Sweetgrass by Jan Hudson

I discovered Sweetgrass when I was 11 and immediately fell for its vivid prose. I've read it over and over again and still love its mix of innocent romance, medical drama, and Blackfoot culture.

It starts out simple: Sweetgrass just wants to be able to convince her father that she's mature enough to marry, and that her old playmate Eagle Sun would make a better husband than any of the old men of her band who already have several wives. Little does she know she's about to take part in a much bigger struggle, one with life or death consequences that will change her family forever.