About

Elatsoe is Darcie Little Badger's debut novel.

Elatsoe book cover

Blurb

Elatsoe 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 facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

Review

This wasn't a typical mystery novel. Instead of whodunnit, events were revealed little by little as two teens and their friends/relatives try to research and collect evidence.

That was nice by itself but what I liked most was the setting, ghostly interactions, Elatsoe's indigenous history and stories passed through generations.

The illustrations at the start of chapters were nice too.

While I liked the way the author revealed the mystery, I found the pacing of the book too slow for my liking.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From Chelsea's review on goodreads:

I don't know how to review this one other than to say that it was unlike anything else I've ever read in the best way and you neeeeeeeeed to read it. This book was so well written and surprising and I feel like I'm going to be thinking about it for years to come. I highly recommend!

From Kara Babcock's review on goodreads:

Sometimes you read books because you know what to expect: they are predictable, comfortable reads. Other times you read a book because you are expecting an experiment, something that might or might not work for you. Elatsoe fits comfortably into a third category of book: the type of book that isn’t really an experiment, but it is much more than a comfort read.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2021 bingo categories:

  • New to You Author (HM)
  • Mystery Plot
  • Genre Mashup
  • Debut Author