Indian Horse

This book tells the important story of Residential Schools in recent Canadian history, and Richard Wagamese tells this story in a gripping and touching fashion. The author's writing style is succinct but it loses no emotion, making him an excellent story teller.
The book begins with the reader meeting Saul Indian Horse, an Ojibwe man in rehab. In order to find out where his life went wrong, he tells the story of his childhood, wherein he has a tragic family past and a difficult time adhering to a life in the Canadian Residential School system. At the school, he learns to play hockey and it becomes his escape from everyday horrors, but facing discrimination from non-Native hockey players makes him struggle to hold on to the sport he loves.
While reading this, I couldn't help but wonder why this book was not part of the school curriculum. It is an easy read, and its focus on hockey makes it very relatable for youth and particularly young men, and most importantly, it highlights a crucial piece of Canadian modern history and culture. Some parts may be uncomfortable to some, but it is crucial that as Canadians, we acknowledge the shameful parts of our history so that we can avoid repeating them in the future.
If you do not like hockey, there may be some chapters of this book that merit skimming, but over all, I strongly recommend this book.