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lauren_shilling's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
4.25
This book definitely surprised me! I had heard of it once or twice, but it didn't really catch my eye until I saw it in a bookstore and decided to give it a try. I'm really glad I did, because I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the world it created, and I loved learning about the main character's ability to raise the dead. It was so interesting. I also thought the mystery in this book was really well crafted, and the unnerving vibes you get from it until you find out what is actually happening was really well done. It's such a great exploration of native cultures and how they have been impacted throughout history. I learned a lot reading this book, and I would love to read more like it. It was a great way to bring parts of history to life and to the forefront of discussions. The characters were all great, and I loved following them all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Racism, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
linblythe_pub22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Car accident, and Colonisation
Minor: Blood
kfmcf's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This is more magical realism than fantasy - which is absolutely fine, but for folks going into this expecting pure fantasy, they may feel a bit unsatisfied.
Elatsoe is a great POV character. She's spunky and funny and caring and her relationship with her family is entertaining and charming. She was absolutely my favorite part of the book along with the descriptions of her magic and the world around her.
Her world is the same as ours but with magic and magic-folk being known entities. I think I was hoping for a little bit more magic and less murder mystery, but that's from going in mostly blind. I think the mystery itself was still handled-well, there were some twists and turns without it being a shock or jump scare(you know who it is from pretty early on along with Elatsoe's suspicions. But the reveal of the Doctor's secret was interesting without it being a major twist. Not even mystery needs to be mind blowing, just believable and fascinating)
There were a few pacing issues where I think things could have moved with a bit more agency, and maybe a few questions that never really got answered, but the last half of the book was quite speedy. I hope to see more from this author and more works of fiction from indigenous authors!
Elatsoe is a great POV character. She's spunky and funny and caring and her relationship with her family is entertaining and charming. She was absolutely my favorite part of the book along with the descriptions of her magic and the world around her.
Her world is the same as ours but with magic and magic-folk being known entities. I think I was hoping for a little bit more magic and less murder mystery, but that's from going in mostly blind. I think the mystery itself was still handled-well, there were some twists and turns without it being a shock or jump scare
There were a few pacing issues where I think things could have moved with a bit more agency, and maybe a few questions that never really got answered, but the last half of the book was quite speedy. I hope to see more from this author and more works of fiction from indigenous authors!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Classism
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Car accident, and Colonisation
klbreyfogle's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.75
Generally good! I love a canon ace character, and Ellie was fun to follow (plus ghost Kirby was a delight). The integration of Lipan Apache beliefs was really cool, especially how they were used to solve the crime and resolve the conflict at the end!
It’s definitely YA, and although Ellie is meant to be 17 she feels a little younger than that. The reason I didn’t rate it higher is that I think I’m a little older than the target audience, and portions of the characters and dialogue didn’t really resonate because of that.
It’s definitely YA, and although Ellie is meant to be 17 she feels a little younger than that. The reason I didn’t rate it higher is that I think I’m a little older than the target audience, and portions of the characters and dialogue didn’t really resonate because of that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death and Genocide
pobi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Loved the style and storytelling!! I think it was just slightly too young for me, or maybe I just read it when I was in the wrong mood. The world building and mystery was FABULOUS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Colonisation
poisoned_icecream's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Death of parent, and Colonisation
livlamentloathe's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Animal death, Kidnapping, and Stalking
gothnailcare's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation
yomireads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Wonderful. Spectacular. Moving. Elatsoe is a gorgeous story focusing on a Native American girl with the ability to summon ghosts. This blends indigenous legend and storytelling with the cultural stories of others and creates a thrilling, immersive world where anything is possible.
There is a strong statement in this story about the displacement of indigenous peoples in a colonized world, but never loses the fantastical magic of the story. The ghosts were surprisingly fresh, the representation was top-tier, and the resolution was so satisfying without dampening the stakes.
There is a strong statement in this story about the displacement of indigenous peoples in a colonized world, but never loses the fantastical magic of the story. The ghosts were surprisingly fresh, the representation was top-tier, and the resolution was so satisfying without dampening the stakes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Car accident, and Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Pedophilia and Racism