Smoke on the Water: A Novel of Jamestown and the Powhatans

Ruemmler depicts life in early Jamestown, Va., through Thomas, age 13, and Eagle Owl, a 15-year-old Powhatan Indian. Although the year is 1621, their worries parallel modern-day issues: facing racism and bullies, tense parent-child relationships and the vagaries of romance. The boys first meet accidentally, halfway between their neighboring settlements. Thomas initially dislikes this rambunctious fellow who playfully beans him and snatches his just-picked strawberries. Eventually, however--and despite a profound language barrier--they communicate a wish to be friends and serve as a ``bridge of understanding between their peoples.'' Yet their embittered families quash such hopes, and after they witness the mutual destruction reaped by the Massacre of 1622, only familial bonds remain. The novel contains little dialogue and Ruemmler's often monotonous narrative makes for slow reading. His generally stylish writing is heavy on description, and readers may be puzzled by archaic expressions--``went abed early,'' ``on Friday next.'' But Thomas and Eagle Owl emerge as sympathetic characters, too young and too outnumbered to effect social change. Ages 12-up. (June)