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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
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
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.0
This was a well-crafted, accessible and engaging story. I enjoyed the writing and the way that the tradition of passing knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation through oral storytelling was interwoven into the narrative.
I appreciated the commentary on the lecherous nature of white supremacy and the colonizers who act in service of it.
I had to pace myself and take longer than usual to work through this book only because I don’t naturally gravitate toward stories that center around crime-solving, but I knew that going in, and in spite of it, I can still recognize that this is an incredibly well-written novel. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA thrillers with an element of magical realism.
I appreciated the commentary on the lecherous nature of white supremacy and the colonizers who act in service of it.
I had to pace myself and take longer than usual to work through this book only because I don’t naturally gravitate toward stories that center around crime-solving, but I knew that going in, and in spite of it, I can still recognize that this is an incredibly well-written novel. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA thrillers with an element of magical realism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, 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
jae0141's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
poppysoffe7's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Make sure to listen or read the intro because it explains a lot. The book is kind of confusing if you don’t.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Cursing, Body horror, Gore, and Murder
pobi's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
Loved the style and storytelling!! I think it was just slightly too young for me, or maybe I just read it when I was in the wrong mood. The world building and mystery was FABULOUS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation
wickedgrumpy's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The magical realism involving ghosts lent a dreamy quality to this book. I’d love to read more about this world.
Content Warnings
Minor: Stalking, Violence, Bullying, Death of parent, Murder, Xenophobia, Animal death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Body horror, Trafficking, Medical content, Abandonment, Classism, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Car accident, Deadnaming, Gore, Grief, and Hate crime