  | Sheine Leinde Author: Little Badger, Darcie | |
| Price: $24.48 | ||
Summary:
Shane works with her mother and their ghost dogs, tracking down missing persons even when their families can't afford to pay. Their own family was displaced from their traditional home years ago following a devastating flood. Then Shane's mother and a local boy go missing, after a strange interaction with a fairy ring. Shane, her brother, her friends, and her lone, surviving grandparent set off on the road to find them. Prequel to Elatsoe.
| Illustrator: | Cai, Rovina |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (02/01/24)
School Library Journal (+) (00/04/24)
Booklist (+) (03/15/24)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/03/24)
The Hornbook (00/05/24)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 04/01/2024 Gr 8 Up—This prequel to Elatsoe features Ellie's grandmother Shane, a 17-year-old Lipan Apache, and further expands upon the strange and unique world. Shane and her mother track down missing persons using ghost dogs (familiar to those who've read Elatsoe), even when the families can't pay them. This means Shane is used to barely scraping by, her deep practicality almost at odds with her unique power to raise the dead. When her mother disappears after tangling with a fairy ring, Shane will journey across the south and the world Below to find her. The narrative emphasizes generational trauma and the power of community with flashbacks, finding ways to ground the fantastical worldbuilding elements of vampires, fae, and ghosts in the culture and relationships Shane finds important. Little Badger artfully navigates Shane's family history—from disasters to stolen land—and how they fight to reclaim their identity. While the novel stands alone, common elements from the first book reappear to add humor and tension. Part road trip, part classic quest, this novel manages to add fresh and exciting elements to the worldbuilding while retaining Elatsoe's slightly spooky atmosphere. The flashbacks and changes in point-of-view slightly hinder the pacing, but readers will likely be too invested in Shane's story to care. Shane and her family are Lipan Apache, with additional diversity in the supporting cast. VERDICT A wonderful addition to the Elatsoe universe with vital representation, worthy of any YA collection. Highly recommended.—Emmy Neal - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
