Welcome to Litsy!

I really enjoy this micro-genre of indigenous dystopian fiction. This may be classified as YA but I found it mature and definitely on the dark side. Cherie Dimaline hasn‘t disappointed me yet!

Wonderfully written story. One of my top three reads for this year.

Very good, but it didn't pull me in the way I hoped it would. I didn't feel the emotional beats very strongly; the scenes were realistic (i.e. stunned silence instead of “performed“ grief), but it took away a bit from the impact. Still, the writing is beautiful and the story is compelling. A great portrayal of strength and resilience, teen angst and struggles, and youth's desire to learn from elders and preserve culture.

Wow. Just wow. Started and finished this book today because I couldn‘t put it down!

This YA story doesn‘t seem far from reality. It tells the tale of a ravaged earth due to pollution and climate change. Indigenous peoplx sounded the alarm; no one listened. In this new world, only they have the ability to dream when asleep. And white people now hunt them down to steal this last thing they could not destroy before. This book will be banned if it hasn‘t already. Read it. Decolonize.

#FaceOnCover #MayMontage

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Dystopian novels can have a similar feeling to them but Dimaline takes a new approach. An interesting story line with a warning for present day readers. Highly recommend!

@AmyG got it today - thank you! ♥️♥️ Love that you put “my book twin” on the card 👯‍♀️♥️

I know that I am late to the game here, but I absolutely loved this book. Within minutes of finishing, I had placed an order for the sequel. I can't wait to read it and see what happens to Frenchie & the rest of the characters. I became extremely invested in their lives and relationships. Over the course of the short 231 pages I laughed, I cried, I hoped & I mourned. I highly recommend this book for all young adult readers & everyone else too.

A dystopian setting in which most people have lost the ability to dream, with catastrophic psychological results. Indigenous people, who can still dream, are hunted for their marrow to create a serum to treat others.
A great synopsis yet it‘s another YA novel I cannot relate to. Call me a snob, I don‘t know, but this really didn‘t work for me. Note to self: stop reading YA adventures for a while!!

#pop22 #OwnVoicesSFF

The Marrow Theives is a dystopian novel where the world has destroyed the planet and has lost the ability to dream. That is, almost everyone. The North America Indigenous people can still dream and are hunted for their marrow to save the rest of the world from dreamless sleep. This story follows Frenchie and the people he as made into a family, just wanting to survive.

Beautifully written!

This was good. I probably would have liked it slightly more in print, because ebooks are not always my friend. This is billed as young adult, but older adults can enjoy this too. There is very little teen romance angst.

Another book I would have enjoyed more if it had existed when I was a teenager but was still quite compelling for me as an adult (prolly cause it wasn't the angsty teenage drama that usually comes in YA?)

I did find the first half of the book quite bleak and while it's not like the second half is suddenly all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, there are a few moments that shine through that left me with a more uplifted feeling than I expected.

I thought that I was going to love this by its premise, dystopian indigenous world where tribes are being hunted by recruiters to be put into schools but where they never return. Too little history of how this came about and the characters just never seemed to be defined. I wanted to love it.

Excellent read. A widely varied group of Indigenous people on the run from people who want their bone marrow to restore dreams. At times heartbreaking. The author is Metis, so the characters are well-drawn. A quick read, it makes you think long after you finish.

The glowing #Reggimendation for this was the push I needed to finally pick it up! I'm with @Reggie - great book. The dystopian setting + indigenous perspective was super powerful, as was how the author integrated the theft of dreams and forced relocation to “schools“ [shudder]. The standard YA dystopian brutality-alongside-teen-identity-and-relationship-stuff - which I like! - was there. But with extra depth and stellar writing. On to Book 2 soon!

"Sometimes you risk everything for a life worth living, even if you're not the one that'll be alive to live it."

Best book I‘ve read all year. Indigenous people are being hunted in a climate change ravaged world where people have stopped dreaming and the only cure is the bone marrow of indigenous people. We follow teenage Frenchie as he and his group of found family must navigate the wilderness and come back in touch with who they are. This book was scary, poignant, tender and everything I wanted in a coming of age tale. All the dystopian picks!!!

I was intrigued by the premise but bailed TWICE. I felt like the plot was very slow, but maybe it gets better?

#November2021Reads
#NativeAmericanHeritageMonth
#OwnVoices
#IndigenousAuthors

Finished my reread of TMT. It was just as good the second time + now I feel ready to tackle the sequel.

Although stronger in some parts than others, overall this is an excellent post-apocalyptic novel. Dimaline's one-step-from-reality plot reminds me a little of Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy, how Atwood intentionally made everything that happens in that trilogy something that had already happened in real life somewhere. The Marrow Thieves is particularly chilling because I can't quite dismiss it as outrageous.

This was good. I had a bit of trouble getting into it at the very start, but it only took a couple of chapters. I didn‘t like one of the decisions Frenchie made near the end of the book, but that ended up working out better than I‘d expected. I also thought the very end was unrealistic, but it was good up to that point. It‘s a pretty fast read

Posting some book recs in honour of Truth and Reconciliation Day. 🧡
#integrateyourshelf

YA, dystopian read. It is helpful if you know some history of the Native people of Canada. Mentions of residential schools, hair, language all have much more clarity if you do.
I enjoyed this book. It is well written, the pacing is just right, the characters are interesting. I do wish it had been longer though. I could have lived in this book much more - would have loved deeper past stories of each characters.

My county has a summer reading program for all ages that I participated in. If you complete the program, you can choose a free book from a list. This is the book I chose and I'm really looking forward to reading it soon.

The story is great with just enough detail, to let your own imagination fill in the dystopian horrors- both social and environmental. But best is the writing style- observant, compassionate, allowing enough poetic description to wonder but never heavy handed, with a thrill of pace that keeps picking up until the end.

Don't want to say too much and spoil it, but I can say that this book completely shattered my reading slump. So engaging and so much to think about. Have a friend that uses this in a high school English class and I completely understand why. Many teachable moments, plus keeps you reading to find out what will happen. Definitely take the time to read this one!

Been waiting for the book to get me out of my months-long slump, and finally have found it! 90 pages so far this morning, and the odds of me accomplishing anything other than reading today are steadily decreasing. Glad to have the freedom today to ditch responsibility and just go with it!

Mitch was smiling so big his back teeth shone in the soft light of the solar-powered lamp we'd scavenged from someone's shed. #firstlinefridays

This Friday, being the day after a difficult Canada Day, I decided to share the 1st line from a book by a Metis author, in honour of the children of the residential school system, and those who continue to be impacted by that generational trauma.

I'm posting one book per day from the ever growing unread stacks in my personal library. No description or explanation, just books I own and plan to read. #tbr

Day 45

Here's my #bookspin list for March. I kept the first half of the list mostly the same from last month, but changed it up a bit further down. Can't wait to get started!

@TheAromaofBooks

I never would have picked this up if it wasn't for The Sword and Laser podcast & I'm glad I did
This was very different to the fantasy I normally pick up. Set in a world similar to our own, in the future where people have lost the ability to dream. A post apocalyptic setting, but not your average fantasy go to. There is strong character development in this book & the backstory of characters is given to us piecemeal along their journey for survival

Great book, very interesting, bittersweet and heartbreaking at times, read as part of the #PopSugarReadingChallenge2021 and @bookriot #ReadHarderChallenge2021 4/5

I finally read this YA dystopian novel where people perceived as being indigenous are kidnapped in hopes their bodies will help everyone else regain the ability to dream. The novel is more about the groups of people living on the run and the ways they connect and build community - very little is about the mad scientist component (this is okay but was a bit surprising based on how much it is included in most summaries of the book.) ↘️

I'm not crying, you're crying.
Indigenous speculative fiction is apparently in my wheelhouse. After climate change and pollution have ravaged the land and a plague has caused many to lose the ability to dream, indigenous people are hunted and harvested for their immunity. Mirroring the way these groups have had to continually adapt and fight for survival throughout the last several hundred years, a moving dystopian tale. #integrateyourshelf

Today on the blog I'm talking about books I read because someone recommended them to me (link in bio). #TopTenTuesday

This book felt like it was missing something. I enjoyed many of the themes presented in the story, but I would‘ve liked some elements to have been more fleshed out. I also liked the characters - they felt like real people, even though plot-wise there were a few moments of predictability. But Overall, it was just an okay read for me.

Thanks for the tag @FantasyChick
1. Only just discovered this year, but I loved it.
2. This is a tough choice. I enjoy quite a few Canadian authors. I think I'm going to go with Louise Penny.
3. Poutine (with cheese curds, don't come at me with that shredded cheese. 😆). Or nanaimo bars! Oooh Coffee Crisp! Ok maybe I'm just hungry...lol!
I'm not sure who has participated, so if you want to join, you're tagged!
#happycanadaday @KVanRead

1. The Marrow Thieves
2. Other books by Native American Indigenous authors

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

I first learned of this book from a list of Aboriginal Horror stories several months ago. I listened to it on audio, and it was excellent. I'm pretty sure I still would have enjoyed it in print, but I thinking listening to the story gave it more of a suspenseful, scary tone.

Really could have done without the fat kid side character named Slopper. And I‘m not sure how many times you‘re actually allowed to pull the “but little did we know, life as we know it was about to change forever” method of creating a cliffhanger, but it‘s got to be fewer times than it is attempted here.

But still it was affecting. And that ending took me OUT.

Read for #readharder2020 prompt “a book about climate change”

Homemade Turkey soup, rye toast, and a good book. #BookClubWorthy #booked2020
@4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen