Month: March 2024

“The marrow thieves” by Cherie Dimaline is an award winning YA novel, which is set in a future dystopian world, devastated by environmental collapse, in which Indigenous people are being hunted for their bone marrow, which allows them to dream an ability that was seemingly lost by the other part of the population. Therefore the government shares the belief that this “dream-web-filled” bone will help the people regain what they have lost.

We experience this thrilling and adventurous story through the eyes of Frenchie, who has lost his family and is on the run from the government recruiters, who hunt him for his  “dream-web-filled” bone marrow and want to take him to the so called residential school, where their bone marrow is being harvested. While the main story is told in the present out of Frenchie’s perspective, there are also numerous parts that take place in the past, which helps the reader understand his story and why he is alone on the run. On his journey he meets a group of nomad people, who are also Indigenous and now, after failed attempts to cooperate with the government, trying to survive by themselves in the wilderness. These people start to become his new family as he also finds out more about his history and culture.

Although “The marrow thieves” is overall a pretty dark and dystopian novel, Dimaline also included strong moments of hope and love, as the story also covers topics like family and romance, in addition to the adventurous part.

Another remarkable element of the novel is the fact that it is (science) fiction, but still has a lot of history mixed into it, especially when it come to the story of the Indigenous people and how they were treated in the past, for example how kids were forced to unlearn their language and traditions in the residential schools.

In my opinion “The marrow thieves” is a beautifully written and truly powerful story, with great detail and messages and I enjoyed reading every single page. Therefore I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for and quick, but still thrilling and compelling read.

Man Made Monsters is a collection of short stories following characters in indigenous midwestern tribes. The stories take place over various generations and are filled with themes ranging from messy breakups to a zombie apocalypse. Each story has its own characters and plotlines however, in the end, the author connects the short stories in a very unexpected way. 

Man Made Monsters is a new and original take on horror that gives readers a little bit from every side of the horror genre in just one book. The only downside I found to the short story aspect of the book was simply the fact that they were short stories. I often times found myself having to really force myself to read the longer chapters because I felt as though most of the longer stories were dry and not only lacked any horror or thriller aspects but also the stories themselves simply fell flat for me. When it came to the shorter chapters I would zip through them because I found the plots to be dynamic and complex and I would be a little sad when they were over simply because they were just so much more enjoyable to read. It was a little tricky because the longer stories seemed to be finished within a page or two but continued despite the fact, while with some of the shorter stories seemed to end before there was really any closure given which was a little difficult to stick through. 

This book seemed like you needed to have a lot of prior knowledge of the customs, religious traditions, language, and attitudes of the indigenous tribes of the Midwest. While I can understand and respect the author’s choice to include these things I wish there had been some sort of explanatory guide at the beginning rather than a hidden glossary at the back of the book. I think my lack of knowledge of the indigenous way of life and especially their language severely hindered my ability to understand certain details and sometimes even entire themes and motives within the book wich makes this book feel very inaccessible. 

I also had a lot of issues with some of the characters. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not to add to the shock factor but I found a lot of the characters to lack any humanity and not in a “monster” type of way but rather they just didn’t seem to react at all. Stoic characters have always been hard for me to read because I find myself unable to relate to them and with a lack of overly expressive characters to who I am usually drawn to, most characters seemed to simply just exist with no feelings, emotions, or even reactions to the “horror” surrounding them which was a little difficult. 

Overall had higher expectations for this book, this book won the award for best book by an indigenous author which is not a category I typically read from and I was sad to have this book fall so flat for me. I would be curious to read another book by this author in the future that is not short stories to see how they compare.

This heartwarming story is about a boy named Ante. He loves his family, his culture, his heritage, and his best friend. With the struggle of trying to hold on to his culture he also struggles with his relationships. He’s never heard about any Sami’s who was just like him. It’s very rare, and Ante had only heard rumors. That people just like him, fleas away from their homes. But he doesn’t want that. He also doesn’t want his best friend, Erik, to find out about him. He’s already confused with the mixed signals he receives, but telling him? It’s much more complicated. Not to mention Erik already is in a relationship. The pressure of trying to hide who Ante really is, just leads him to have more stress. As Ante navigates through all this, he finds out truth, and secrets that he never knew. Ante unravels the culture of the Sami, and weaves through his life, trying to find an ending he’s happy with. Will he finally relieve himself of this stress, or will he just end up hurt in the end?

Fire from the sky is a heartwarming, with a mix of sadness in it. Moa really depicted well on how the Sami culture worked, and what they do. And that sometimes being different from the rest of your culture. The story really bings out how hard it is to tell someone that you like them, and especially if your trying to live up to your culture and heritage. This is much different love story I’ve read. It’s based on a real life culture, and shows the struggles of a boys life. I’ve only read books that show boys as the people who keep their calm, and composure. But Ante shows how boys can actually have stress, and mental breakdowns as well. It isn’t just the women. Some people just have a hard time admitting it. The author also put it in simple terms. No big words, and no big plot. Just a teenage boy who’s struggling to deal with his life.

But Fire from the Sky also had some minor set backs on it. The ending of this book was very sweet, but it didn’t give enough. I’ve asked myself questions like: “What did his parents think?” and “Was Ante accepted?” I wanted the ending to have more detail on his journey of acceptance, and coming out. Just to find out how the other characters would think of it. And especially what his parents reactions could be. Just having that information sets all questions aside, and gives it the final touch, in my opinion.

Fire from the Sky is a novel for people who love queer books, or just want a change of page of romance. It’s those kind of books where the main characters don’t kiss until the end, and your at the edge of your seat. It builded up to that moment, so if readers love suspension, and heartwarming plot, this is the book they might want to consider.

BOOK REVIEW

This novel by Byron Graves tells the story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be.

The protagonist TRE Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team.

TRE is a Native teen who grieves the recent death of his older brother Jaxon  but despite the sadness that consumes his family , TRE Brun strives to excel in basketball as a way to make his dreams come true even struggling to come out from under the shadow of his old brother .

Jaxon, the brother, was a superstar basketball player and was killed in a car accident.

For this reason, the Tre’s dream was to play on behalf of his brother.

Tre Brun morphed from a short , dumpy, nerdy gamer to a good basket player.

After working hard all summer to hone his fitness level and perfect his shooting skills , TRE hopes to make the Red Lake Warrior’s varsity team.

But despite many efforts, TRE will have to wait another year to play in The Red Lake team.

And when Tre gets called up to the varsity team at the last minute, he has no idea the pressures he will face as he tries to fill his brother’s shoes, navigate peer pressure and keeps his grades high.

But stepping into his brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana  who is falling in love.

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS BOOK.

The author Byron Graves describes THE PAIN in a deeply way.

The pain that means about racisms, family loss, poverty and forgotten dreams.

The Tre’s life is full of pain: The death of Jaxon, his brother.

TRE have to face and to solve a great personal pain: the loss of his brother.

But this pain turns into a feeing of revenge that leads TRE to realize his dream and play in a great basketball team.

This book can inspire all of us.

This book exort us to never give up ad to pursue all our dreams with determination.

The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky is a fantasy romance, and serial killer

This is a book about an immortal goddess learning that maybe love is more important than power, and how to forgive people for past mistakes. Its main subplot is Artemis realizing that she loves the mortal man who is helping her solve the murders, which all started with his ex being killed. This is a quit exhausting plot point, its nothing new, strong female lead believes she can’t fall in love because it’s weak, or maybe it’s because she’ll put him in danger. Its all been done before, and there is nothing special about it this time, it was boring once and it is boring again.

There is also the whole, immortal has been around for a couple million years but still hasn’t figured out things most humans have by fifteen. As well as being a virgin is what keeps her divine, she is annoyingly portrayed as really old, but acts really young, and rather that has no interest in romance, she is scared of it and wants to throw-up every time its mentioned. Stories like this have been told and retold over and over, it was boring the first time, why are you still trying? There were also some gods that weren’t fading because people still worship there aspects, like the god of wine, but the goddess of motherhood and children dies??? But there are children, and mothers, like everywhere, that just makes no sense. The murder mystery part is really only a mystery if you don’t have a brain, or if you are Artemis, the still brainless after 10 thousand years of life. Artemis’s love interest, Theo, wasn’t much better, also just a whole bunch stereotypes lumped together to make a character. Most, if not all of the characters where like this, the only Latina character effectively hits every stereotype for that ethnicity. Bravo! The only half way decent character was Hippo, the dog. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. I’m not that cruel.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows a young journalist at a prestigious magazine dealing with many personal struggles. Monique Grant has been specifically requested by perhaps the most famous woman to date for a “Tell-all interview”. When she arrives for her first day of interviews with Evelyn Hugo she is surprised to learn that Hugo never planned to do an interview for a magazine but rather has specifically requested her to write her official biography, only to be published once she has passed. This opportunity is far too great to pass up and Grant begins meeting Evelyn every day where she begins to uncover all of the actress’s secrets and the thing everyone wants to know; the story behind all seven of her husbands.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was very fun to read, I found the beginning to be a little slow but once you make it a few chapters in, the book really picks up. The writing style was very interesting because the story is told from the third person and the second person and there are times when the author will include articles and blog posts for the characters which I found fun and different.

This book deals with many issues including child abuse, sexual assault and exploitation, LGBTQ+ issues, domestic violence, and the harsh realities of life in the spotlight. I appreciated Reid’s take on these subjects and I think the way she chose to portray them was very unique and emphasized the point. This book is definitely geared towards older teens and young adults rather than younger teens because this book primarily focuses on adult issues and relationships in a way that wouldn’t be relatable to younger teen audiences.

The only trouble I found in this book was the way Evelyn Hugo is portrayed. Hugo is meant to be this huge old Hollywood superstar, beloved by all. I found Hugo to be cold, and calculating, She tells Grant she has no choice but to write her biography and that she was never going to do an interview for the magazine. This not only instills mistrust in Grant but the readers as well. Hugo seems to have no regard for those she hurts or uses for her own personal gain as she manipulates situations and orchestrates people’s downfall as soon as she gets what she wants. Hugo pays little mind to the fact that she has forced Grant to put her job in jeopardy for a book she might not be allowed to publish for another 20 years or that she prayed on her husbands to perpetuate her own stardom. For a character who is supposedly “beloved by all” Hugo seems largely unrelatable with little value to the good of others which I found difficult.

New moon is the second book in the Twilight series, and it starts with the main characters Edward and Bella in the small rainy town of Forks, Washington. Edward and Bella are happy and secure in their relationship but an unforeseen event with Edwards family leads him to believe Bella would live a better life without him. Broken without him Bella fell into a deep depression for months pushing all her friends away, having nightmares etc… After a while of falling into a depression Bella finds herself craving friendship again and attempts to reach back out. Although they were hurt they accepted her back into there circle with ease, and Bella even found herself becoming close friends with someone unexpected. She had taken comfort in hanging out with Jacob Black, a family friend who she could just hangout with without worry. Somehow in the midst of this friendship Bella found herself to be a little bit of a adrenaline junky just to hear Edward’s voice in her head. Bellas new found hobby leads her to make some bad choices that almost change her life for the worst. I think that Stephenie did a really good job on not rushing this book. I felt like we got to know the characters a bit more and was just overall able to relate to the book more. For some reason I really dislike the character Jacob, I just don’t like the way he was written and how he fills in for Edward. I kinda wish that Stephenie had chosen a different path for Bella after the breakup instead of having her run to another guy to fill the void.