A review by tales_told_in_gold
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It was the title that caught my eye - immediately, I wondered, "who's out here stealing bones?" 

Starting off as a random find at the library, "The Marrow Thieves" ended up being a layered emotional journey loaded with enough sucker-punch twists to make my heart ache. The narrative voice that Dimaline weaves into her characters is truly a skill to admire. She makes you feel like you're sitting right there beside them, listening to their stories as they captivate you with memorable tales of love and grief and joy and pain. 

We follow the perspective of Frenchie, a teenage boy whose coming-of-age in this world of environmental destruction and cruelest inhumanity towards Indigenous peoples lead him to discover what it means to be a survivor of a rich heritage being systematically targeted by those who seek a cure to their own lost culture. 

How do you hold on to what you have left? How do you regain what's been eradicated? How far would you go to protect your loved ones? 

Give this speculative novel a read if any of those questions intrigued you.

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