News of the World by Paulette Jiles- Book Review

This was a first for me. I recently received a subscription to Scribd as a gift. I used to be a member when it was an unlimited service, but they have since changed their pricing system to a 3 books and 1 audio out at a time system. Not wanting to waste the audio part, I have recently started listening to audio books in the car. News of the World by Paulette Jiles was my first half and half. I started the book on audio, but after not enjoying the reader's interpretation, I switched to reading the book instead.

News of the World is the story about Captain Kidd, who is a news reader. He goes into town, reads a few select articles from the newspaper to the town and leaves. He is selective about what he reads, knows the towns, and even adds a few fluff pieces to get the crowd.

One day Kidd is offered money to bring an orphaned child back to her relatives. After a Kiowa attack, Johanna is raised as a Kiowa, but is now being forced back into the white society. The journey is 400 miles long and Kidd only has a few bullets. The story is not only about the journey, but also about the relationship between the two.

The first thing to note is this is a small book. I was surprised how small and how short the book was, as it is filled with a world that is vast and seems never ending. If someone wanted to, one could read this in less than a day and still fell like he/she read a bulky book. A lot happens in these few pages.

I noted that first because it says something about the author. There isn't much filler in this book and very little dragging parts, especially for a book about a 400 mile trek. The relationship between Kidd and Johanna as Johanna starts learning English and starts coming out of her shell is really what drives this book. Kidd starts treating Johanna as his own, even in the face of mortal danger and there will be lots of danger.

I wouldn't be honest if I didn't write that the whole idea of the uncivilized Indian, who must reclaim her whiteness in order to be civilized bothered me a bit, but I also recognized it was a period piece where this was the thought. 

Overall, this is a well written, fun adventure for an afternoon. While I do question the name choice of Captain Kidd as when I listened to it on audio as I kept thinking about pirates and wondering if the protagonist was supposed to be connected to the pirate. I found the journey worth it.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- News of the World by Paulette Jiles