Elatsoe (Elatsoe, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Nov 21, 2020 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, r2020-in-2020, paranormal, tween

This was not for me. It's not at all what I expected - the blurb led me to believe this would be a sort of alternate USA in which the Indigenous people had not been wiped out, but instead were the majority population and actually helped shape and rule this country. I also expected this to be YA. But instead it's some sort of paranormal middle-grade mystery, set in a world exactly like this one, but with ghosts, vampires, and other magical elements. The mystery is okay, and the book gets more int ...more

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Feb 21, 2021 CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph rated it it was amazing

Shelves: diversity, fantasy, young-adult, paranormal, feminist, indigenous, lgbtqia-gender, 2020-reading-challenges

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger was one of my favorite reads of 2020. I checked it out from my library on impulse, and wasn't expecting to love it so much, but I did. It brought me back to the wonder of reading books like Harry Potter for the first time, the immersion in a world both familiar and yet magically different, the tight-knit friendships. the struggle against a malevolent enemy--and you get all this in a book WITHOUT any transmisogyny or anti-Semitism or other problematic subtexts. Ins Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger was one of my favorite reads of 2020. I checked it out from my library on impulse, and wasn't expecting to love it so much, but I did. It brought me back to the wonder of reading books like Harry Potter for the first time, the immersion in a world both familiar and yet magically different, the tight-knit friendships. the struggle against a malevolent enemy--and you get all this in a book WITHOUT any transmisogyny or anti-Semitism or other problematic subtexts. Instead, you get a charming paranormal YA story, starring an ace (asexual) Lipan Apache girl whose magical gift involves raising dead animals, and her best friend, a blonde vegetarian cheerleading straight boy, and Elatsoe's loyal ghost doggo. You get rich Apache lore and Indigenous culture and also vampires and other European magics. A magical system that is both wondrous and yet logical and realistically limited (like how using the magical fungi rings, while incredibly easy for travel, also bears an environmental cost) and often dangerous. There are scary human ghosts and creepy all white towns and tales of heroic Indigenous women and eerily beautiful undead natural/ animal worlds.

Yet through it all, you get love. Not romantic love. Elatsoe, or Ellie, is ace, as mentioned before, and her close friendship with Jay seems pretty solidly platonic. This lack of romantic focus turned out to be refreshing, though, allowing the focus to remain on the main story, grappling with grief while using means magical and otherwise to investigate the suspiciously sudden and tragic death of Ellie's cousin, a young man with a wife and small child. You also get intense familial love. Ellie and her parents have one of the most refreshingly health parent/child relationships I've read depicted in a book. None of them are perfect, but they are loving and supportive and honest. They communicate, and set reasonable rules and boundaries. Ellie's parents trust her and support her and value her abilities, and she is not alone in her investigation, with both Jay and her parents and extended family's support. Even Jay's family, his sister and his parents and aunt, seem supportive and loving, with healthy relationships.

My only caution for potential readers is that the depictions of grief are real and sad. Ellie's cousin's widow especially is angry and grief-stricken, and as someone who has lost family tragically and unexpectedly, this was an emotional read for me at times. As long as you are aware of that, and prepared, Elatsoe is otherwise a book I recommend without reservation. The diversity is rich and authentic, with strong, smart, kind characters that defy stereotypes in every way.

While reading Elatsoe was an impulse, reading my next Darcie Little Badger book will not be, and I can't wait for her next release. My only regret about reading Elatsoe is that, having read it in the dumpster fire year 2020, I didn't have the energy to review the book until months later, and am afraid I'm forgetting some of the ways in which Elatsoe was a terrific book. I would recommend this for adult and teen readers, and even advanced juvenile readers, as Ellie's lack of sexual interest means that the contents are pretty "clean." And who doesn't love ghost dogs and magic? ...more

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Nov 30, 2020 Renata rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, ya, fiction, we-need-diverse-books

this book fucking SLAPS. I love this worldbuilding, I love Ellie, I love the allegory for colonialism, I love the GHOST DINOSAURS and the VAMPIRES? Why does this cover make it look like it's like a Serious Book. I guess they're ghost dogs but just looking at the cover I had assumed it was about like sled dogs in the snow?? I D K and I know you're not supposed to judge books by the cover but we all do it, and this book does NOT have a fun cover IMO! But it is very fun!! I want you to know that it ...more

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Feb 19, 2022 Elizabeth Hull-Morales rated it liked it

2.5 rounded up. I really liked the theory of what this book was supposed to be - I love native folklore, and stories of magical realism… buuuttt…

about halfway through the tone of the character shifted, and the dialogue as a whole seemed to really regress. At one point I had to flip back to the front to make sure I was remembering their ages correctly.

I rounded up to three stars because ultimately the story was unique, and there were some really beautifully detailed moments.

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Nov 23, 2023 Meghan rated it it was ok

I loved the main characters and the premise was promising, but damn, was this ever painfully slow. The plot was a fascinating one, but it took far too long to even begin.

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