Elatsoe

Locus Award Winner--Best First Novel
A National Indie Bestseller
Nebula Award Finalist
Lodestar Award Finalist
Ignyte Award Finalist
TIME's Best 100 Fantasy Books of All Time
NPR Best of the Year
Booklist's Top 10 First Novels for Youth
A BookPage Best of the Year
Chicago Public Library "Best of the Best"
PNBA Bestseller
Publishers Weekly Best of the Year
Buzzfeed's Best YA SFF of the Year
Shelf-Awareness Best of the Year
AICL Best YA of the Year
NECBA Windows & Mirrors Selection
NEIBA Award Finalist
Tor Best of the Year
Kirkus Best YA of the Year
Publishers Weekly Flying Start
American Indian Youth Literature Award Finalist
"Groundbreaking." --TIME
"Deeply enjoyable from start to finish."--NPR
"Utterly magical." --SyFyWire
"Atmospheric and lyrical...a gorgeous work of art."--BuzzFeed
"One of the best YA debuts of 2020. Read it."--Marieke Nijkamp
★ "A fresh voice and perspective."--Booklist, starred review
★ "A unique and powerful Native American voice."-BookPage, starred review
★ "A brilliant, engaging debut."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ "A fast-paced murder mystery."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ "A Lipan Apache Sookie Stackhouse for the teen set." --Shelf-Awareness, starred review
A Texas teen comes face-to-face with a cousin's ghost and vows to unmask the murderer.
Elatsoe--Ellie for short--lives in an alternate contemporary America shaped by the ancestral magics and knowledge of its Indigenous and immigrant groups. She can raise the spirits of dead animals--most importantly, her ghost dog Kirby. When her beloved cousin dies, all signs point to a car crash, but his ghost tells her otherwise: He was murdered.
Who killed him and how did he die? With the help of her family, her best friend Jay, and the memory great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Elatsoe, must track down the killer and unravel the mystery of this creepy town and it's dark past. But will the nefarious townsfolk and a mysterious Doctor stop her before she gets started?
The breathtaking debut novel from Darcie Little Badger features an asexual, Apache teen protagonist -- and combines mystery, horror, noir, ancestral knowledge, haunting illustrations, and fantasy elements, in one of the most-talked-about books in years.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Elatsoe hails from the Natives. She has the ability to call on the ghost of her beloved dog, who has long been deceased, the skill having been passed on for generations in her Lipan Apache family. And it's not just her dog, but many other dead things. When her cousin is found dead in a town that doesn't welcome prying eyes, Ellie is more than determined to find out its secrets to protect those she loves. Following her journey is the discovery of what she's truly capable of, as well as the legends (that is not so much a fairy tale) that have been with her family for a long time.
I absolutely adore the representation of the Native Americans here. The situations that they face in this world happens as well in our world: the racism. Colonisation and the killings of the Native people are included in this book; I could see the depth of America's history here, even if it's not the main focus. I appreciate the effort that the author has put into this. The plot is fabulous, and the way it's written really sent a huge rush of emotions through me all the way. I feel so connected to the characters here. Ellie's capabilities are beautiful and so touching; though common in the fantasy world (who hasn't heard of a character who could raise the dead before?), it has an original touch to it. I hope I get to read more stories with Native Americans as the main characters.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.