down a half star.
Plot- Apple Starkington is a teenage girl living in Minnetonka (a suburb of Minneapolis, for those not in the know) with her white father, stepmother and stepbrother. Ever since she was called a racial slur when she was a little kid, she has turned her back on her Native heritage. Her mother, dead minutes after Apple was born due to injuries from a car crash, named her. One summer, her father and stepmother take an extended trip. Her stepbrother goes to stay with his grandparents. Apple reluctantly goes to stay with her mother's family on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Apple spends the summer connecting with her large and friendly family, her Native heritage and learning more about how to be confident in herself.
What I loved- the Native characters and how their heritage is weaved into the story. Apple is a likable and flawed protagonist. Reading along with her (told in 1st person) as she learns about herself, her mother, her family and her heritage was wonderful and deeply rewarding. She starts off the book as a lonely, uncertain girl and becomes a confident, sociable woman. Some of her quirks, including talking in random accents and blurting out uncomfortable questions, are accepted by her family.
Her family in North Dakota is also a wonderful group. Her grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends are all fun characters, lovable and realistic.
The antagonists are also fleshed out well. An ex-friend of her mother's and his kids give Apple a hard time about her heritage by using the negative connotations connected to her name- "red" or Indian on the outside and white on the inside and in general, harassing her. The harassment was too painfully real, from both the ex-friend and the white person who calls her a racial slur at the beginning of the story that caused her to reject her heritage in the first place.
What I didn't like- The ending. Without giving too much away, the last 30 pages of the book were super out of the blue and took the story down a path I wasn't a fan of. It felt manipulative and I felt wasn't necessary for the story. The ending was so out of the blue that it took the story down a half star for me, which was disappointing. Others may not be as put off by the ending as me, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
The characters and heritage are enough to for me to recommend this book for anyone looking for more teen novels starring Native characters set in present day. I'm excited to see what Dawn Quigley does next!
A couple of weeks ago, Book Riot sent out an email titled "📚 Don't Sleep On These Great 2018 YA Reads." The titles on this list included real teen problems, grief, trauma and inclusive characters. The title that caught my eye was Apple in the Middle. I was intrigued and put myself on the hold list at the library. After I received my copy, I finished the book in one night. I fell in love with Apple, the characters and the setting, but had some major issues with the ending that knocked my review down a half star.
Plot- Apple Starkington is a teenage girl living in Minnetonka (a suburb of Minneapolis, for those not in the know) with her white father, stepmother and stepbrother. Ever since she was called a racial slur when she was a little kid, she has turned her back on her Native heritage. Her mother, dead minutes after Apple was born due to injuries from a car crash, named her. One summer, her father and stepmother take an extended trip. Her stepbrother goes to stay with his grandparents. Apple reluctantly goes to stay with her mother's family on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Apple spends the summer connecting with her large and friendly family, her Native heritage and learning more about how to be confident in herself.
What I loved- the Native characters and how their heritage is weaved into the story. Apple is a likable and flawed protagonist. Reading along with her (told in 1st person) as she learns about herself, her mother, her family and her heritage was wonderful and deeply rewarding. She starts off the book as a lonely, uncertain girl and becomes a confident, sociable woman. Some of her quirks, including talking in random accents and blurting out uncomfortable questions, are accepted by her family.
Her family in North Dakota is also a wonderful group. Her grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends are all fun characters, lovable and realistic.
The antagonists are also fleshed out well. An ex-friend of her mother's and his kids give Apple a hard time about her heritage by using the negative connotations connected to her name- "red" or Indian on the outside and white on the inside and in general, harassing her. The harassment was too painfully real, from both the ex-friend and the white person who calls her a racial slur at the beginning of the story that caused her to reject her heritage in the first place.
What I didn't like- The ending. Without giving too much away, the last 30 pages of the book were super out of the blue and took the story down a path I wasn't a fan of. It felt manipulative and I felt wasn't necessary for the story. The ending was so out of the blue that it took the story down a half star for me, which was disappointing. Others may not be as put off by the ending as me, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
The characters and heritage are enough to for me to recommend this book for anyone looking for more teen novels starring Native characters set in present day. I'm excited to see what Dawn Quigley does next!
March 30, 2021
In this debut novel by Dawn Quigley, we are taken on an adolescent quest for identity between European American and Native American cultures. The story begins by introducing Apple Starkington, a precocious teenager who has grown up as an outsider in a typical American town. She lives with her wealthy father who has remarried and refuses to talk about her Ojibwe mother, who named Apple on her deathbed. Apple is quirky and curious, but blurts things out too fast, struggles to fit in and has no friends. To make matters worse, she has tried to hide her Native American heritage ever since the moment she was called a racial slur by a fellow classmate. However, everything changes for Apple one summer when her father gives her the boot and sends her to the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation to see her mother’s family. At first, Apple once again feels out of place and is apprehensive to meet all her new relatives. She makes numerous mistakes as she struggles to learn the customs and language of her new family. Eventually though, each new relative teaches her, through wit and wisdom, what it means to be a Native American, but also how to be a human being while finding her place in the world. This novel is suitable for both teen and adult readers alike because the author does a fabulous job of developing the characters realistically and by accurately displaying how difficult it can be for a young person to exist in the space between different cultures. Embedded within the story is also a great deal of interesting background information on the Turtle Mountain Michif language. In conclusion, it is not surprising that this novel has won national praise from the American Indian Library Association by being nominated for the American Indian Youth Literature Awards in 2020. Readers of all ages will learn something new from Apple in the Middle and you can be sure that this story will speak to any young person regardless of race or class who finds themselves in the middle.
November 30, 2020
There are a lot of things I like about this book.
I'm really into the cover.
And the concept.
And obviously, the REPRESENTATION. It's great to read an ownvoices YA book by an indigenous author.
I also liked the wide variety of characters in the reservation community. I'm taking this out to my middle school virtual class visits this year, and my booktalk focuses on how Apple's grandparents are part of a real true Community. The most effective theme in this book for me was about how isolated Apple felt in her life back home, and how major it is for her to experience a more connected community environment during this summer on the Turtle Mountain Reservation.
Unfortunately, there was something about the writing style and overall character voice that never clicked for me. I didn't quite believe Apple's quirk or attitude, and some of her story didn't feel consistent. And there were some passing moments that felt fat-phobic or prejudiced against people with disabilities (i.e. page 50: "Grandma, is Little Inez . . . you know . . . a 'special needs' child? Because, well . . . she seems to have a violent streak.") - especially because they were never addressed or dealt with.
I wonder if some of those issues might have been handled differently if this had gone through the editorial process at a publisher that specializes in YA. This is put out by North Dakota State University Press.
For me, the good outweighed the troubling (clearly, since I'm booktalking it!). More like this, please!
I'm really into the cover.
And the concept.
And obviously, the REPRESENTATION. It's great to read an ownvoices YA book by an indigenous author.
I also liked the wide variety of characters in the reservation community. I'm taking this out to my middle school virtual class visits this year, and my booktalk focuses on how Apple's grandparents are part of a real true Community. The most effective theme in this book for me was about how isolated Apple felt in her life back home, and how major it is for her to experience a more connected community environment during this summer on the Turtle Mountain Reservation.
Unfortunately, there was something about the writing style and overall character voice that never clicked for me. I didn't quite believe Apple's quirk or attitude, and some of her story didn't feel consistent. And there were some passing moments that felt fat-phobic or prejudiced against people with disabilities (i.e. page 50: "Grandma, is Little Inez . . . you know . . . a 'special needs' child? Because, well . . . she seems to have a violent streak.") - especially because they were never addressed or dealt with.
I wonder if some of those issues might have been handled differently if this had gone through the editorial process at a publisher that specializes in YA. This is put out by North Dakota State University Press.
For me, the good outweighed the troubling (clearly, since I'm booktalking it!). More like this, please!
January 15, 2020
Apple in the middle is a young adult fiction written by Dawn Quigley. It’s about a 16 year old girl named Apple who is half Native American and half White. Her mom who was Native American died when Apple was born so she was never taught about that side of her culture. She also finds herself not fitting in in the white world either. Apple visits her mom's side of the family for the first time in North Dakota. She is hoping this trip to the reservation will give her the opportunity to learn more about her mom and her Ojibwe culture. While meeting new family members almost everyday and learning new things about herself, Apple is trying to connect with her dead mother and face her fear of cemeteries. I really liked this book and it was nice reading about an Ojibwe girl like myself learning about her culture and trying to fit in. This book takes place mostly in the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe which is the tribe my dad is enrolled in. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy comedy and realistic fiction.
October 31, 2018
Here is that historical chestnut: the person poised between two cultures, unable to rest with either until making peace with both. Quigley's Apple is such a person, who through family developments in her suburban world is brought into touch with her native side, among the Chippewa of Turtle Mountain. Why she is named Apple, and why she was estranged from her Turtle Mountain ancestry, you should read for yourself. The encounter, when it comes, is well recounted by the author, in a voice that seems true to the age and situation of her protagonist. There is a process of enlightenment, maybe even healing all around--and then near the end, a bite of reality (no spoiler here!). I like Quigley's gentle touch and her touches of humor. You read along and enjoy yourself and in the end realize how significant are the themes raised. Get this book for a young person in your life, but read it yourself, too.
October 29, 2018
Apple's voice drew me in and kept me reading with its often unfiltered, authentic, vulnerable and searching perspective. Her sense of humor is paramount throughout this story that deals with grief and loss, belonging and identity, family and home. I loved how she developed relationships with her mother's parents and extended family who are enrolled members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, and by doing so, discovered undiscovered depths about herself. This was a powerful Own Voices contemporary that should be in all library collections. It's a fantastic crossover book that has both middle grade and YA appeal.
September 15, 2018
This is a phenomenal book. The search for identity in Apple’s story is told in such a way that anyone can identify with her. It may be a YA novel, but it is rich with traditions and pieces of Native culture. There are so many pieces to dig into and talk about. This is a must read for Middle School and High School teachers. Well done Dawn!
April 26, 2019
Reread in April 2019.
August 16, 2022
If you like a saccharine sweet and somehow condescending narrative, this is the one! Couldn't finish the last 2 chapters. Def not one for our diverse novel plan this year.
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