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A review by booknerdnative
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
{Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger}
This book tackles a lot. It was simultaneously fun and poignant, magical and paranormal, whimsical and dark. There is a little ghost dog companion that follows our main protagonist around and combats dark forces by her side, and I have to say I was a big fan of this particular sidekick. Can I have a helpful ghost doggo please?
Elatsoe follows a teenager, Ellie (Elatsoe), as she travels to Willowbee Texas, to be with her grieving family. Her cousin has recently suffered a sudden death, and as Ellie begins to learn more about what happened the night of Trevor’s accident, she uncovers an ominous mystery behind his death.
Ellie is an asexual Apache teen with freaking *amazing* superpowers (and don’t forget, a ghost dog sidekick), a compassionate and kind heart, and a stellar mind. There is a platonic friendship here that completely warmed my heart. They supported and loved one another without any romance driving the narrative away from Ellie’s personal story. I also loved that Ellie has parents who simply believe her when she speaks her truth. When she tells them she felt something, or intuitively knows something, her parents and her family trust her, fight with her, encourage her, and give her the tools she needs to fight her battles.
Colonialism is tackled in this book in a really creative way. At one point in the story it talks about how spirits and creatures used to roam the lands, but as ranchers and other white settlers have continued to invade Willowbee, the creatures have disappeared along with it. now, instead of the beautiful indigenous creatures & faerie spirits that used to roam the prairies, it’s more monstrous creatures that sulk within the farms and ranches, haunting the land.
Honestly this is just a really solid YA read, that holds a little bit of something for so many kinds of readers. If you’ve read this one before, let me know! And if you haven’t, I hope you plan on reading it soon
This book tackles a lot. It was simultaneously fun and poignant, magical and paranormal, whimsical and dark. There is a little ghost dog companion that follows our main protagonist around and combats dark forces by her side, and I have to say I was a big fan of this particular sidekick. Can I have a helpful ghost doggo please?
Elatsoe follows a teenager, Ellie (Elatsoe), as she travels to Willowbee Texas, to be with her grieving family. Her cousin has recently suffered a sudden death, and as Ellie begins to learn more about what happened the night of Trevor’s accident, she uncovers an ominous mystery behind his death.
Ellie is an asexual Apache teen with freaking *amazing* superpowers (and don’t forget, a ghost dog sidekick), a compassionate and kind heart, and a stellar mind. There is a platonic friendship here that completely warmed my heart. They supported and loved one another without any romance driving the narrative away from Ellie’s personal story. I also loved that Ellie has parents who simply believe her when she speaks her truth. When she tells them she felt something, or intuitively knows something, her parents and her family trust her, fight with her, encourage her, and give her the tools she needs to fight her battles.
Colonialism is tackled in this book in a really creative way. At one point in the story it talks about how spirits and creatures used to roam the lands, but as ranchers and other white settlers have continued to invade Willowbee, the creatures have disappeared along with it. now, instead of the beautiful indigenous creatures & faerie spirits that used to roam the prairies, it’s more monstrous creatures that sulk within the farms and ranches, haunting the land.
Honestly this is just a really solid YA read, that holds a little bit of something for so many kinds of readers. If you’ve read this one before, let me know! And if you haven’t, I hope you plan on reading it soon
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
Minor: Confinement