"If we / sit down to eat with James / and his family, will he and I be able to play / a song together on our whistles? / That's what he hopes for, / the question I see in his eyes: / Are you still my friend?" On the brink of the War of 1812, James is the child of white settlers who run the trading post outside Fort Wayne in Indian Territory and Anikwa is a boy living in the nearby Miami Nation village. The two communicate through gestures and a handful of words they've taught one another whenever they meet in the woods or at the trading post. James's parents, especially his mother, view the people in the Miami village as friends. But the Miami are being encouraged by the British to take sides against the Americans in the pending war. Most people within the fort are now suspicious of their Miami neighbors. After Anikwa's village is burned, the villagers must flee, heading west without winter stores in hopes of finding refuge with neighboring tribes. The trading post is also ravaged by fire. Poems in the two boys' alternating voices chronicle how their tentative friendship is challenged by the rising tensions and fear that lead to assumptions and misunderstandings. Author Helen Frost also illuminates the complicated, untenable position in which Native tribes found themselves as American expansion continued west. The introduction to this artful and carefully researched novel provides historical context for the story, and brief notes tell more about the poetic forms she uses and this time and place in history. (Ages 9-12)

Anikwa and James, twelve years old in 1812, spend their days fishing, trapping, and exploring together in the forests of the Indiana Territory. To Anikwa and his family, members of the Miami tribe, this land has been home for centuries. As traders, James's family has ties to the Miami community as well as to the American soldiers in the fort. Now tensions are rising—the British and American armies prepare to meet at Fort Wayne for a crucial battle, and Native Americans from surrounding tribes gather in Kekionga to protect their homeland. After trading stops and precious commodities, like salt, are withheld, the fort comes under siege, and war ravages the land. James and Anikwa, like everyone around them, must decide where their deepest loyalties lie. Can their families—and their friendship—survive?
In Salt, Printz Honor author Helen Frost offers a compelling look at a difficult time in history.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013

A Frances Foster Book