Reviews - Ellie dei cani eterni

4.57k reviews for:

Ellie dei cani eterni

Darcie Little Badger

4.07 AVERAGE

ntramjam's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous hopeful lighthearted 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

jessiethelion's review against another edition

5.0

Such fascinating world building.

rachel_reads_7's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

reynoldsreads's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Magical realism murder mystery

In an alternate America with vampires, fairy circles, and supernatural monsters, Ellie has a special skill: like her Lipan Apache ancestors before her, she has a knack for summoning animal ghosts — like her beloved dog, Kirby, just as loyal in death as he was in life. Perhaps that’s why the spirit of her cousin reaches out to her in his last moments, telling her who killed him and begging for justice.

Finding the man in question is easy. Proving his guilt is a lot more complicated, considering he’s an affluent and influential doctor given to charity work, very well-known and well-liked in his small Texas town. But there’s definitely something off about him — about the whole situation — and Ellie, her family, and her best friend are determined to get to the truth before her restless cousin returns to exact vengeance himself … and human ghosts, unlike animals, are always a dangerous thing.

It’s an exciting mystery and a beautiful story about grief, justice, connecting with history, and outwitting monsters!

after_hours_reader's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

larebe's review against another edition

4.0

I loved the spirit of this book even with its flaws. Teen characters felt much younger than 17, to the point that it was startling when it mentioned Ellie driving. Some parts were definitely creepy, some just more campy. But I enjoyed the whole thing immensely.

pleasantbastard's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

“Ellie scrutinized her memories of Trevor. There were no clues, no warnings, that hinted at his violent death. If lives were books, his final chapter came too soon and belonged to a different genre.”

➽ I had mixed feelings on Elatsoe. Initially, I was excited to read the book, as it follows a young Native girl called Ellie, who lives in an alternate America dominated by magical beings. Her family secret allows them to raise the dead, and Ellie's constant companion is the ghost of her beloved dog Kirby. I wanted to like this more than I did, especially as the premise was so good! We see Ellie investigating the sudden death of her cousin Trevor, which anyone else has ruled an accident. I love a good mystery, but wasn't quite as invested in it!

➽ Let's start with what I liked: the premise of an alternate, more magical America was great. Ellie's ghost-raising powers aren't genetic, but a secret passed down to the eldest child for generations. However, there are also different beings like Vampires in this world, though they are Cursed and therefore heavily regulated. There are also fae powers and many otherworldly beings. I thought the world had a lot of potential, and I love how true magic is seen as unreliable, as it warps the fabric of reality!

➽ I also liked following Elatsoe, her ghost dog Kirby and best friend Jay as they investigate her cousin's death. After getting a message from him, Ellie is convinced that his family is in danger, and his murderer walks free. She's not resting until she finds the person responsible! I loved how we learned more about Ellie's culture and how her tribe approaches death. Since human ghosts - unlike animal ghosts - are vicious, dangerous creatures, Ellie's family is making sure that Trevor has no reason to come back as one. I loved hearing the stories about Ellie's ancestor - also called Elatsoe - and her many heroic feats!

➽ Unfortunately, I struggled with the writing and pacing of the story. First of all, this is a YA book, but it reads much more like a Middle Grade in tone. It was difficult to believe that Ellie and Jay were supposed to be 17, as they read much younger to me. Apart from that, the writing wasn't my favorite, which shocked me as I loved Darcie Little Badger's short story in the Anthology Never Whistle At Night. I gave her short story 5 stars, as the writing was great in that one. Maybe it's different in Elatsoe, as it's her debut novel, and she improved in the meantime? Nevertheless, I was disappointed by the writing, as it was heavy on the telling, and the reveal of information was often quite abrupt and awkward. The dialogue also felt simple and stilted, so I struggled to feel connected to the characters. The mystery was very slow to get going, and only the last 20% were action-packed!

Content Warnings