Here's what I wrote about this read in 2008: "Sequel to Mrs. Mike, written 50+ years after the first. Good, simple, heartwarming tale continues. NOTE: Critics were harsh on this one!" ( )

A sequel to the popular Mrs Mike, this work of historical fiction is set primarily during World War II, and follows the career of a young Cree woman – Kathy (a/k/a/ Oh-Be-Joyful’s Daughter) – as she becomes an Army nurse and finds love and her place in the world.

I really liked Kathy Forquet as a heroine. Born to Cree parents, she was raised by a white family – Kathy “Mrs Mike” Flanigan is her adoptive mother. Because of her “white upbringing,” she has the advantages of an education that many other First Nation children don’t have, but she is keenly aware that she doesn’t fit in. Still, when WW 2 breaks out, she gathers her courage and heads out on her own to the big city of Montreal and nursing school. Throughout the book she struggles to balance the values she’s been taught, against the temptations she encounters. To find her true identity as a Cree Woman, an Army Nurse, and a Canadian. She remains open to new experiences. She develops a strong friendship with her roommate, a selfish and flighty (if wealthy and well-connected) girl. She finds love – twice; suffers heartbreak; finds courage and tenacity under attack.

In some situations, her status as a First Nation or aboriginal person all but disappears. But in this time period, it is seldom completely set aside. At times she finds herself ill prepared to face the subtle prejudices that are always present. And yet … she has a steel spine, standing up to bullies and insisting on doing the right thing, even if it means losing a friend.

The authors are not First Nation people, and there’s little information about how they came to write this story. I’m skeptical about the truth of what they write, and still I’m drawn into the novel. It’s an inspiring and hopeful story. ( )

Interesting mostly for the conflict between wanting to assimilate and wanting to recognize heritage, but this is not Mrs. Mike. ( )

definitely not as good as Mrs. Mike. I found Kathy to be immature, selfish, and generally not so very nice. she can't make up her mind about her life, and let's others influence her major life decisions based on what she thinks they want her to do. she toys with two men, never actually choosing one, but letting things go until something else makes the decision for her. then lets the major life decisions be made for her again. she was not an admirable character in any way. ( )

Kathy Forquet, whose Indian name is Oh-Be-Joyful's Daughter, grew up as the foster daughter of Kathy and Mike Flannigan. She remembers Mama Kathy's instructions to the twins, Georges and Connie - "Kathy must be included" - and knows that she feels out of place, an Indian who doesn't know much about her heritage but who is left out in so many ways of a white world that just sees the color of her skin. Then, with World War 2 beginning and her foster brother Georges joining the army, Kathy has an opportunity to become a nurse. The war opens up many opportunities, but will Kathy be able to find herself, Oh-Be-Joyful's Daughter?

Life is hard on sequels. When you read the first book, going into it you may have some anticipation of the story based on what you've heard, but it's easier to go in to it fresh, without the weight of expectations already to bear on what you're about to read. Picking up a sequel, you've either got low hopes, perhaps with some wariness based on an earlier book that you didn't enjoy as much as you'd hoped, or high hopes that the story will wow you just as much as the first - or something in between. Well, I had fairly high hopes as Mrs. Mike was a romance that still had a depth to it, an interesting historical fiction about a place I don't think about too much. So Kathy Forquet and her search for Oh-Be-Joyful's Daughter - herself - had a lot to live up to. The plot felt forced at times, events piling on each other in a way that made me feel pulled back and forth by its whims. I liked the characters, so I kept reading, but some of their choices left me scratching my head and unconvinced that it was a believable way for them to act. The writing didn't impress me either, giving me a litany of facts without describing the smells, the sounds, the textures of Montreal, the hospital, or of war. For every element I enjoyed, there was another that fell flat, at least partly based on the expectations set by the first book. ( )