Jonny Appleseed

WINNER, Lambda Literary Award

"You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine" is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel.

Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living. Self-ordained as an NDN glitter princess, Jonny has one week before he must return to the "rez," and his former life, to attend the funeral of his stepfather. The next seven days are like a fevered dream: stories of love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and the heartbreaking recollection of his beloved kokum (grandmother). Jonny's world is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages--and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life.

Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of Indigenous life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams.

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Published May 15, 2018

224 pages

Average rating: 7

41 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Steven Klick
Jul 01, 2024
8/10 stars
Loud and defiant in some ways, however its the quiet moments of tender love, acceptance and a community's basic survival that will stay with you long after closing the book. It requires patience when you begin reading as the narrative (there is one) skips around quite a bit; you will be rewarded for seeing it through.
JShrestha
Aug 25, 2023
10/10 stars
The book starts not holding back. The author goes straight into a loud and proud experiences of Joshua exploring his two spirit sexual adventures after being in an isolated community where you feel you are the only one who is different. The explicit sexualize descriptive stories, although not always the experiences he wanted, were at times written so emotionaly physical that it could be erotica. The author does introduce his aboriginal background slowly in the beginning, never denying it but it is not as present in his encounters until the middle. I think his kokum relationship and finding his balanace with the heritage was definitely my favorite. The author is very gifted and skilled in their writing and storytelling as you feel his lack of self worth and personal struggle to find self value start so low and then grow to acceptance.

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