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A review by fromjuliereads
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
dark
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have had a hard time putting together my thoughts after finishing this novel. This is not a subgenre that I typically read - neither urban fantasy nor magical realism, as I believe that is often what this story is categorized as. I feel like I have to not consider that for my review then, but it should be acknowledged.
I so wanted to love this book. I know it is a book that so many people love, and it has been quite hyped. But I'm wondering if the hype made it slightly disappointing for me because my expectations were just too high...
Okay, things I liked:
- The stories about Six-Great! They were fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I actually wish there had been more stories and things we got to learn about Six-Great! They were my favourite parts of the novel for sure.
- The Indigenous lore was woven in very well and was so interesting to have included throughout the story.
Unfortunately, the number of things I disliked was a bit longer...
- The characters felt quite underdeveloped. I never felt an attachment to them or like I cared about what happened to them, because that connection was never built with developing the characters fully. I tend to prefer round, developed, character-driven stories. I can get into plot heavy stories, but the characters have to be developed more than I felt these ones were. Especially the cousin. We are meant to care about the resolution behind his murder, but this is a character we have no connection to and know nothing about... we don't even meet the character alive.
Just as a side note off this as well, I found it odd that Ellie and Jay are best friends, but don't know these big things about each other's lives... And it was VERY confusing when we had Ellie as the POV throughout the entire story to suddenly be thrown into one chapter from her mother's POV, a side character who had very small moments through the rest of the story...
- Which leads into the other thing I disliked - there were a couple side plots that seemingly did nothing to further the plot or even be integral to the story. All of the parts with conversations and updates about Ronnie's wedding and the story that the mother tells felt slightly unnecessary to the story... Not to mention the humour just constantly fell flat. There was one line where I think it was to help assert Ellie's asexuality, where Ronnie suggested she could bring a zucchini as a wedding date? I think it was supposed to be funny but it wasn't... I thought it was so strange.
I so wanted to love this book. I know it is a book that so many people love, and it has been quite hyped. But I'm wondering if the hype made it slightly disappointing for me because my expectations were just too high...
Okay, things I liked:
- The stories about Six-Great! They were fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I actually wish there had been more stories and things we got to learn about Six-Great! They were my favourite parts of the novel for sure.
- The Indigenous lore was woven in very well and was so interesting to have included throughout the story.
Unfortunately, the number of things I disliked was a bit longer...
- The characters felt quite underdeveloped. I never felt an attachment to them or like I cared about what happened to them, because that connection was never built with developing the characters fully. I tend to prefer round, developed, character-driven stories. I can get into plot heavy stories, but the characters have to be developed more than I felt these ones were. Especially the cousin. We are meant to care about the resolution behind his murder, but this is a character we have no connection to and know nothing about... we don't even meet the character alive.
Just as a side note off this as well, I found it odd that Ellie and Jay are best friends, but don't know these big things about each other's lives... And it was VERY confusing when we had Ellie as the POV throughout the entire story to suddenly be thrown into one chapter from her mother's POV, a side character who had very small moments through the rest of the story...
- Which leads into the other thing I disliked - there were a couple side plots that seemingly did nothing to further the plot or even be integral to the story. All of the parts with conversations and updates about Ronnie's wedding and the story that the mother tells felt slightly unnecessary to the story... Not to mention the humour just constantly fell flat. There was one line where I think it was to help assert Ellie's asexuality, where Ronnie suggested she could bring a zucchini as a wedding date? I think it was supposed to be funny but it wasn't... I thought it was so strange.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent