Written by Mark Guillerman, A HEART THAT’S TRUE is a historical novel set in the early twentieth century that follows the young Lakota boy Joseph Cross as he's taken from Montana and sent to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Alongside his cousin White Cloud and other Native children, Joseph is pulled into a system meant to strip away language, culture, and identity. Early in the story, Joseph forms a bond with Big Black (a wolf-dog hybrid being raised by the Johannsen family), and that relationship becomes one of the novel’s most memorable emotional threads. Much of the story focuses on separation, survival, and the effort to hold onto identity while being pushed into a world determined to erase it.
One of the novel’s strongest qualities is its sense of place. The Montana prairie, rivers, wagon trails, and small frontier settlements feel present without becoming overwhelming. The opening chapters do a particularly good job of balancing the beauty of the landscape against the fear and uncertainty surrounding the children being taken from their homes. Scenes involving the Johannsen family and Big Black bring warmth into a story that often deals with painful subject matter, and those quieter moments help the emotional side of the novel feel more grounded.
The historical elements provide a lot of emotional weight without overwhelming Joseph’s personal journey. References to the Carlisle Indian School, Jim Thorpe, and the government’s push for forced assimilation help place the narrative within a much larger history. Some of the more memorable scenes involve the children traveling under military supervision, especially when adults who clearly see the harm being done still go along with it.
Sometimes Guillerman includes too much background detail or reflection, which can really slow down the pace. Even so, however, the novel's emotional power pushes through, especially in Joseph’s bond with Big Black and in the lessons and memories he carries from his grandfather. A HEART THAT’S TRUE is at its strongest when it stays centered on Joseph and the emotional burden of being separated from his home, family, and culture. As small acts of kindness break through the children's hardship, the audience sees how quieter moments can sometimes leave the biggest impact.
Though some sections slow under the weight of historical detail, Mark Guillerman's A HEART THAT’S TRUE succeeds as an emotionally grounded historical novel that finds its greatest strength in Joseph’s personal journey and the relationships that shape him.
~ Katherine Crucilla for IndieReader