Dinner and a book is supported by the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation of Elkhart, celebrating the spirit of Alice Martin and her love of good food and good friends.

Michigan author Angelina Jolie is an enrolled member of the Sioux Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and has written her third book and a bestselling series about justice seeking young people in her Ojibwe community.

In sisters in the wind, we meet Lucy Smith, whose experiences in the foster system make for a thrilling, eye opening and satisfying stories.

And what a thrill, indeed to have the author herself back in the kitchen.

My pleasure.

Oh, thank you so much for saying yes to this.

So what is this book about?

Gosh, 18 year old Lucy Smith ages out of the foster care system.

She learns about her Ojibwe identity, and, an attorney offers to connect her with her family, who has been searching for her her whole life.

And, but if foster care has taught her anything, it's to trust no one.

Okay.

Wow.

Okay.

That's a very good trust me, author, to know how to summarize it.

So, we are making kind of comfort food for teenagers who could use it, right?

So what are you making for us today?

I am making the world's easiest, chicken soup.

Okay.

With ravioli.

So, tortellini.

Totally.

Okay.

Okay.

Dutiful.

You're going to get some sorting stuff started.

I'm going to make a sort of elevated Mac and cheese, and then later some greens which appear in the, which appear in the book.

So what are you getting started here?

And I'm going to cut out cauliflower.

How?

I'm getting started.

Is.

Okay.

Some, butter.

I like to start with just a little bit of, canola oil.

And then I put in my butter because butter is everything, and we're both starting pans with butter.

So imitation is the sincerest form of yogurt.

And then to keep things really easy, I'll just do, a cup of diced celery and onions.

And I like to get a good sear on it, so.

And while you're doing the base of that there, I'm just simmering a little bit of cauliflower here.

Let's talk about the, one of the the bases of the novel.

In all of your books.

Well, let's talk about where it fits in the series.

So this is, the third.

This is the third of four.

So.

And they're each they take up, the elements.

Yes.

So this book, is Element of Air.

And I really liked that.

I tie in a lot with fire, and I think about foster teens and foster care as kind of emerging from the ashes and just kind of like, blown to the winds and some land on their feet, and unfortunately, some don't.

And, and so I just wanted to tell a story that, you know, it's about the different outcomes for children in foster care.

Right?

And it's connected to, you know, in your novels, we always learn something about policy.

So this, leans into your past, your professional.

Before you became a famous novelist.

I don't know if you want to talk about that just for a moment, because it's that that background is just evident in all of your books.

Oh, well, so I'm, I'm active in my native community, and, the Indian Child Welfare Act is something that's, vital in keeping when teens do have to go into foster care.

Yeah.

If you follow the act, the tribe can exert jurisdiction and, look for foster placements within the family, the extended family, and then, looking elsewhere in the native community, and then even with other tribes, because we know that when teens have a connection to their culture, they have much better outcomes.

Education, health, behavioral health, just everything is better with a connection to culture.

So that is, when people talk about that a little bit later, this is a book also of definitely, highlighting the problems of the system, but also you offer solutions.

So so let's talk about Lucy.

Somehow you have created yet another teenage character.

I just feel very bonded with.

So I think this is just like one of one of the real gifts.

This is young adult crossover.

But your teen characters, I think, just speak to everything that's feisty and justice seeking in all of us.

So let's talk a little bit about about Lucy and how she came to mind for you and how you how you created her.

Well, it's interesting.

Okay.

You know how in Star Wars when there's the scroll at the beginning of episode four and.

Yes.

Yes.

Nice.

Yes.

The original Star Wars film and it references, that the rebels have acquired, stolen plans of the Death Star.

That's just one sentence in their whole screed.

Yeah, and I thought I always wanted to tell Jamie's story.

Jamie's a character from Firekeepers daughter, and he mentions having been adopted out of his tribe and not really having any connection with his family.

And I thought, how could I tell his story?

Well, I thought, what if he becomes an attorney?

And what if he is committed to helping native teens in foster care to connect with their families?

When the Indian Child Welfare Act is not followed?

And that's how he meets Lucy.

And I thought, what better way to connect to Sugar Island that than to have one character who is mentioned in Firekeepers, but not by name.

Lily, Donna's best friend in Firekeepers, mentions a half sister, right, that she has never met that's being raised by that child's, father and so I thought, what if we give that character a name, a very sheltered background, and then when her father passes away, when she's 13, she ends up in the foster care system?

Okay.

Yeah.

Wonderful.

Oh.

That's back.

I appreciate the way, that there's, all these stories.

And, we should emphasize that while these books, it's it's extremely rich to read them in order, but they're standalone.

You can definitely read them, but if you read them out of order, you might get curious to, you know, the backstories of some of these other characters.

And that would not be a bad thing.

Yes, absolutely.

So, and I'm just making a sort of classic white sauce here with some milk and butter and flour as the base before I add in some cheeses.

I've got, a little bit of poultry seasoning here.

This is a recipe from the cheesy edition of Edible Michiana.

It's cauliflower and, cabbage and, cheese.

You can put whatever kind of cheese you want in it.

I've got some, some Gouda and some, smoked cheese and.

Oh, that is a thing of beauty.

So there's the the searing that there's a searing.

I like to get a nice, a little bit of color on these, basically.

Yeah.

So that just adds lots, lots of depth.

So, so Lucy is a reader.

I think this is, something this would be an awfully fun book to to read in a, in a book group.

But probably if you're watching this, you will know most of the books that, that Lucy, mentions as being important to her.

And how does she come?

How does she become a reader?

It's such a moving part of her story.

Oh, thank you for that.

First I'm going to add about a cup.

Okay.

Of corn.

I'm going to add that this is eyeballing it about a cup of, Carrot.

Right.

And then I'm going to put in two cups of just your favorite basic broth.

I like a bone broth.

Then we're going to do, this is about a cup, but actually I say two cups of chicken.

Okay.

So already cooked and shredded and shredded.

And then you're going to put in, two cups of tortellini.

And my friend, that is it.

Okay.

So super cozy and a nice one too.

You could probably add other vegetables that you like if you want.

Yeah.

And same with this one.

This is pretty simple here.

Now I'm kind of wishing I had a little bit more, cheddar in here just for color, but, so I'm going to pour this over the, the pasta and the, cauliflower here.

And I'm gonna let this just stir for a minute, and then we'll put some breadcrumbs and parsley on top.

So how does Lucy get to become a reader?

Her.

Well, her father is an English teacher, and her father has difficulty expressing emotions.

So the books that he gives to Lucy, there's like, a message.

It's all of the books, involves a father and daughter.

And so whatever he's trying to get across to her, day.

Right.

So birthday.

So A Wrinkle in Time is one of my all time favorite books.

A little princess, you know, just starting as a child with Owl Moon, which for so many of us is, you know, beautiful, picture book.

So she has 13 of them.

And why does she only have 13?

Because her father passes, when she's 13.

So she does not get a 14th book.

And I forgot to add my herb.

Herbs de Provence.

Oh.

Very nice.

I like, I like a nice.

Yes, I'll put in two tablespoons like that.

And this.

I got to say, Ashley, when she wrote this recipe, encourage you to use fresh thyme, but I've got, all my fresh thyme in my yard is under the snow right.

So I'm going to put this on top.

This gives it a nice cheesy, crusty top.

So delicious.

So, we've gotten Lucy to the point where she's about to head into the foster system, and we will pick that up right after a break.

We're going to see some images of the, spaces where this novel takes place.

We will be right back.

Right.

Sizzling this baked cauliflower and, pasta here.

So one of the lines that just really stuck with me is the, the ultimate survival game is for girls to live to adulthood, and we're so invested in these characters.

So you want to say a little bit about the role that plays, and then we'll, maybe have you read a little from the book?

Sure.

So as Lucy learns, you know, her sister Lily, this is an event from the first book, is shot, by a toxic boyfriend.

And I think there need to be more stories for teens about healthy teen dating relationships and the toxic one so that they know the symptoms of being in something that's not healthy.

And.

Yeah, and there's so many older characters who are wonderful mentors, gentle men and men who see Lucy's intellect.

And so it really is tremendously moving.

So, if you would read that passage, it just really stuck with me.

This description of family structure, which happens about halfway through the book.

And who is is this Jamie?

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay.

So the boy, Lucy asks Jamie, what's the difference between a native family and a family that isn't native?

And he says a native social worker told me it's the difference between peas and onions.

Non-Native social workers and court personnel think of families as peas in a pod.

They're all lined up in the p pod.

They all look the same when you open the pod, the peas scatter.

Native families are like onions, rough looking on the outside.

People want to peel away the outer layers and toss them away as if they have no value.

But each layer is protecting the next down to its innermost core, that green center where the onion is the sweetest.

That's the native child, surrounded by layers of family and community.

Oh God, it really.

It really is so, so moving.

So part of the book is just ways that Lucy finds comfort in ways that people comfort her.

So that leads us to what you are making in this section.

So yeah.

So what is the dish that you're fixing here?

So what I'm fixing here is in the book it's angel food cake.

But I did a pound cake, which also, works.

So I put that in my dish, and then I melted a one stick of butter.

And if you if you do this, recipe, please get the best quality of butter that you can so that, Yes.

Irish.

Yes.

And this is unsalted butter.

Okay.

So I went with a nice Irish butter.

Okay.

And then we're going to add a little bit of the cherry juice.

So just it's going to be right isn't it.

Yes.

In theory it should be.

And then you're just going to add powdered sugar okay.

And whisk.

So, so someone makes this for who is it who makes this for Lucy on your birthday, when the story begins, Lucy is, starting out as a waitress at a diner.

Oh.

That's right.

Yes, of course.

And she's got some attitude.

That's got to be.

This is my my pink.

I should have gone with, Oh, no, it's it's we're getting there.

We're getting on there.

So she's for anybody who's ever, waited tables.

I just absolutely love her.

Yeah.

Her coworker, she's got some, but Lucy herself has some real attitude about.

Yeah.

If you ever feel like you're being judged by the people who are waiting at your table, you probably you probably are.

And so her coworker wants to commemorate Lucy's six months at the diner.

That's right.

And, her coworker Nancy is this older, like OG, you know, just original, you know, been doing that with Trevor, been doing it forever.

And, working with Lucy, she has told Lucy at least a dozen or more times, that Lucy resembles someone she wishes she could place.

Where she where the person that she thinks, Lucy resembles.

And, so Nancy doesn't know that Lucy's actually planning to leave because, she feels that someone from her past is after her.

And so they eat, they enjoy this little six month anniversary little cake house.

Sometimes a restaurant will bring out a complimentary cake.

So they do that to celebrate?

Lucy's six months at the diner, and, she goes to thank her coworker.

After the diner is closed, everyone.

And there's an explosion.

This happens very early in the book.

So, yeah, we're going to work very hard not to reveal any, spoilers.

There's a series of explosions.

Yeah.

Many of which the reader doesn't fully understand.

And neither does Lucy.

So you have to you have to keep reading.

And I'm here making, something sort of bitter on the other side of your beautiful, sweet thing.

So there's a Jamie makes a very nourishing meal of manicotti, which was too hard to make, and green, sauteed green.

So I'm doing, some easy sauteed greens here, starting with the stems of some.

I just think it's so pretty.

Rainbow Swiss chard.

So give those a little bit of extra time to cook with some shallots and garlic and a little bit of red pepper.

And then I'll saute the rest of this and finish it with a little, lemon juice and rind here.

So, so there's the structure of this book is extremely complicated, so.

Oh, there's the pink.

Yes.

Yeah.

So can you talk a little bit about the decision you made there and the challenge of that?

It just it works fabulously for the reader.

I try to challenge myself as an author with each book.

So my challenge in, you know, the first book is just to get it done.

Yeah.

The second book, it's to write a character who is totally different than Doris, the main character in the first.

And for my third book, I wanted to challenge myself with time, telling a story on two different, timelines.

And the trick is to only reveal enough in the flashback that it informs what's going on, but it doesn't, jump ahead to where the reader is getting to know the character.

So, so it does.

I do feel like this book should come with a warning.

You know, don't plan to do anything else while you're reading this.

It really, the plot just, you know, you move back and forth in time.

So you're seeing Lucy learn, you know, learn more about the policies that have shaped her family life, learn more about her family life.

And because she's a teenager, she's changing very quickly.

So, you know, she's she's growing the way we do when we're teenagers every time she's, you know, has a new friendship, a new relationship.

And because she's in the foster care system, she's she's finding new people all the time.

So actually, we should maybe talk about the title, where that comes from.

These all these sisters who sort of blow in and out of her life.

What's next?

So I think of, a child or teen in crisis and needing, foster placement.

I think of them as, like, being tossed into the flames and, rising from the ashes.

And they are carried on the winds to wherever, and some, find their footing and emerge.

Okay.

And some don't.

The foster care system can be really rough, and there are foster families that have the best intentions and do a really great job.

And there are others that do not.

Yeah.

And and so, trying to tell a balanced story within that.

Yeah.

But if I wanted to get back to one thing and that was the, the parking lot after Lucy.

There the explosion at the diner.

Lucy lands in the parking lot next to Nancy, and they're both, you know.

Oh, yeah.

You know, injured and.

Yeah.

And Nancy says to her, I see it now, Lucy, you look just like your mother.

And that's like what?

Yes.

A mother who has not been part of her life at all.

So we we start to, we're we know we're about to learn a much bigger story and characters from the previous books, come into this story in a variety of ways.

The book is also I want to just emphasize about some solutions, too.

So there's, you know, plenty that is wrong with these policies.

But Jamie in particular has ideas about ways that things could be done better.

Yes.

And in really publicizing when the Indian Child Welfare Act is followed properly, the success stories and one.

Okay.

Yeah.

One thing that to come out to.

So what I'm going to do now is I have my cake, I'm going to drizzle.

My frosting over it.

Okay.

That it does look wonderfully pink.

And we've got the whole theme here.

Yeah.

So we have this.

It looks great.

And we are going to smooth it over a little bit, make it all nice and pretty.

Right.

And then you're going to top it.

We're going to have to take a little break here.

Some you want to show us how gorgeous okay.

Yum I'm ready to dig into that.

So we're going to take a break.

Well angelyne finishes topping.

That looks fabulous.

And these cuts.

And we, we're going to look at some images from Angelina Jolie's wonderfully rich Instagram.

So great pictures of this book and other things.

We'll be right back.

Angelina Jolie and I have made dishes inspired by sisters in the wind.

So, you made some soup?

Yes.

We're going to call this a cozy chicken tortellini soup.

Okay, lovely.

And then, this beautiful dessert.

This is.

Or just, maraschino cherry.

Poundcake.

Okay.

This is suitable to serve a teenager on her birthday.

Yeah, and I've made a, cheesy noodle and cauliflower bake and some sauteed greens inspired by Jamie, the chef in the book.

And the fourth book in this series is.

Can you give us a little teaser?

Opens at a pipeline protest rally follows the element of water.

And they say you can tell how a society values its, water by how they treat their women.

Okay?

And that every time you say that my my hair just stands up.

Really riveting.

Again, you can read these in any order.

It's pretty fun to read them in order.

But if you read them out of order, you'll be inspired to go back and learn more about some of these backstories.

So, can you tell us a little bit about this resource of ways that other readers can support Native Creative?

There's a website, American Indians and Children's Literature.

They provide a curated list for readers of viewers to support native creatives.

So these are lists of the best, picture books chapter, book, middle, adult, young adult, graphic novels.

And they're all curated their books, by Native Americans about their communities.

Okay.

So all of us adventurous readers, that would be a great thing that we can do to support.

So much for joining us here.

Thank you.

This is just such an honor.

These books are fantastic.

So thank you so much for joining us.

We hope you continue to read widely and cook Adventurously.

We'll see you next time on dinner and a book we sent in.

Let's see.

Beautiful.

Okay.

Wonderful.

I do want to.

This This WNIT local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.

and a book is supported by the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation of Elkhart, celebrating the spirit of Alice Martin and her love of good food and good friends.