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emily_mh's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was such a delight to read!! It really reminded me of the game Night in the Woods. I adored the author’s writing style; the dialogue gave off a real arthouse film vibe which was really unique. But also, she effortlessly wove together so many strands of story and character, but all in the direction of telling a murder mystery?? Masterfully done!! The plot was also well-paced and held my attention throughout. Ellie was a wonderful main character: she was clever, determined, and thought outside the box, so it was really refreshing to read from her POV. Jay as a side character was so much fun, and the friendship between the him and Ellie was joyful. Finally, the illustrations in the chapter headings were absolutely gorgeous, and I loved how they ended up weaving in with Ellie’s storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Colonisation, and Animal death
Moderate: Violence, Car accident, Racism, Grief, and Body horror
Minor: War, Self harm, Cursing, Confinement, Excrement, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Medical content, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Kidnapping
Major content warnings for death of a pet and loss of a loved one. Minor content warnings for drowning, climate change/global warming, drought, insects, mass murder, and divorce.morganperks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident, Torture, Gaslighting, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Child death
Moderate: Colonisation, Medical content, Addiction, Miscarriage, Animal death, Racism, Violence, Genocide, Medical trauma, Stalking, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gore, and Body horror
Minor: Kidnapping, Confinement, Cancer, and Gun violence
imaginingly's review
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
this was an awesome read. it’s a very diverse book with a main plot of solving a murder case and a side plot of friendship between human and dog. there are only a couple things i wasn’t a big fan of: how it kept jumping from stories/ flashbacks to current day without warning; it made the reading a little confusing at times. also, the very last part of the ending. i feel as if it was a good ending as a whole, but the last few pages just didn’t flow well with how the rest of the book was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
Moderate: Racism and Car accident
Minor: Blood, Cancer, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
hmatt's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I really, really liked the world this novel is set in, but I don't feel like the book did it or the story itself justice. A lot of the narrative seemed rushed, to me, as if it tried to pack too many details into too short of a story. At times, especially in the second half of the book, I wondered whether I had accidentally skipped a sentence or two of exposition.
The world seems so rich with magic and slight differences to "ours", and I can see why the author wanted to explain it all, but maybe some of the inclusions were unnecessary and distracted from the plot.For instance, I don't think the repeated inclusion/descriptions of the fae and fairy rings is fundamental to the story besides as a convenient tool for Jay et al to use for getting around fast. Similarly, I don't think the fake-psychic plot point really furthered the narrative. Instead, I wish the author had used this space to expand on Ellie's reactions and feelings during the climactic scenes. This part of the book really lost me, because you had a teenage girl witnessing mass death and destruction happening around her and she's like... cracking cheerleading jokes with her best friend? Sorry, that doesn't seem plausible .
I have some mixed feelings about the teeny tiny ace rep happening. I want to be happy that it's in there at all, but once again I feel like it was a rushed inclusion. It's not delved into in any detail, which is almost worse (to me) than not having named representation at all. Further, because the book doesn't go into any detail, an uneducated reader could be forgiven for equating asexuality with aromanticism - because the small inclusion appears to conflate the two. This frustrated me.
Beyond this, I did really enjoy the story. I liked how it wove it Lipin Apache culture and didn't shy away from confronting the ongoing effects of colonization. The characters' behaviours mostly aligned with their age, which is something that, if untrue, can really turn me off a YA read. However, I felt that the dialogue was a bit stilted and some of the exposition read as more middle-grade than YA. This made for a bit of a mixed-experience read.
The world seems so rich with magic and slight differences to "ours", and I can see why the author wanted to explain it all, but maybe some of the inclusions were unnecessary and distracted from the plot.
I have some mixed feelings about the teeny tiny ace rep happening. I want to be happy that it's in there at all, but once again I feel like it was a rushed inclusion. It's not delved into in any detail, which is almost worse (to me) than not having named representation at all. Further, because the book doesn't go into any detail, an uneducated reader could be forgiven for equating asexuality with aromanticism - because the small inclusion appears to conflate the two. This frustrated me.
Beyond this, I did really enjoy the story. I liked how it wove it Lipin Apache culture and didn't shy away from confronting the ongoing effects of colonization. The characters' behaviours mostly aligned with their age, which is something that, if untrue, can really turn me off a YA read. However, I felt that the dialogue was a bit stilted and some of the exposition read as more middle-grade than YA. This made for a bit of a mixed-experience read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence
bedtimesandbooks's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Murder, Car accident, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Minor: Cancer
plumpaperbacks's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Elatsoe, but it ended up being really good. I liked Ellie and Jay, and appreciated Ellie’s open, positive relationship with her parents. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a ghost dog before, but Kirby is undeniably a very good boy and I love him.
Little Badger’s take on paranormal creatures in the modern world was interesting and unique. I would’ve liked a bit more focus on that, but regardless, the blend of urban fantasy and mystery is something I think she handled well. Ghosts and vampires and fairy transport rings certainly spice up this whodunnit, as does the fact that the victim is able to tell Ellie who murdered him. Thus, this is a story of proving one man guilty rather than determining who is guilty. I was frequently surprised by the secrets Ellie and Jay unveiled.
Lastly, I liked that Ellie was queer. She’s definitely asexual and possibly aromantic as well, which means there’s no romance in this book, only jokes about how she’s totally not interested. It was nice to see her and Jay working together as friends and nothing more, with no unrequited crushes or hormones bogging down their relationship or kissing at inappropriate times. This is also, if I remember correctly, the first book I’ve read with an asexual protagonist that wasn’t strictly contemporary.
There are only two reasons I didn’t rate this five stars. One, like I said a bit earlier, I would’ve liked to see a bit more world-building, as it felt at times like Little Badger had a brilliant idea that was only partially explained on page and we were supposed to understand the rest. I did not. Two, while the intrigue was undoubtedly present and the mystery excellent, I thought the final scene with Allerton was anticlimactic, and I’m still not entirely sure what happened.
Despite that, Elatsoe is a great book, one of the most unique mysteries I’ve read, and a very impressive debut. I recommend it, and will definitely pick up more from this author in the future.
Representation
Little Badger’s take on paranormal creatures in the modern world was interesting and unique. I would’ve liked a bit more focus on that, but regardless, the blend of urban fantasy and mystery is something I think she handled well. Ghosts and vampires and fairy transport rings certainly spice up this whodunnit, as does the fact that the victim is able to tell Ellie who murdered him. Thus, this is a story of proving one man guilty rather than determining who is guilty. I was frequently surprised by the secrets Ellie and Jay unveiled.
Lastly, I liked that Ellie was queer. She’s definitely asexual and possibly aromantic as well, which means there’s no romance in this book, only jokes about how she’s totally not interested. It was nice to see her and Jay working together as friends and nothing more, with no unrequited crushes or hormones bogging down their relationship or kissing at inappropriate times. This is also, if I remember correctly, the first book I’ve read with an asexual protagonist that wasn’t strictly contemporary.
There are only two reasons I didn’t rate this five stars. One, like I said a bit earlier, I would’ve liked to see a bit more world-building, as it felt at times like Little Badger had a brilliant idea that was only partially explained on page and we were supposed to understand the rest. I did not. Two, while the intrigue was undoubtedly present and the mystery excellent, I thought the final scene with Allerton was anticlimactic, and I’m still not entirely sure what happened.
Despite that, Elatsoe is a great book, one of the most unique mysteries I’ve read, and a very impressive debut. I recommend it, and will definitely pick up more from this author in the future.
Representation
- Lipan Apache asexual protagonist
- Lipan Apache side characters
- side characters of color
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Grief, Car accident, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Animal death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
planreadrepeat's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Racial slurs
Minor: Gun violence, Racism, Torture, and Violence
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