I've been wanting to read Elatsoe since it came out in 2020 (a couple of weeks before my own ace book!), and now I finally got around to it thanks to my book club. Even after anticipating the read for so long, it delivered. I really hope this will become a new children's classic, because there is so much in this story that I feel is of great value. The way the prejudice against the Lipan Apache people is touched upon, the way the 17-year-old main character is actually believed by the adults in her life when she tells them she is asexual. Those aren't big elements in this story at all, but they are remarkably well done. And then there's the mystery itself, which maintains its tension throughout and yet doesn't leave you hanging at any point because you're discovering just enough new information at just the right times. It reminded me of some of my favourite (Dutch-language) books of my childhood, but with an extra sparkle of magic and so much more soul. And then there's all the cute animals! The way stories are used to transfer important cultural knowledge! The beautiful illustrations by Rovina Cai that add an entire little story of their own to each chapter!
I'm definitely going to read the prequel too.

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hanjssick's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense 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

4.5

Daria cinco estrelas pra esse livro, se não fosse pelas histórias contadas com aquela letra diferente. Já me incomoda quando isso é feito com a letra cursiva, com essa é pior ainda.

Me apaixonei pelo Jay, extremamente carismático e impossível de não amar. Gostei muito de todos os personagens, mas ele em específico me cativou.

É uma fantasia que mistura sobrenatural com elementos culturais Lipan Apache, acho isso muito interessante pra variar das fantasias genéricas que vemos por aí.

Além da diversidade étinica, temos protagonismo assexual. Eu gosto muito mais quando o fato do personagem ser LGBT+ fica explícito e eles usam as palavras, mas acontece de forma natural com apenas uma ou duas frases sendo necessárias. Se você lê um livro só por ter uma personagem assexual e espera que por isso a obra inteira seja focada apenas na sexualidade dela, o problema está em você.

O conhecimento indígena e a crítica aos Estados Unidos presentes aqui são algo que eu aprecio muito.

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ms_read's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

Sometimes I feel I’m “too old for YA” but this book proved to me that it’s always about finding the right book. The writing and pacing held my attention and immersed me in the book’s reality. I loved this book.
Elatsoe is a fascinating character who is unabashed herself. The secondary characters were layered and nuanced.

Ex: Our impulse would be to judge the vampire refusing the cure but we are given clues showing why he’s reluctant. And characters try to understand him instead of him becoming a vampire caricature

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archiebb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

General Thoughts

I tried listening to this but couldn’t get into the narrator so i switched to the ebook.
I won't be re-reading this or engaging with the rest of the series. I probably need to just realize YA is not something I enjoy at this part of my life.

Things I liked

Her positive relationship with both parents (that’s nice to see!).
The stories of her Six Great Grandmom which helped her understand her own powers better.
There’s some genuinely scary parts given it’s a YA book!

Criticisms

The dialogue is very stilted throughout.
The action is also not very engaging. The background stories are the most interesting.
The worldbuilding feels kinda like the author just pulled whatever she wanted that are well established fantasy things (like elves, ghost, vampires, etc) without establishing them herself in this world.

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