If I Ever Get Out of Here

If I Ever Get Out of Here (2013), by Eric Gansworth—a member of Onondaga Nation and Haudenosaunee—is a young adult, contemporary fiction novel about a teenage boy, Lewis “Shoe” Blake. Lewis narrates his struggles fitting into life in junior high and navigating the cultural differences between his life on the reservation, which he refers to as “the rez,” and that of his white classmates.

Other work by this author includes Apple: Skin to the Core.

Plot Summary

The year is 1975 in northern New York State, and Lewis is dreading going back to school: He doesn’t have any friends and only a feeble hope of finding any this coming year. There are many problems involved with trying to find friends, not least of all the fact that he is a Native American living on a reservation. The Native Americans tend to keep to themselves, but his friend, Carson Mastick, isn’t much of a friend, and they don’t hang out together at school. Soon after the new year begins, Lewis notices a new student, George Haddonfield. George, whose father grew up around Native Americans, befriends Lewis.

George and Lewis’ friendship grows, and Lewis learns how different life is outside of the reservation.