Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War by Helen Frost (review)

James is a settler boy living in the stockade that surrounds Fort Wayne, Indiana in August of 1812. Anikwa is a member of the Miami nation living in a village within walking distance of the stockade. He and James are friends, and Anikwa's father trades with James's father at the trading post. Tensions are mounting, however, as the Americans and British prepare for war, and the British have guaranteed land and protection for any Native American tribe that joins their side. The Miami people are resistant to joining the fight against the Americans living at Fort Wayne, but then James' father is forced to limit trade and retreat to the fort, and their home and trading post are burned. James and his mother insist that the Miami haven't changed loyalties, and James and Anikwa set up secret trades of meat for salt, but they are not immune to suspicion and misunderstanding as fear escalates. Ultimately, they preserve their friendship, but their reunion is overshadowed by the knowledge, reinforced by James' mother's hope that relatives will come to join them in the area, that soon settlers will force the Miami out of their historical homes. As she often does, Frost creates poetic forms that suit her characters, the inspiration for which she explains in an endnote. Additionally, short free-verse poems about the discovery, use, and importance of salt for the Miami people are interspersed with James and Anikwa's story. The forms are not as integrated into the subject matter as they have been in Frost's other works, and as a result the overall effects are not as strong. Additionally, the limited perspectives of the two boys make the history difficult to follow without additional context, some of which is provided in the opening author's note, but readers will need to do more research to fill in gaps. The voices of the boys are clear and compelling, however, and their poems carry strong emotional resonance that will supplement study of the War of 1812 by adding accessible human perspectives to the conflict.