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A review by babsxi123
Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline
5.0
A heartbreaking, face paced, couldn’t-put-it-down follow up to Marrow Thieves. A beautiful and harrowing tribute to generational trauma, building and fostering community, and recognizing that love is stronger than our greatest mistakes.
Characters kept facing impossible vs impossible choices and just when you think “there’s no way this gets worse” - it did, in fact, keep getting worse. When faced with impossible vs impossible choices, what one would you take?
I think it’s easy to say you’d rather die than betray your family or others like you, but as we saw with Frenchie and his brother, it’s not ever that simple. Would you doom a stranger to torture if that meant you could save your family from the same fate? If the answer is yes, how do you live with the choices? Would you sacrifice someone else’s newborn if it meant your 9 year old could have a longer life? And how do you forgive your loved one knowing they sacrificed an innocent stranger so you could live? Would you allow state sponsored genocide of millions of people if it meant you and your family would live?
These are only some of the ethos in this book and we haven’t even touched on surviving the horrors of residential schools. And what those survivors, and those who love them, have to live with once they’re out.
The last question above is a little too on the nose, honestly. Modern USA and Canada (just to name 2 of many) citizens are currently living our lives at the cost of state sponsored genocide of indigenous people. The basic underlying driver of this plot has already happened in real life, and I think that’s what makes this book so haunting.
Among the horrors and unimaginable suffering, there were moments of immeasurable beauty. Taking care of community when all else seemed hopeless. Not leaving the dead unburied. Learning as many indigenous languages as possible as to keep the languages living. Telling stories and honoring traditions. Holding onto bells for a future where jingle dresses could be worn again.
And the author’s writing? Top tier.
The author’s note at the end is also important to read. Lots of love and care went into this series, and I’m so glad I read it.
Characters kept facing impossible vs impossible choices and just when you think “there’s no way this gets worse” - it did, in fact, keep getting worse. When faced with impossible vs impossible choices, what one would you take?
I think it’s easy to say you’d rather die than betray your family or others like you, but as we saw with Frenchie and his brother, it’s not ever that simple. Would you doom a stranger to torture if that meant you could save your family from the same fate? If the answer is yes, how do you live with the choices? Would you sacrifice someone else’s newborn if it meant your 9 year old could have a longer life? And how do you forgive your loved one knowing they sacrificed an innocent stranger so you could live? Would you allow state sponsored genocide of millions of people if it meant you and your family would live?
These are only some of the ethos in this book and we haven’t even touched on surviving the horrors of residential schools. And what those survivors, and those who love them, have to live with once they’re out.
The last question above is a little too on the nose, honestly. Modern USA and Canada (just to name 2 of many) citizens are currently living our lives at the cost of state sponsored genocide of indigenous people. The basic underlying driver of this plot has already happened in real life, and I think that’s what makes this book so haunting.
Among the horrors and unimaginable suffering, there were moments of immeasurable beauty. Taking care of community when all else seemed hopeless. Not leaving the dead unburied. Learning as many indigenous languages as possible as to keep the languages living. Telling stories and honoring traditions. Holding onto bells for a future where jingle dresses could be worn again.
And the author’s writing? Top tier.
The author’s note at the end is also important to read. Lots of love and care went into this series, and I’m so glad I read it.