A review by ktrain3900
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative 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

3.25

The reader is dropped into a near future dystopia where Indigenous people are forced to literally run for their lives, running with a boy name Francis, or Frenchie, who, separated from his family, finds a new family and learns like them to live off of the land, to keep moving, to leave little trace, to not just survive but endure. As so often with SFF, you have to suspend a fairly hefty chunk of disbelief, and as an adult reader of YA you have try to keep that audience in mind, to remember what it's like to be 15, 16 years old, when even the most mundane life is magnified by drama. (I mean, the dangerous Recruiters dress like gym teachers - only a high school kid would find that more apt than goofy.) But overall I think this book is worth those efforts, a page turner with some real heart that teaches with a friendly punch to the arm rather than a heavy bash over the head.