Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger (review)
2024; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 77; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2024.a919495
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Fashion and Cultural Textiles
ResumoReviewed by: Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger Natalie Berglind Little Badger, Darcie Sheine Lende; illus. by Rovina Cai. Levine Querido, 2024 [400p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781646143795 $19.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 7-10 This prequel to Elatsoe (BCCB 9/20) focuses on Ellie's Lipan Apache grandmother, Shane, at age seventeen. It's 1970s Texas, and two kids have gone missing in a forest full of fairy "mimic" rings—meaning they could have been transported anywhere. Shane's mom, a skilled tracker, sets out to investigate but goes missing herself in the process. Fortunately, Shane has been trained by her mother, and she must look for the missing group with the help of trusty trio of bloodhounds—one of whom is naturally a ghost—and her unreliable Grandpa. Shane locates and befriends the older girl who went missing, but the journey to find her mother and the younger boy may take her literally beyond the ends of the earth. Similarities to Elatsoe are prevalent, from the societally accepted paranormal to Shane's active, driven protagonist role. Little Badger cleverly interrogates the nature of storytelling itself and the embellishment of myths even in a world where they are universally accepted as truth, including a sequence that skips between third and first person later in the novel, ramping the tension at the end and leading to its satisfying resolution. The theme of platonic love imbues all of Shane's interactions as she leans on her friends, family, community, and kind strangers for assistance on her journey; the complicated relationship to Shane's grandfather, who forces Shane to take on an adult role, is delicately portrayed. Much like in the previous book, Little Badger covers struggles unique to indigenous communities such as relocation and the dismissal of indigenous children by authority figures. The mystery elements combine beautifully with Shane's epic, myth-infused quest, making this an easy page-turner even for readers unfamiliar with the characters and setting. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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