Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

16 reviews

sandiet's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

"We'll always be here"

That is the perfect final sentence in Moon of the Turning Leaves.

Indigenous story telling is almost always heartbreaking yet the resilience of the Indigenous community is something to be admired.

This story picks up 12 years after Moon Over the Crusted Snow (and yes you should read that first to understand some of the backstory). 12 years after the world went dark and everything changed for their community Evan and his team of 4 are on the move once again to find a new settlement and more people. Anishinaabe people. They encounter good and evil along the way and their journey is not an easy one.
The descriptions of the naming ceremony, the burial rituals, the sweat lodge and the land and water were so vivid I felt like I was in the novel.

Excellent, excellent book. A great deal to be learned from this book.

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dananana's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

laurareads87's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Moon of the Turning Leaves picks up over ten years after its predecessor left off; the Whitesky family and a small community group have left their homes and are now living further north. This novel follows a small group, including Evan and his daughter Nangohns, who decide to leave south to the shores of the Great Lakes see what remains of the world and find a new place for the community to live.

This novel reads less ‘horror’ than its predecessor; I may like this one even better than the first. I found myself very invested in the characters’ journey, and feel like this novel has so much to say about resilience and hope amidst despair. I have read others describe at least the beginning as slow, but I didn’t find it to be. I loved Rice’s thorough incorporation of Anishinaabemowin.

This could almost work as a standalone; though it does mention individuals and events from the first book, it does so in ways that wouldn’t be totally baffling to a new reader. That said, I would definitely suggest reading Moon of the Crusted Snow first. Both books are excellent, and it provides valuable context to this one.

Content warnings: death, murder, violence, gun violence, suicide, racism, racial slurs, blood, death of a non-human animal, verbal threats of sexual assault, mention of cannibalism

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shay43geek's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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sarmcp's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Waub did it again, folks: just like last time, I could not put this book down for the life of me. I was so overcome with emotion by the end that I had to give in to a good cry - that kind of investment is no small feat for an author to achieve. If Moon of the Crusted Snow remains my favourite novel, this one is a close second.

Content Warnings