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Jun 05, 2018abcDena rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A novel This novel is beautifully written, reminding me of Eden Robinson’s novel, Monkey Beach. The Marrow Thieves is a departure from traditional indigenous lit however, because it's a dystopian (!) novel set in Ontario's near future! It retains some of the same mystical elements found in magical realism, but presents a harsher landscape where Frenchie and his cohorts must learn and re-learn how to survive. It's a sobering comment on the unending struggles of the Canadian Indigenous people, teaching us that a glimpse into the future can reveal yesterday's and today's repeated mistakes. I'm not a fan of books that focus on climate change and global warming, but it wasn't an aggressive enough theme to turn me off. I enjoyed the book very much and wanted to see Frenchie survive and thrive, and without spoiling the conclusion, I will say that the ending was unsatisfying. I love open-ended endings and books that don't lay out all the answers, but this one feels like it's setting up to turn into a series, and I didn't pick it up with the mindset that I was dipping into a series. I LIKE TO KNOW. Overall, an enjoyable read, especially for younger readers (YA and teen). It's not a standout amongst Canadian Indigenous fiction, in my opinion, not when you're competing with the likes of Thomas King or someone like Richard Wagamese (RIP), who is the KING of Indigenous fiction in my opinion. Happy reading!