One Night

Gr 9 Up—Luna Begay is studious and has college plans, until she is drugged and raped at a party and ends up pregnant. Too far along for an abortion after confirming her pregnancy, she takes a Native American "miscarriage tea" that her younger sister Issy helps her brew. It doesn't work. Shunned at school once her pregnancy is apparent, the teen is offered support and a secret from the school's queen bee. Luna decides to put her child up for adoption. The book reads quickly and lightly, glossing over most of the emotional impact and trauma of the rape and resulting pregnancy. Luna, her sister, and her parents are one-note characters. Her parents are disappointed that she didn't confide in them but remain supportive. The protagonist finds the perfect adoptive family with some "indigenous blood" in them, who took Native Studies courses in college. Powwows and relatives on the reservation are mentioned, along with a few Native terms sprinkled throughout, but there is no clear sense of place or tribal affiliation in this hi-lo work. Luna is called an "Indian slut," but no context for the racial slur is provided, nor is violence against indigenous women addressed in a nuanced way.