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A review by sarahbythebook
Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Getting to return to the world of Elatsoe was a real treat! In Sheine Lende, we follow Elatsoe's grandmother, Shane, as she works in search and rescue with their dogs-- ghostly and real. While the magic isn't nearly as present in Sheine Lende, Darcie Little Badger still does an amazing job of exploring the way this power shapes the lives of her characters, and I have a deep appreciation for the way she writes teenage girls. They are both serious and frivolous, courageous and frightened, and they are forced to deal with some of the real traumas of life in believable ways.
This story is gripping from the beginning, and the story is told well enough that readers don't have to read Elatsoe before diving into this one (but they definitely should read it!). Little Badger pulls on her family's stories, especially those of her mother, to create a realistic portrayal of the experiences of an indigenous family in the 1970s. The distrust of the government, the loss of culture due to time and more nefarious efforts, and the pervasive nature of memories are all there in Shane's stories. That this book mirrors Elatsoe in its progression I think is a nice touch, and the epilogue connecting the two title characters brings everything full circle. I would love to see more stories set in this world, but I also think that with these two books, it stands as complete and fulfilling.
My one negative for Sheine Lende is the pacing. In the middle it felt like there was never time to catch our breath. It made the reading experience a bit exhausting as we're jumping from state to state and crisis to crisis. It mellows out once they get back to Texas and the rescue mission resumes, but then the ending seems a bit rushed. None of that takes away from my overall enjoyment of this book, and I would highly recommend it for anyone from middle school through adult!
Getting to return to the world of Elatsoe was a real treat! In Sheine Lende, we follow Elatsoe's grandmother, Shane, as she works in search and rescue with their dogs-- ghostly and real. While the magic isn't nearly as present in Sheine Lende, Darcie Little Badger still does an amazing job of exploring the way this power shapes the lives of her characters, and I have a deep appreciation for the way she writes teenage girls. They are both serious and frivolous, courageous and frightened, and they are forced to deal with some of the real traumas of life in believable ways.
This story is gripping from the beginning, and the story is told well enough that readers don't have to read Elatsoe before diving into this one (but they definitely should read it!). Little Badger pulls on her family's stories, especially those of her mother, to create a realistic portrayal of the experiences of an indigenous family in the 1970s. The distrust of the government, the loss of culture due to time and more nefarious efforts, and the pervasive nature of memories are all there in Shane's stories. That this book mirrors Elatsoe in its progression I think is a nice touch, and the epilogue connecting the two title characters brings everything full circle. I would love to see more stories set in this world, but I also think that with these two books, it stands as complete and fulfilling.
My one negative for Sheine Lende is the pacing. In the middle it felt like there was never time to catch our breath. It made the reading experience a bit exhausting as we're jumping from state to state and crisis to crisis. It mellows out once they get back to Texas and the rescue mission resumes, but then the ending seems a bit rushed. None of that takes away from my overall enjoyment of this book, and I would highly recommend it for anyone from middle school through adult!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent