298:, where Christine leaves Rayona to get to know her grandmother. Rayona, angry at her mother, runs away and meets a priest of her school, Father Tom, and he takes her on a road trip, claiming to bring her to a retreat for teens. They stop at a park, where Father Tom molests Rayona. She gets shipped off to Seattle, by Father Tom, who puts the blame on her about the molestation, but Rayona still returns to work at Bear Paw State Park for a little while. Here, she meets workers Sky and Evelyn and stays with them for a bit before returning to the reservation. She rides in the local rodeo in the place of her cousin, who is drunk. The owner of the horse she rides turns out to be her mother's old boyfriend, Dayton, with whom Christine is staying. Although angry at first because Rayona left Aunt Ida's without leaving any information about her whereabouts, Christine eventually reconciles with her daughter.
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appointment for their horse, Father Tom appears at the house and drops off a bottle of pain pills, but leaves quickly after
Christine starts to say that Aunt Ida had mentioned something about him. Dayton comes back and describes the trouble he had with his horse at the stud: the horses had fallen in
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The second section of the novel is
Christine's story. Christine has a brother named Lee, who is the handsomest boy in town. Christine doubts that she and Lee have the same father, since Lee is gorgeous and Christine is not, but Aunt Ida won't tell them. Christine and Lee aren't allowed to call Aunt
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Several years later, Willard Pretty Dog, returns from the war. Willard was once the most attractive boy on the reservation, but is now rumored to be hideously deformed from combat injuries. Ida helps to take care of him, and then Ida gets pregnant with
Willard's baby, with whom she names Lee. After
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The novel begins with Rayona visiting her mother
Christine in the hospital. Christine and Elgin, Rayona's father, do not get along, and Christine makes Elgin so angry that he refuses to come collect her from the hospital once she is discharged. Rayona and Christine drive to Aunt Ida's house on the
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Christine, that night, is at a bar where she meets Elgin, a soldier who promises to bring Lee back. Christine thinks she has finally found love, especially at first sight, but it is lust at first sight. Elgin and
Christine conceive Rayona in Tacoma, and they soon get married. Not able to have sex
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Clara gets pregnant with Lecon's baby (Lecon being Ida's father). Clara and Ida then move to a convent, and Ida promises to be the legal mother of
Christine at the stunning age of 15. The nuns tell her to be called "Aunt Ida" instead of mother, since she and Christine are technically sisters.
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women: Rayona, who is half
African-American, her mother Christine, and Christine's mother Aunt Ida. The story is told in three distinct sections, one for each woman. Throughout the book, themes of family, identity, and heritage are highlighted and examined.
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Willard undergoes serious plastic surgery and is handsome as he was before, he tells his mother that "Ida may not be pretty or smart, but she was there for me when no one else was." Ida is heartbroken and breaks off the relationship between them.
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Ida lives her life with
Christine and Lee, revealing her favoritism towards Christine and her dislike for Lee, claiming he is whiny and always needs attention, contradictory to Christine's belief that Ida likes Lee more.
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Ida "mom" because she tells them was never married and feels it's not right. Christine is attracted to her brother's friend Dayton. During the
Vietnam War, Christine receives mail from Dayton saying Lee is
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Christine gets weaker and can handle only one task a day. Dayton fixed her old car and
Christine and Dayton decided to teach Rayona how to drive. One day while Dayton and Rayona are at a
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Ida's aunt Clara arrives on the reservation to help with Annie, Ida's sick mother. Ida and her sister Pauline are excited to have a sophisticated city girl in the house.
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with Christine was taxing on Elgin, and he is gone most of the time, always in and out of Christine's life. She finally leaves and goes to the reservation.
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Christine received. Ida does not believe in the letter, but she is willing to humor Christine. The final lines describe Ida pantomiming the action of
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love and did not want to be separated. That afternoon Christine gives Rayona her prize silver ring as a gesture of reconciliation.
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Clara visits a few times, threatening to take Christine and put her up for adoption, but Ida refuses every time.
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Christine finds out she had worn herself down with all the alcohol, and she only has six months to live.
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Christine and Ida on the roof of their house, awaiting the end of the world as predicted in a
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505:– owner of the Conoco gas station near Bearpaw Lake; husband of Evelyn Dial
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278:, published in 1987. It tells the story of three generations of
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343 pp (hardback edition) & 372 p. (paperback edition)
451:– a reservation man and veteran; biological father of Lee
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Michael Dorris Dies At 52, Wrote of His Son's Suffering
487:– Ida, Pauline, and Christine's father; Annie's husband
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517:– Seattle pharmacist; Christine's friend and neighbor
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
543:Michael Dorris. New York: Spark Pub., 2002. Print.
397:– Christine's (separated) husband; Rayona's father
475:– Annie's sister; Christine's biological mother
391:– a main protagonist; legal mother of Christine
421:– assistant priest at the reservation mission.
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539:Dorris, Michael, and James Patrick. Duffy.
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559:Books of the Times, Multiple Perspectives
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
481:– Ida and Pauline's mother; Lecon's wife
574:Alcohol's Child a Father Tells His Tale
564:Eccentricity was all They Could Afford
385:– a main protagonist; mother of Rayona
523:– Bearpaw Lake maintenance supervisor
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44:adding citations to reliable sources
511:– chef at Bearpaw Lake; wife of Sky
433:– Pauline's husband; Foxy's father
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463:– Rayona's cousin; son of Pauline
614:Novels set in Washington (state)
196:Print (hardback & paperback)
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31:needs additional citations for
529:– other Bearpaw Lake employees
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274:is the debut novel of author
55:"A Yellow Raft in Blue Water"
619:Henry Holt and Company books
609:Books about Native Americans
122:A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
541:A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
493:– lifeguard at Bearpaw Lake
370:A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
271:A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
118:1987 book by Michael Dorris
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217:(hardback edition) &
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133:1st US paperback edition
383:Christine George Taylor
584:NY Times Books Reviews
604:Novels set in Montana
403:– Christine's brother
599:1987 American novels
527:John, Andy, and Dave
497:Mr. and Mrs. DeMarco
40:improve this article
469:– Foxy's girlfriend
461:Kennedy "Foxy" Cree
425:Pauline George Cree
377:Rayona Diane Taylor
263:PS3554.O695 Y4 1987
225:(paperback edition)
169:Henry Holt & Co
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467:Annabelle Stiffarm
457:– Willard's mother
449:Willard Pretty Dog
624:1987 debut novels
503:Norman "Sky" Dial
499:– Ellen's parents
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509:Evelyn Dial
443:Buster Cree
296:reservation
593:Categories
554:SparkNotes
534:References
437:Polly Cree
401:Lee George
251:813/.54 19
96:March 2015
66:newspapers
431:Dale Cree
303:Christine
165:Publisher
515:Charlene
362:braiding
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180:May 1987
149:Language
152:English
80:scholar
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59:news
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