Cherie Dimaline’s Featured Book
Empire of Wild
INDIGO’S #1 BEST BOOK OF 2019
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“Ripping, roaring, fur-flying, and more!” says Margaret Atwood about this captivating novel from the author of The Marrow Thieves, the #1 national bestseller, multi-award winner, and Canada Reads finalist
“Wildly entertaining and profound and essential.” –Tommy Orange, The New York Times
Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for almost a year—ever since he went missing on the night they had their first serious argument. One hung-over morning in a Walmart parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival tent where the local Métis have been flocking to hear a charismatic preacher. By the time she staggers into the tent the service is over, but as she is about to leave, she hears an unmistakable voice.
She turns, and there is Victor. Only he insists he is not Victor, but the Reverend Eugene Wolff, on a mission to bring his people to Jesus. And he doesn’t seem to be faking: there isn’t even a flicker of recognition in his eyes.
With only two allies—her odd, Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year-old nephew Zeus, and Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with deep knowledge of the old ways—Joan sets out to remind the Reverend Wolff of who he really is. If he really is Victor, his life, and the life of everyone she loves, depends upon her success.
Inspired by the traditional Métis story of the Rogarou—a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of Métis communities—Cherie Dimaline has created a propulsive, stunning and sensuous novel.
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Owl’s Nest Books | Shelf Life Books
Cherie Dimaline’s Recommended Book
I have three books from 2020 that I love. I will say them quick. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger is a YA book that’s brilliant. Black Water by David Robertson; it’s about his father and Norway House. And Crosshairs by Catherine Hernandez. It’s People of Color and Queer people and what happens to those communities in the situation of an Apocalypse.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Illustrated by Rovina Cai
A magical YA story that blends genres.
Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.
Seventeen-year-old Elatsoe (“Ellie” for short) lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect façade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.
Darcie Little Badger is an extraordinary debut talent in the world of speculative fiction. We have paired her with her artistic match, illustrator Rovina Cai. This is a book singular in feeling and beauty.
Buy the Book:
Elatsoe
Owl’s Nest Books | Shelf Life Books
Buy the Book:
Black Water
Owl’s Nest Books | Shelf Life Books
Buy the Book:
Crosshairs
Owl’s Nest Books | Shelf Life Books