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I‘m sure this is one that was recommended in my early Litsy days. The narrator was good, but the story was heartbreaking.

What a lovely story. And very unique, despite its homage to The Secret Garden, and not just in place and character. Positioned with teens rather than children opens the door for romance, and Mary and Sophie are so sweet as they discover first love. Despite the horror and pain of the Craven storyline (no spoilers!) this book is largely a pretty picture of Ontario‘s North, with beautiful gardens, of course. I liked it quite a bit more than expected!

In the aftermath of a horrible crime, witnessed from a distance by Stella, a lot of stories come together. Most of them by women, most of them Métis, most of them carrying trauma and and loss. It‘s a tough read, with a lot of violence. I felt for these indigenous women and I could have spend some more time with them.

I didn't love this one, and the ending was a little vague for my tastes. But I did enjoy the Indigenous spirituality aspect of it. The story follows five generations of Metis women as they struggle with their heritage and generational trauma. There were so many POVs but the audiobook did make it easy to follow with a full cast of narrators. The writing itself was beautifully done
#roll100 @PuddleJumper

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

“Mary Craven didn‘t think about death until the day it knocked politely on her bedroom door and invited itself in.”

Next up! This all-female retelling of The Secret Garden with and Indigenous perspective has been on my TBR for too long. There‘s a queer element too, making it the perfect June read.

I selected this book for The Storygraph's genre challenge. It is a great introduction to the struggles of indigenous people throughout the history of the United States. It is especially important to recognize their fight as our government continues to ignore their sovereignty, as evidenced by the recent Supreme Court ruling for greed over non-Christian religious freedom.

Thank You @TheSpineView for creating this fun play-card & for the tag 💕🐎📚.

1- I've four books that I'm currently reading. Been focusing on “Bless Me, Ultima,“ by Rudolfo Anaya. While not a favorite, it's an interesting read.

2- I began “The Blast from the Past,“ by Lucy Score & “Terciel & Elinor“ by Garth Nix. Triple excited about both, yet haven't really read too many pages/chapters into these stories because I really want them to last.

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5🌟/5🌟

Parts of this book hurt my heart. Parts of this book made me so very angry. What I do know is that Ma-Nee is a very strong, resilient person that I have a lot of respect for. Even though this book is full of trigger warnings, I believe it's a very important read that all of us can learn from.

This is a clever look at Indigenous Turtle Island history told through the lens of Native American and First Nations stand up comedians. It‘s partially a biography of comedians/Indigenous showmen going all the way back to those forced to work traveling Wild West shows in the 1800s to modern day stand up artists, and partially a history of the atrocities committed by the US and Canada (but mostly the US).