Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Marrow Thieves

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

96 reviews

spicycronereads's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious sad fast-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

3.5

This was an interesting concept - a post apocalyptic North America where the apocalypse was a combination of climate change, colonialism, and capitalism. So…near future sci fi. The central concept - that non-indigenous people have lost the ability to dream and now hunt and try to harvest dreams from indigenous folks, killing them in the process - was really strong.

The story initially follows MMC Frenchie as his family is displaced and eventually lost. He joins a group of other indigenous folks in his quest to continue following his parents’ direction to travel North. But it feels more like an ensemble of characters rather than necessarily Frenchie’s story. We get glimpses of the backstories of a few of the secondary characters and as result they seem to almost have more dimension than Frenchie or his love interest Rose, the multi racial character who joins the band of travelers. There was a bit more showing rather than telling in terms of character development so I didn’t quite feel as drawn in as I could have.

I would have liked more back story on Minerva. Obviously her role as elder is really important but that and the brief story of her SA is kind of all we know. Similarly, there was no attention to where Frenchie’s dad had been all this time or how he came to be where he was. Same for Isaac. Though I was pleasantly surprised when it was him among the other group. I expected it to be someone else from Frenchie’s family

That said, it was still an enjoyable read. As I said, the concept is really interesting. It is well-paced. I read most of it in a day. And there are a few twists that are simultaneously predictable and surprising. Don’t want to say more for fear of spoiling.

In terms of diverse representation, the book is primarily indigenous characters, with a few multi racial characters here and there. There is a gay man among the main characters.

There is a romance subplot but it is also suffers from the author telling rather than showing. It also goes from the character stating they are in love with the other person to later only really liking them. So that was a bit confusing. I give it one swoony heart. 💖

Overall, I liked it, despite these issues. They didn’t accumulate to the light where I didn’t enjoy the book. I will likely read the second one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 💖

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purplepickle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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kaymaxwell's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

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tlaynejones's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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triley's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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allikay14's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

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tales_told_in_gold's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

5.0

It was the title that caught my eye - immediately, I wondered, "who's out here stealing bones?"

Starting off as a random find at the library, "The Marrow Thieves" ended up being a layered emotional journey loaded with enough sucker-punch twists to make my heart ache. The narrative voice that Dimaline weaves into her characters is truly a skill to admire. She makes you feel like you're sitting right there beside them, listening to their stories as they captivate you with memorable tales of love and grief and joy and pain.

We follow the perspective of Frenchie, a teenage boy whose coming-of-age in this world of environmental destruction and cruelest inhumanity towards Indigenous peoples lead him to discover what it means to be a survivor of a rich heritage being systematically targeted by those who seek a cure to their own lost culture.

How do you hold on to what you have left? How do you regain what's been eradicated? How far would you go to protect your loved ones?

Give this speculative novel a read if any of those questions intrigued you.

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