“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.