Elatsoe

Ich fands super spannend! Ein bisschen wie ein Krimi aber mit einer handvoll Magie. Interessante sympathische Charaktere und nicht zu viele unnötige Erklärungen bzgl. Worldbuilding, was mir bei Fantasy (vor allem wenn es sich um alleinstehende Bücher handelt) extrem gut gefällt, wenn ich keine seitenlange Einführung brauch, um mich in der Welt zurecht zu finden. Würd ich ganz klar empfehlen!

Elatsoe tells the story of Elatsoe, a 16 year old indigenous girl, who inherited her tribe's ability and knowledge to bring back ghosts from the underworld. And when her beloved cousin is brutally murdered, she is determined to find out who killed him... Although this book starts slow, the book doesn't get boring at any time. For the most part, it had me on the edge of my seat. And I definitely didn't predict the outcome.The world is so different from ours, yet so similar in that the same grievances still prevail: Discrimination, police injustice, pollution. Furthermore, it shows the parts of history that are widely left out of the textbooks and curriculum. The writing and the way the story is told include elements of traditional indigenous storytelling! Which I found so interesting and I am now eager to learn more about it. In addition to that, the author's writing is beautiful in a way that feels completely natural. And she perfectly captures the atmosphere of the scenes: The book is beautiful and dangerous at the same time. Plus, I love how the author managed to capture everyday teenage struggles. It makes the book and its characters relatable. Ellie is such a fascinating protagonist - not just because of her abilities, but because of how she catches details in people's behavior and in the way they express emotion. She is smart on so many levels. And I loved the casual way in which her asexuality was handled. For me, Elatsoe is without a doubt a 5 star book. And I recommend it to anyone interested in getting into indigenous literature as well as those who like magical realism. I wish a German publisher would decide to publish a translation of this book.And these are some of my favorite quotes: Sometimes the world was too mysterious for her liking. Wasn't the underworld a waste and frightening place? Wasn't the Earth vast and frightening, too?

What I love about this book are both the unique world building and the wholesome relationships portrayed. There is a wonderfully caring and supportive family dynamic, a great friendship and, on the side with minor characters, a chill romantic relationship. The Lipan Apache cultural and mythical influences set this apart from your standart urban fantasy. I especially enjoyed the ties to and stories about Ellie's ancestor of the same name. I have some minor criticsm about the actual plot, with some of the investigation beeing unnecessarily dangerous and the ending not beeing as concluded as I wished it had been, however the character interactions are good enough to balance that out. The prose reads kind of conversational and leans quite young, making the accessible to pretty much every age range. It's a very good cozy but also plot packed read.

This book was so different than I expected, but still very special. I liked the way the fantasy elements in this world were so normal and didn't seem exciting to anybody in this book, although the mix of ghosts and vampires was definitely not what I was expecting for an Indigenous inspired book. Which, I think, is where I was mislead by the blurb and the marketing of this book; I thought the Indigenous heritage of both the author and the protagonist would have a bigger impact than it actually had. But still, it was a fun mystery book about the mc figuring out who killed her cousin with the help of ghosts and I loved the illustrations in the chapters and all the cool ghost animals

4.5

One of the most creative and beautiful books I've read in a while!

I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I do

Wow, was für ein Buch! Ganz anders als erwartet. Kurz zuvor hatte ich bereits "Wandering Stars" gelesen und es scheint, als hätten diese Bücher einfach nach mir gerufen. Denn wieder erhielt ich einen imposanten Einblick in die indigene Kultur Amerikas. Da sich Darcie Little Badger aber an eine andere Zielgruppe richtet, ist dieses Werk natürlich anders aufgebaut und erzählt als jenes von Tommy Orange. Als Jugendbuch hat Little Badger ein schnelleres Tempo drauf und wir bekommen es mit dunklen Machenschaften zu tun. Sehr viel Gefühl wird vermittelt und mir wurde oft das Herz schwer. Aber auch hier erfahren wir, wie die Wunden der Kolonisation noch immer in den Generationen weiterleben. Auch hier lernen wir, dass die Geschichte eben nicht einfach vergessen und vergeben sein kann. Sehr gut vermittelt durch Darcie Little Badger.