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pikkumarja's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
I loved this story! Elatsoe is a beautiful story about the family, stories and friendship. The book tells a story about finding your own strenght and your own roots and respect the ones before you. This book is magical and mysterious.
Great representation! Asexual main character, many native american characters!
Pure magic!
Great representation! Asexual main character, many native american characters!
Pure magic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death
hdcamp's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I loved this little urban fantasy! It's too overtly magical to be just magical realism, but it's treated as a normal part of life in much the same way. It's chock full of vampires, wizards, and magical powers. Ellie is a great narrator too - she's a little dry, and very funny, but she's also incredibly heartfelt. Her sense of right and wrong is stronger than many contemporary protagonists, and she shows a degree of selflessness and courage that was really nice to see. Maybe her wisdom comes as a result of her deep connection to her family - not only to her parents and cousin, but to her six-great grandmother, from whom she inherited her own powers.
DudeI thought we were safe having the dog already dead, but the ending scared the HECK out of me, no thank you! Luckily everything ended up fine but for a moment I was quite displeased.
My brain is boring today. I liked this, I liked the writing, I liked the fantastical elements. There were several moments that made me chuckle. Maybe it's because I read this as my "at work" read, and it took me like 3 months to read, but I don't have much to say 😔
"Last season, we sat three to a seat on the bus to Dallas," Jess added. "By the end of the trip, I was in Martia's lap."
"Good times," Martia said. "Until my legs fell asleep. How do mall Santas do it?"
*Okay, but the bit about how indigenous people can kill vampires by verbally claiming the land was pretty metal.
Dude
My brain is boring today. I liked this, I liked the writing, I liked the fantastical elements. There were several moments that made me chuckle. Maybe it's because I read this as my "at work" read, and it took me like 3 months to read, but I don't have much to say 😔
"Last season, we sat three to a seat on the bus to Dallas," Jess added. "By the end of the trip, I was in Martia's lap."
"Good times," Martia said. "Until my legs fell asleep. How do mall Santas do it?"
*Okay, but the bit about how indigenous people can kill vampires by verbally claiming the land was pretty metal.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Racism
The dog is okay:lauren_shilling's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
4.25
This book definitely surprised me! I had heard of it once or twice, but it didn't really catch my eye until I saw it in a bookstore and decided to give it a try. I'm really glad I did, because I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the world it created, and I loved learning about the main character's ability to raise the dead. It was so interesting. I also thought the mystery in this book was really well crafted, and the unnerving vibes you get from it until you find out what is actually happening was really well done. It's such a great exploration of native cultures and how they have been impacted throughout history. I learned a lot reading this book, and I would love to read more like it. It was a great way to bring parts of history to life and to the forefront of discussions. The characters were all great, and I loved following them all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Colonisation, Animal death, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
alicia_rausch's review
adventurous
lighthearted
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
4.0
This was unlike anything I’ve ever read before - fast pacing, great world-building rooted in Native lore, spooky adversaries, and Elatsoe is a relatable, strong protagonist with some much-needed ace rep in the fantasy space. If you're looking for something supernatural, a little mystery, a cute ghost dog sidekick, and original characters, this is for you.
The one thing I will say is I think this is classified as YA, but I think it should've been classified as middle-grade. The characters read as MUCH younger/less mature than 17, to the point of fault, but you could argue that this makes it more accessible to young readers of a wider age range.
The one thing I will say is I think this is classified as YA, but I think it should've been classified as middle-grade. The characters read as MUCH younger/less mature than 17, to the point of fault, but you could argue that this makes it more accessible to young readers of a wider age range.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Racism
kfmcf's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.25
This is more magical realism than fantasy - which is absolutely fine, but for folks going into this expecting pure fantasy, they may feel a bit unsatisfied.
Elatsoe is a great POV character. She's spunky and funny and caring and her relationship with her family is entertaining and charming. She was absolutely my favorite part of the book along with the descriptions of her magic and the world around her.
Her world is the same as ours but with magic and magic-folk being known entities. I think I was hoping for a little bit more magic and less murder mystery, but that's from going in mostly blind. I think the mystery itself was still handled-well, there were some twists and turns without it being a shock or jump scare(you know who it is from pretty early on along with Elatsoe's suspicions. But the reveal of the Doctor's secret was interesting without it being a major twist. Not even mystery needs to be mind blowing, just believable and fascinating)
There were a few pacing issues where I think things could have moved with a bit more agency, and maybe a few questions that never really got answered, but the last half of the book was quite speedy. I hope to see more from this author and more works of fiction from indigenous authors!
Elatsoe is a great POV character. She's spunky and funny and caring and her relationship with her family is entertaining and charming. She was absolutely my favorite part of the book along with the descriptions of her magic and the world around her.
Her world is the same as ours but with magic and magic-folk being known entities. I think I was hoping for a little bit more magic and less murder mystery, but that's from going in mostly blind. I think the mystery itself was still handled-well, there were some twists and turns without it being a shock or jump scare
There were a few pacing issues where I think things could have moved with a bit more agency, and maybe a few questions that never really got answered, but the last half of the book was quite speedy. I hope to see more from this author and more works of fiction from indigenous authors!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Racism, Car accident, Colonisation, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Classism
luly_sc's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.5
I have been waiting to read this book since before it came out. I've been a fan of Darcie Little Badger's short stories, especially Nkásht ÃÃ, and knowing she was releasing a full novel with an aroace lead was a gift.
The world of Elatsoe is a very interesting urban fantasy type of setting which, much like other stories from her, are rooted in Lipan Apache culture. This story is a murder mystery of sorts, a coming-of-age, a fantasy adventure and a ghost story, all rolled into one and done marvelously.
One thing I LOVED about it was the absolute trust and support Ellie's parents give to her. It's so frequent to find stories with young characters (and older ones too) where parents don't believe, don't listen or look away, but Ellie's parents weren't only supporting from the start, they also take part on the adventure and are far from bystanders.
The friendship between Ellie and Jay is so refreshing to read, they have great platonic chemistry and all the side characters are so well constructed that they have a set personality very clearly, no matter how long they've been around for or how little.
Ellie being aroace is treated so well throughout the story and is stated in the text in a way in which I am incredibly grateful for.
Cultural aspects, folklore and the stifling presence of colonization and systematic exploitation are very present in the crafting of the narrative. I particularly loved the way it introduced the relationship of original peoples - outsiders in a way that is a core part of the identity of the story and moves (pun intended, if you get there you'll know) the mystery along. It isn't an accessory, it's ingrained in the development of the plot and in the situation of the characters in more ways than one.
I particularly loved the illustration aspect of the book because it's less like an illustrated novel and more like a picture book: the illustrations tell a parallel story, another character's story, snippets of which we get here and there in text but which we can only fully grasp through the illustrations, and the ending illustration made me pretty much tear up, absolute stunning work by Rovina Cai.
The only thing I can criticize is the dialogue, in some places. I feel like it sometimes felt a bit forced and didn't quite fit the mood of the scene. It was somewhat disruptive at times because the prose is very well crafted. It didn't take me out from it entirely but there were segments in which the things they said, especially between Ellie and Jay in the middle of Complicated Situations, felt not as natural as I would have wanted.
All in all, this book was 100% worth the wait (for me) and I'm so happy I could finally read it. Absolute gem from Dracie Little Badger, as expected.
The world of Elatsoe is a very interesting urban fantasy type of setting which, much like other stories from her, are rooted in Lipan Apache culture. This story is a murder mystery of sorts, a coming-of-age, a fantasy adventure and a ghost story, all rolled into one and done marvelously.
One thing I LOVED about it was the absolute trust and support Ellie's parents give to her. It's so frequent to find stories with young characters (and older ones too) where parents don't believe, don't listen or look away, but Ellie's parents weren't only supporting from the start, they also take part on the adventure and are far from bystanders.
The friendship between Ellie and Jay is so refreshing to read, they have great platonic chemistry and all the side characters are so well constructed that they have a set personality very clearly, no matter how long they've been around for or how little.
Ellie being aroace is treated so well throughout the story and is stated in the text in a way in which I am incredibly grateful for.
Cultural aspects, folklore and the stifling presence of colonization and systematic exploitation are very present in the crafting of the narrative. I particularly loved the way it introduced the relationship of original peoples - outsiders in a way that is a core part of the identity of the story and moves (pun intended, if you get there you'll know) the mystery along. It isn't an accessory, it's ingrained in the development of the plot and in the situation of the characters in more ways than one.
I particularly loved the illustration aspect of the book because it's less like an illustrated novel and more like a picture book: the illustrations tell a parallel story, another character's story, snippets of which we get here and there in text but which we can only fully grasp through the illustrations, and the ending illustration made me pretty much tear up, absolute stunning work by Rovina Cai.
The only thing I can criticize is the dialogue, in some places. I feel like it sometimes felt a bit forced and didn't quite fit the mood of the scene. It was somewhat disruptive at times because the prose is very well crafted. It didn't take me out from it entirely but there were segments in which the things they said, especially between Ellie and Jay in the middle of Complicated Situations, felt not as natural as I would have wanted.
All in all, this book was 100% worth the wait (for me) and I'm so happy I could finally read it. Absolute gem from Dracie Little Badger, as expected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Death, Animal death, and Racism
simplykatherina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
3.75
The version of our world that this book takes place in is one of magic and mystery, and I loved getting to experience it.
I didn’t know much about this book going into it so while I was expecting a mystery I wasn’t expecting the ending (not that I’m upset).
This is a wonderful story of finding the truth and discovering who we are and the power we hold.
I didn’t know much about this book going into it so while I was expecting a mystery I wasn’t expecting the ending (not that I’m upset).
This is a wonderful story of finding the truth and discovering who we are and the power we hold.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Car accident, and Racism
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Grief
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Body horror
Minor: Car accident, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Animal death
klbreyfogle's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Generally good! I love a canon ace character, and Ellie was fun to follow (plus ghost Kirby was a delight). The integration of Lipan Apache beliefs was really cool, especially how they were used to solve the crime and resolve the conflict at the end!
It’s definitely YA, and although Ellie is meant to be 17 she feels a little younger than that. The reason I didn’t rate it higher is that I think I’m a little older than the target audience, and portions of the characters and dialogue didn’t really resonate because of that.
It’s definitely YA, and although Ellie is meant to be 17 she feels a little younger than that. The reason I didn’t rate it higher is that I think I’m a little older than the target audience, and portions of the characters and dialogue didn’t really resonate because of that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Murder, Racism, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide and Animal death
skienight's review
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Animal death