Montana 1948, by Larry Watson, is an interesting, exciting novel about a boy, David Hayden, who lives in Bentrock, Montana, and the life-changing events which happen to him one summer. David tells the story of his uncle Frank murdering his housekeeper, an Indian. David's dad, the sheriff, has to arrest Frank, his own brother, for the murder. The crisis of the story occurs when David's uncle commits suicide by cutting his wrists with broken glass from the canning jars on the shelves in David's basement.The novel ends with David summarizing the changes which happen after that incident. David's life is never going to be the same after that summer, and he comes to realize much more about the world adults live in.
One thing that David learns is the attitude of people toward the local Native Americans. When Marie, the housekeeper that David loves, gets sick, his parents ask his dad's brother, a doctor, to tend to her. She shouts, “No! No!” and his parents learn that David's Uncle Frank have been molesting and raping Indian women all of his life.The Indians are powerless because the Hayden family is so powerful. Also, David learns that his uncle, who has been much more impressive than David's father because he is a war hero and the doctor of the town, is really rotten and hollow on the inside. David accidentally sees his uncle go to his house when no one was there but Marie and after that Marie was dead. David knows that his uncle has committed murder. Then David learns about the true, admirable character of his father. When he tells about seeing his uncle, David's dad arrests him, but instead of locking him in the jail, he locks him in their basement to save him the embarrassment. David's father also has to stand up against David's grandparents and against the ranch workers who come to free his uncle. After the events of this summer of 1948 in Montana, David has basically grown up and learned that the appearance of people is not always the reality....