Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
The Indian School
Gloria Whelan · 1997
72/100
👍 Worth It
Gloria Whelan draws a vivid, emotionally honest picture of a painful chapter in American history, and Raven is the kind of secondary character kids remember long after they close the book. The climax wobbles into tidiness, and Lucy never quite earns the same depth as her friend, but for upper-elementary classrooms this delivers genuine moral weight alongside accessible prose. A solid historical fiction choice for ages 8–12 that sparks real conversation.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety85
substance72
craft68
originality65
accuracy80
hype60
age-fit82
human-eye70
Penny’s verdict72
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