Rating: 
Summary: The race against time
Review: I loved the book Guests.The story tells about a boy named Moss,who tries to convince his parents he is ready to receive the test that will prove him a men.He also does not like the idea that his village is inviting guests for dinner.So, maybe he will run from home. I loved this book because adventure, and suspence are mixed together.I recommend this book for ages 11 to 13 years old.
Rating:
Summary: Thanksgiving through a looking glass
Review: Michael Dorris' multi-level story of "the first Thanksgiving" flows from the point of view of Moss, a Native American boy-man. Different languages, customs, and mores gently clashed - the strange guests didn't bring gifts or even their own eating utensils. (Actually, the Pilgrims and their progeny brought plenty of gifts: guns, whiskey, and small-pox laden blankets - but that's another story for another day.) Why, as both groups were wary of the other, did the Natives invite the interlopers to the harvest feast? Simple, as Moss' father explains:"Because. They. Are. Hungry." This is a beautiful tale for everyone. The existentialism of Moss' journey, the envelopment in the forest primaeval, are enthralling and enchanting. Reviewed by TundraVision
Rating: 
Summary: okay but not good enough.
Review: Moss has a fight with his father. He doesn't want the guests to ruin his party. Moss runs away and go to the forest for "away time". When he returns the guests already have arrived. He handles with them but he still didn't like them.
Rating: 
Summary: Guests
Review: Moss is an immature youth in a unnamed Native American tribe--still in that awkward stage between childhood and warrior status. This boy longs to embark on his own Away Time; i.e. a vision quest/rite of passage. This particular day he resents his family's (indeed, the entire village's) obligation to entertain guests, whose skin and clothing, language and customs are completely alien to all he has experienced. Suddenly
Moss finds himseslf sulking in the woods; then unexpectedly
trying to impress a misfit girl from a distant clan, who is also seeking solace from Nature and respite from her own family. Then Moss feels compelled to plunge rashly into the primeval wilderness--totally unprepared for quality Away time. Does he
seriously believe that he can slip into the woods (or Life) as a boy and emerge some days later to be recognized and accepted as a man? Can two lonely, misunderstsood preteens find their respective ways back Home? Will Moss be able to interpret and follow the advice from a matronly porcupine? Despite several un-Indian expressions, behavior and conversations, this short tale is remarkably well told--instantly capturing the reader's interest. Moss learns important lessons that critical day of the unwanted guests: about hospitality, maturation of the heart and mind, plus the value of a caring family. This book is
good multicultural fare, which reads quickly. One wonders if perhaps the first Thanksgiving encounter was something like this....
Rating: 
Summary: Can Growing up be Rushed?
Review: Moss is an immature youth in a unnamed Native American tribe--still in that awkward stage between childhood and warrior status. This boy longs to embark on his own Away Time; i.e. a vision quest/rite of passage. This particular day he resents his family's (indeed, the entire village's) obligation to entertain guests, whose skin and clothing, language and customs are completely alien to all he has experienced. Suddenly
Moss finds himseslf sulking in the woods; then unexpectedly
trying to impress a misfit girl from a distant clan, who is also seeking solace from Nature and respite from her own family. Then Moss feels compelled to plunge rashly into the primeval wilderness--totally unprepared for quality Away time. Does he
seriously believe that he can slip into the woods (or Life) as a boy and emerge some days later to be recognized and accepted as a man? Can two lonely, misunderstsood preteens find their respective ways back Home? Will Moss be able to interpret and follow the advice from a matronly porcupine? Despite several un-Indian expressions, behavior and conversations, this short tale is remarkably well told--instantly capturing the reader's interest. Moss learns important lessons that critical day of the unwanted guests: about hospitality, maturation of the heart and mind, plus the value of a caring family. This book is
good multicultural fare, which reads quickly. One wonders if perhaps the first Thanksgiving encounter was something like this....
Rating:
Summary: For people who want to find about Native Americans!
Review: One day Moss, a young Native American boy, follows Trouble, a young Native American girl, into a clearing in the woods to see where she is going. Moss talks to Trouble, lies to her about being on his away time, walks into the woods without any weapons or tools, and he gets lost. In the woods, Moss meets and talks to a porcupine, and the porcupine tells Moss not to be afraid of the guests that are coming to Moss's village. Moss thinks about the advice the porcupine gives him. Moss sleeps in the woods, and in the morning he finds his way out. Outside the woods Moss meets Trouble, and they talk as they walk back to their village. When they are at their village they see that the guests have arrived. They are worried! Michael Dorris wrote this book very well. This story would be a good book for people who like adventure! It wouldn't be such a good book for people under the age of 8 because it is a little confusing. It was very interesting and it made me want to read on. If you are able to check out this book out or borrow it, my advice is that you read it.
Rating:
Summary: from a fifth graders view
Review: This book would be better if it had alot more adventure. This book is about a boy named Moss who gets in a fight with his parents. His father is getting ready for the "Guests" and his mother is making corns cakes for the occaision. Moss runs away to the forest because he does not like the white guests joining his Indian family for the feast. On his way he meets a girl named Trouble. Trouble thinks that he is kidding when he says that he is trying to become a man. So Moss closes his eyes, and walks into the forest. In the forest he meets a grouchy old Porcupine.The porcupine gives him advice and changes him from a selfish little boy to a nice sensitive boy. The next day Trouble walks into the forest and they help each other to get out. In the end Mosses mother tells him that the "Guests" and the Indians did NOT get along. In this book there are Indian tales in between the chapters. The Indian Tales were very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for children ages 8-12 who enjoy exciting stories
Review: When Moss, a young Algonquian boy, accidentally broke his grandfather's wampum on the morning that he was already dreading enough; his bad luck just got worse. When he showed the broken wampum to his grandfather, his grandfather said that he would just have to replace the old story with his own story and use the wampum's beads to tell the story. He was to finish the story before the guests came that evening. When Moss refused to help with the preparations, he told his parents that he would run away before he ate with them. Moss left the village while he followed another Native American girl named Trouble. He followed her into the woods, even though she asked him not to. When Moss first told her that he was going on his away time, she did not believe him. Even though he was lying, she was persuaded when he adventured into the forest by himself. He found an animal in the forest that helped him dig deep into his heart and pull out the real Moss. When he found that he was lost, he became discouraged and walked in one direction. He came upon Trouble who showed him the way back. Moss is unhappy that the guests were coming and thought he might not return to the village. I recommend this book to children from ages 8-12 who enjoy exciting stories.
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