Ratings5
Average rating4.6
From the acclaimed author of The Marrow Thieves comes a thrilling new story about hope and survival that New York Times bestselling author Angeline Boulley called “a revelatory must-read” A 2022 American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Young Adult Honor Book Years ago, when plagues and natural disasters killed millions of people, much of the world stopped dreaming. Without dreams, people are haunted, sick, mad, unable to rebuild. The government soon finds that the Indigenous people of North America have retained their dreams, an ability rumored to be housed in the very marrow of their bones. Soon, residential schools pop up—or are re-opened—across the land to bring in the dreamers and harvest their dreams. Seventeen-year-old French lost his family to these schools and has spent the years since heading north with his new found family: a group of other dreamers, who, like him, are trying to build and thrive as a community. But then French wakes up in a pitch-black room, locked in and alone for the first time in years, and he knows immediately where he is—and what it will take to escape. Meanwhile, out in the world, his found family searches for him and dodges new dangers—school Recruiters, a blood cult, even the land itself. When their paths finally collide, French must decide how far he is willing to go—and how many loved ones is he willing to betray—in order to survive. This engrossing, action-packed, deftly-drawn novel expands on the world of Cherie Dimaline’s award-winning The Marrow Thieves, and it will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the final page.
Series
2 primary booksThe Marrow Thieves is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2017 with contributions by Cherie Dimaline.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book isn't quite as outstanding as the first one was, I'm not surprised to read that the author had not initially intended to write it. This isn't to say that it isn't good, it is good, but that the pacing and the story itself seems a bit stilted for a good chunk of it (in comparison to The Marrow Thieves). That being said, when the story picks up, my does it pick up steam quickly and then it gut punches you repeatedly.
This is a dark, dystopian story that makes one's soul ache. I love the cultural setting that is organic, not stereotypical. I like the look into what it means to be different from the majority and how one can try to become like the majority to survive, even at the cost of losing one's own identity. These are concepts most of us struggle with on some level. I cannot imagine the pain and struggle one would face because of their skin color or race they were born with. That which is one's very identity without choice. It reminds me that I want to acknowledge every person's value, regardless of their identity or origins.