Author: Diane Carmel Léger

The translation of the Hackmatack Award-winning La butte à Pétard

It’s 1755, and twelve-year-old Fidèle’s life is quiet and pastoral—until a sudden shift in the political situation brings chaos to Acadie. The English are hunting down and deporting all the Acadians, and the only way to escape is to run far away or to live in the wilderness.

Fidèle’s parents are taken by the English along with their newborn baby. He, his sister, Prémélia, their grandfather, Pétard, and elderly Rosalie decide to brave life in the forest near their burned-down house in the hopes that their family members will return one day. Life in the woods is harsh and unforgiving, and they only survive with the help and knowledge of their Mi’kmaw friends and a mysterious spirit who appears during times of dire need.

Spanning two decades of the terrible events of the Deportation and the long struggle to reunite and resettle afterward, The Lookout Tree is an English translation of the beloved French classic, La butte à Pétard, and a testament to the determination of the Acadian people to survive and thrive in their homeland.