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The Marrow Thieves #2
Hunting by Stars
The thrilling follow-up to the bestselling, award-winning novel The Marrow Thieves, about a dystopian world where the Indigenous people of North America are being hunted for their bone marrow and ability to dream.
For years after the collapse of society, French was on the run in the bush, avoiding the Recruiters and making a home with a group of fellow Indigenous survivors who have become family. But then he finds himself on his own, in a pitch-black room, with no memory of how he got there. Starved and tortured, he has to come to terms with the fact that he has been captured and is now in one of the infamous residential schools, where the government extracts the marrow of Indigenous people in order to steal the ability to dream. It's his worst nightmare -- even when he reconnects with someone from his distant past who he thought was long gone. Meanwhile, out in the world, his found family searches for him and dodges new dangers south of the border. When their paths finally collide, French must decide how far he is willing to go -- and how many loved ones is he willing to betray -- in order to survive. An engrossing, heart-stopping expansion of the world of Cherie Dimaline's award-winning The Marrow Thieves.
For years after the collapse of society, French was on the run in the bush, avoiding the Recruiters and making a home with a group of fellow Indigenous survivors who have become family. But then he finds himself on his own, in a pitch-black room, with no memory of how he got there. Starved and tortured, he has to come to terms with the fact that he has been captured and is now in one of the infamous residential schools, where the government extracts the marrow of Indigenous people in order to steal the ability to dream. It's his worst nightmare -- even when he reconnects with someone from his distant past who he thought was long gone. Meanwhile, out in the world, his found family searches for him and dodges new dangers south of the border. When their paths finally collide, French must decide how far he is willing to go -- and how many loved ones is he willing to betray -- in order to survive. An engrossing, heart-stopping expansion of the world of Cherie Dimaline's award-winning The Marrow Thieves.
395 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2021
279 people are currently reading
10839 people want to read
About the author
Cherie Dimaline
17 books1,939 followersCherie Dimaline wins her first Governor General's Literary Award in 2017 with The Marrow Thieves. She is an author and editor from the Georgian Bay Métis community whose award-winning fiction has been published and anthologized internationally. In 2014, she was named the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Ontario Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, and became the first Aboriginal Writer in Residence for the Toronto Public Library. Cherie Dimaline currently lives in Toronto where she coordinates the annual Indigenous Writers' Gathering.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 676 reviews
October 25, 2021
A gripping and heartbreaking return to the world of THE MARROW THIEVES. Kept me up all night reading. At turns brutal and dark, hopeful and beautiful. Pulls no punches and asks hard questions without any easy answers. Highly recommend.
October 6, 2022
An amazing sequel to The Marrow Thieves, Hunting by Stars picks up immediately after the end of the first book. I don't know about you, but I had hoped that Frenchie and his family were done with their trials for awhile. That turns out not to be the case. If anything, their previous struggles pale in comparison to what lies ahead of them.
By turns brutal, emotional, raw, and hopeful, the story provides an unflinching look at what one would be willing to do for freedom and for family, and the heavy costs associated with those choices. As hard as parts of this book were to read, I can't say enough about the power of Dimaline's writing. She expertly captures the grittiness of living and dying, the existential horror at the intersection of reality and imagination, and the devastating legacy of Canadian residential and US Indian boarding schools that continues to reverberate from history and into the future.
For so long, we as a species were violent. Our violence was neglect; our violence was arrogance. The wasp sting of capitalism was left to grow malignant without proper care. And wasps can keep on stinging once they begin. They don’t die like bees, so they don’t have to be as committed to the damage. We as humans forgot our specific place and spread into every place instead. As if we were removed from consequence. As if we were untouchable. We couldn’t even imagine the Earth retaliating. And then it did.
By turns brutal, emotional, raw, and hopeful, the story provides an unflinching look at what one would be willing to do for freedom and for family, and the heavy costs associated with those choices. As hard as parts of this book were to read, I can't say enough about the power of Dimaline's writing. She expertly captures the grittiness of living and dying, the existential horror at the intersection of reality and imagination, and the devastating legacy of Canadian residential and US Indian boarding schools that continues to reverberate from history and into the future.
For so long, we as a species were violent. Our violence was neglect; our violence was arrogance. The wasp sting of capitalism was left to grow malignant without proper care. And wasps can keep on stinging once they begin. They don’t die like bees, so they don’t have to be as committed to the damage. We as humans forgot our specific place and spread into every place instead. As if we were removed from consequence. As if we were untouchable. We couldn’t even imagine the Earth retaliating. And then it did.
October 17, 2021
4.5 stars.
Cherie Dimaline returns to the dystopian world she created in Marrow Thieves, where, after a plague, everyone but the indigenous lost their ability to dream, inflicting madness and more death upon an already hurting population. Unfortunately, what did this population do once it became obvious the indigenous weren't similarly affected? Capture, extract the bone marrow from indigenous people, and murder them. In fact, an entire operation, similar to the residential school system, was created to ensure a supply of marrow for the afflicted.
In book one, we met young Frenchie, a boy whose brother sacrificed himself to Recruiters (as the kidnappers are called) so Frenchie could escape. After falling in with a small group of other indigenous, Frenchie spends years on the run, learning a number of skills to help his group and making strong, loving bonds with these people.
When this book opens, Frenchie has been captured; he's disoriented, terrified because though he doesn't know where he is (except that it's likely a marrow extraction facility), feeling very, very alone, and worried that his found family was also captured. Luckily, they weren't, and they spend time looking for Frenchie, while continuing to attempt to evade capture.
This book is so much darker than book one (I know, how much worse can the situation get for these characters?) This time, Dimaline puts a face to the captors and collaborators/appeasers. Dimaline also has Frenchie and Rose (who decides to leave the group to rescue Frenchie) discover just what they are prepared to do and what they are prepared to give of themselves, when they encounter rationalizations and mounting danger, and others who stand in the way of their goals. Dimaline takes us to some disturbing places for and within these characters, but believable and tragic.
It's not an easy book, as one sees the ease with which the racist captors diminish and murder a people, and the way some of the captives collaborate in the destruction of their own.
For all that, this is a compelling book -- I tore through it, desperate to know how my favourite characters were going to survive this situation. I like Frenchie and Rose, but Miig! I love him so much, and this book shows us what a wonderful role model Miig is for Frenchie and the whole group.
I am so glad Cherie Dimaline decided to revisit this harrowing world so we could see what was next for her characters; though their situations were grim and scary, there is so much love within the group, and I’m glad we got to spend more time with these people.
Thank you to Netgalley and ABRAMS Kids for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Cherie Dimaline returns to the dystopian world she created in Marrow Thieves, where, after a plague, everyone but the indigenous lost their ability to dream, inflicting madness and more death upon an already hurting population. Unfortunately, what did this population do once it became obvious the indigenous weren't similarly affected? Capture, extract the bone marrow from indigenous people, and murder them. In fact, an entire operation, similar to the residential school system, was created to ensure a supply of marrow for the afflicted.
In book one, we met young Frenchie, a boy whose brother sacrificed himself to Recruiters (as the kidnappers are called) so Frenchie could escape. After falling in with a small group of other indigenous, Frenchie spends years on the run, learning a number of skills to help his group and making strong, loving bonds with these people.
When this book opens, Frenchie has been captured; he's disoriented, terrified because though he doesn't know where he is (except that it's likely a marrow extraction facility), feeling very, very alone, and worried that his found family was also captured. Luckily, they weren't, and they spend time looking for Frenchie, while continuing to attempt to evade capture.
This book is so much darker than book one (I know, how much worse can the situation get for these characters?) This time, Dimaline puts a face to the captors and collaborators/appeasers. Dimaline also has Frenchie and Rose (who decides to leave the group to rescue Frenchie) discover just what they are prepared to do and what they are prepared to give of themselves, when they encounter rationalizations and mounting danger, and others who stand in the way of their goals. Dimaline takes us to some disturbing places for and within these characters, but believable and tragic.
It's not an easy book, as one sees the ease with which the racist captors diminish and murder a people, and the way some of the captives collaborate in the destruction of their own.
For all that, this is a compelling book -- I tore through it, desperate to know how my favourite characters were going to survive this situation. I like Frenchie and Rose, but Miig! I love him so much, and this book shows us what a wonderful role model Miig is for Frenchie and the whole group.
I am so glad Cherie Dimaline decided to revisit this harrowing world so we could see what was next for her characters; though their situations were grim and scary, there is so much love within the group, and I’m glad we got to spend more time with these people.
Thank you to Netgalley and ABRAMS Kids for this ARC in exchange for my review.
January 26, 2022
Cherie Dimaline in her author’s note says she didn’t anticipate writing a sequel to
The Marrow Thieves
, and I understand why. French’s story of finding a new family in a post-apocalyptic world where Indigenous people’s bone marrow is being harvested to give non-Indigenous people back their dreams is quite a powerful tale on its own. There isn’t a need for a sequel … or at least, there wasn’t. Now that Dimaline has given us one, I have to say, I’m very impressed.
Spoilers ahead for The Marrow Thieves but not for this book.
Hunting by Stars picks up where The Marrow Thieves leaves off. Minerva, the Elder of French’s newfound family, has been killed in an attack by Recruiters. Nevertheless, Miigwans was reunited with his partner Isaac, and the family had found a larger group to join up with—a group that includes French’s long-lost father, Jean. But as the book opens, French himself has just been taken by Recruiters. At the institution where he is held, he discovers something more terrifying than having his marrow sucked dry: his brother, Mitch, who sacrificed himself to save French when French was ten years old, is now working for the institution. And he expects French to start working for them too.
Dimaline branches out her storytelling in this book. French remains a first-person narrator, but chapters follow Rose and a few other characters in limited third person as well. Rose leaves the group to pursue and try to rescue French. Meanwhile, the rest of the family reluctantly decides it must leave south, for the States, to protect Wab’s unborn child.
This is a story of broken reunions and betrayal. It’s also about hope. Consider how Rose tries to get the two-spirit Nam to help her escape from Nam’s uncle’s incredibly creepy sex cult (did not expect that whole subplot, but in retrospect, this is a post-apocalyptic world, so I probably should have). Rose’s entire attempt to sway Nam to her side involves appealing to their hope for the possibility of a better future than the one they currently eke out—a future with a family that actually cares for them.
Chosen family and relationships thus form the backbone of Hunting by Stars even more so, I think, than they did the first book. French’s reunion with Mitch is bittersweet precisely because they are blood relations, brothers, yet Mitch is doing his best to convince French to join the dark side. In contrast, Miig, Isaac, Tree, Zheewon, etc.—that family, French and Rose’s found family, are loyal and true. I know that concepts of relation among Indigenous peoples are complex and fraught with colonial trauma (not just residential schools, but the Sixties Scoop alienated a lot of people from their nations and communities), so there is likely a lot that I, as a settler, am missing to these dynamics. Nevertheless, I certainly understand the appeal of finding people who will always be in your corner.
French’s agony over how he might pretend to go dark side is also a palpable and powerful aspect of this book. The way he gradually collects the notes from his fellow inmates, and how he reluctantly participates in a kidnapping operation, all comes together to touch on a larger issue of collaboration. We see this in the minor characters of the nurses who help Indigenous people escape and Father Carole, the “man on the inside.” To what extent does one collaborate with a harmful system in order to feed information to the outside or participate in even broader resistance from within? At what point does the sham of collaboration become indistinguishable from actual collaboration and thus indefensible? French’s primary worry, when he has a chance to return to his family, is that they will perceive him as a traitor when they discover the truth of what he has done. It’s a sensible fear.
I think some readers of these books will balk at the dystopian world portrayed here. The American women who function as vigilantes feel extremely over-the-top at first. But I think that is a fundamental underestimation of the lengths to which both the state and individuals would go to oppress a marginalized group (such as Indigenous people) when there are benefits to it. We are not far removed from residential schools, from high Arctic relocations, from the Trail of Tears. Systemic discrimination against Indigenous people in the justice system, the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and the discrimination against Indigenous people in our health care systems are all ongoing issues. What Dimaline does in Hunting by Stars is simply extrapolate how this oppression might manifest in a society stricken by a plague so devastating it breaks down a lot of our existing supremacist systems. But to see it as unrealistic is to ignore the fabric of our modern day society on which this story is firmly constructed.
Hunting by Stars proved to be an engrossing read, one that captivated me even more than The Marrow Thieves did. I also think it stands on its own as well, so if for some reason you don’t want to read the first book, you can pick this one up and still follow along. This is the second post-apocalyptic novel I have read this year already—I don’t know what’s going on! But as with Parable of the Sower , I have no regrets.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
Spoilers ahead for The Marrow Thieves but not for this book.
Hunting by Stars picks up where The Marrow Thieves leaves off. Minerva, the Elder of French’s newfound family, has been killed in an attack by Recruiters. Nevertheless, Miigwans was reunited with his partner Isaac, and the family had found a larger group to join up with—a group that includes French’s long-lost father, Jean. But as the book opens, French himself has just been taken by Recruiters. At the institution where he is held, he discovers something more terrifying than having his marrow sucked dry: his brother, Mitch, who sacrificed himself to save French when French was ten years old, is now working for the institution. And he expects French to start working for them too.
Dimaline branches out her storytelling in this book. French remains a first-person narrator, but chapters follow Rose and a few other characters in limited third person as well. Rose leaves the group to pursue and try to rescue French. Meanwhile, the rest of the family reluctantly decides it must leave south, for the States, to protect Wab’s unborn child.
This is a story of broken reunions and betrayal. It’s also about hope. Consider how Rose tries to get the two-spirit Nam to help her escape from Nam’s uncle’s incredibly creepy sex cult (did not expect that whole subplot, but in retrospect, this is a post-apocalyptic world, so I probably should have). Rose’s entire attempt to sway Nam to her side involves appealing to their hope for the possibility of a better future than the one they currently eke out—a future with a family that actually cares for them.
Chosen family and relationships thus form the backbone of Hunting by Stars even more so, I think, than they did the first book. French’s reunion with Mitch is bittersweet precisely because they are blood relations, brothers, yet Mitch is doing his best to convince French to join the dark side. In contrast, Miig, Isaac, Tree, Zheewon, etc.—that family, French and Rose’s found family, are loyal and true. I know that concepts of relation among Indigenous peoples are complex and fraught with colonial trauma (not just residential schools, but the Sixties Scoop alienated a lot of people from their nations and communities), so there is likely a lot that I, as a settler, am missing to these dynamics. Nevertheless, I certainly understand the appeal of finding people who will always be in your corner.
French’s agony over how he might pretend to go dark side is also a palpable and powerful aspect of this book. The way he gradually collects the notes from his fellow inmates, and how he reluctantly participates in a kidnapping operation, all comes together to touch on a larger issue of collaboration. We see this in the minor characters of the nurses who help Indigenous people escape and Father Carole, the “man on the inside.” To what extent does one collaborate with a harmful system in order to feed information to the outside or participate in even broader resistance from within? At what point does the sham of collaboration become indistinguishable from actual collaboration and thus indefensible? French’s primary worry, when he has a chance to return to his family, is that they will perceive him as a traitor when they discover the truth of what he has done. It’s a sensible fear.
I think some readers of these books will balk at the dystopian world portrayed here. The American women who function as vigilantes feel extremely over-the-top at first. But I think that is a fundamental underestimation of the lengths to which both the state and individuals would go to oppress a marginalized group (such as Indigenous people) when there are benefits to it. We are not far removed from residential schools, from high Arctic relocations, from the Trail of Tears. Systemic discrimination against Indigenous people in the justice system, the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and the discrimination against Indigenous people in our health care systems are all ongoing issues. What Dimaline does in Hunting by Stars is simply extrapolate how this oppression might manifest in a society stricken by a plague so devastating it breaks down a lot of our existing supremacist systems. But to see it as unrealistic is to ignore the fabric of our modern day society on which this story is firmly constructed.
Hunting by Stars proved to be an engrossing read, one that captivated me even more than The Marrow Thieves did. I also think it stands on its own as well, so if for some reason you don’t want to read the first book, you can pick this one up and still follow along. This is the second post-apocalyptic novel I have read this year already—I don’t know what’s going on! But as with Parable of the Sower , I have no regrets.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
October 8, 2024
Hunting by Stars continues French’s story. His family has grown, but now he’s been captured by the Recruiters. At the institution where he’s held, he faces a shocking discovery—his brother Mitch, who saved him as a child, is now working for the same people who want to steal French’s marrow. As French grapples with betrayal and survival, his family tries to rescue him, while also facing their own struggles in this harsh world.
Cherie Dimaline originally didn’t plan to write a sequel to The Marrow Thieves. The first book was already a strong story about French finding a new family in a world where Indigenous people’s bone marrow is stolen to restore non-Indigenous people’s dreams.
This book digs deeper into themes of hope, family, and people's difficult choices when caught in oppressive systems. It’s a powerful, thought-provoking read that expands on the world of The Marrow Thieves, showing how far people will go when their survival—and their very dreams—are on the line.
Cherie Dimaline originally didn’t plan to write a sequel to The Marrow Thieves. The first book was already a strong story about French finding a new family in a world where Indigenous people’s bone marrow is stolen to restore non-Indigenous people’s dreams.
This book digs deeper into themes of hope, family, and people's difficult choices when caught in oppressive systems. It’s a powerful, thought-provoking read that expands on the world of The Marrow Thieves, showing how far people will go when their survival—and their very dreams—are on the line.
October 6, 2021
This book recently kept me company on a very long cross-province drive - I expected to only listen for a little while and then switch to music cause every other audiobook I’d tried couldn’t hold my attention, but oh no, this one grabbed me instantly, and I listened for hours and hours straight, 75% in one go, and would have done it all if I’d only had more road! I honestly think this is the best dystopian series I have ever read, and I don’t mean just YA dystopian, I mean all dystopian. The Marrow Thieves and now this stunning sequel are beyond powerful, beyond timely, and I am totally incapable of saying just how much. The way Cherie Dimaline has packed these characters with so much heart, you can’t not care for them with every ounce of your own in return. Reading this I was filled with equal parts anguish, hope, heartbreak, anger, urgency, and awe, completely invested and riveted and pulled in. This sequel is so necessary, a seamless continuation of the brilliance of the first book, even more so after listening to the author’s note and finding out why it was written, and for who (whom? 😬). I’m so thankful for this series, for its wisdom and its warnings, for French and Rose and all the rest, and if there’s more story to come, I will be most eagerly waiting!
November 1, 2021
I received a gifted copy of Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline from Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
The Marrow Thieves had captivated and haunted me ever since I read it last summer. The story of survival, dreams, family, found family, and belonging is one that lingers in your mind - especially as it deals with really real issues in a futuristic way that feels too real and possible. And while I was strangely content with the way the book ended - hopeless and yet hopeful at the same time - I was okay with the open-ended ending. So it came as a pleasant surprise when I found out that a sequel would be out - Hunting by Stars. It picks up right after the events of The Marrow Thieves and it is just as intense as the first novel. I was holding my breath throughout the book as events unfolded. And I was once again captivated by the storytelling style that Cherie Dimaline weaves in her books. This story of betrayal, of redemption, of facing the worst of humanity - is a look into the ways we all find ways to survive and justify the means. Just like with Marrow Thieves, Hunting by Stars is a story that I will carry with me.
The Marrow Thieves had captivated and haunted me ever since I read it last summer. The story of survival, dreams, family, found family, and belonging is one that lingers in your mind - especially as it deals with really real issues in a futuristic way that feels too real and possible. And while I was strangely content with the way the book ended - hopeless and yet hopeful at the same time - I was okay with the open-ended ending. So it came as a pleasant surprise when I found out that a sequel would be out - Hunting by Stars. It picks up right after the events of The Marrow Thieves and it is just as intense as the first novel. I was holding my breath throughout the book as events unfolded. And I was once again captivated by the storytelling style that Cherie Dimaline weaves in her books. This story of betrayal, of redemption, of facing the worst of humanity - is a look into the ways we all find ways to survive and justify the means. Just like with Marrow Thieves, Hunting by Stars is a story that I will carry with me.
January 12, 2025
Content Warnings: This book should be read with care. Dimaline manages her plot's difficult topics extremely well, but confinement and torture are present.
Hunting by Stars is Cherie Dimaline's sequel to The Marrow Thieves, her wildly popular YA dystopian novel that imagines a world where environmental pollution means humans have lost the capacity to dream and Indigenous peoples are hunted for their capacity to help the mainstream population keep doing so.
Like Waubgeshig Rice's Moon of the Turning Leaves, it's a book she had no plans to write until questions and insistence from her readers prompted reflection (addressed in the Author's Note at the back of the book).
We follow French's journey to one of the menacing schools where children and adults are harvested for their bone marrow. It's as barbaric and dehumanizing as it sounds, and an extrapolation of what Residential Schools did to children in many colonized countries (Canada, the United States, Australia, etc.).
At the same time, Rose and others are desperate to get French back, though they know the odds are long. What is the cost of such survival? And if they do reunite, will Rose and French even recognize each other?
The characters are infinitely worth rooting for, and there are moments at the close of this book so wrenching that I sobbed while I listened. It's not the easiest of reads, but its construction and execution are brilliant.
And, if the villains seem monstrous, I had only to think about the current conflict playing out in Gaza to remember that power will always treat the vulnerable as expendable, and that morality is hard when disaster, strife and change make the bedrock of our lives uneasy.
Dimaline's reimagining of the suffering and oppression Indigenous peoples have endured is masterful in its commentary and in its character work. Hunting by Stars is as much a study of complicity as it is of resistance, but she never loses sight of her characters as people, how ever flawed, how ever broken, how ever much they struggle to make the best choices in difficult times.
If you haven't read the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume One: Summary: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future, which informs her depiction of the schools that intentionally separated Indigenous children from their parents in my country as an act of state-wide genocide, consider this an invitation to develop some familiarity.
As fascism rises in the west, it is the kind of knowledge everyone should have.
Hunting by Stars is Cherie Dimaline's sequel to The Marrow Thieves, her wildly popular YA dystopian novel that imagines a world where environmental pollution means humans have lost the capacity to dream and Indigenous peoples are hunted for their capacity to help the mainstream population keep doing so.
Like Waubgeshig Rice's Moon of the Turning Leaves, it's a book she had no plans to write until questions and insistence from her readers prompted reflection (addressed in the Author's Note at the back of the book).
We follow French's journey to one of the menacing schools where children and adults are harvested for their bone marrow. It's as barbaric and dehumanizing as it sounds, and an extrapolation of what Residential Schools did to children in many colonized countries (Canada, the United States, Australia, etc.).
At the same time, Rose and others are desperate to get French back, though they know the odds are long. What is the cost of such survival? And if they do reunite, will Rose and French even recognize each other?
The characters are infinitely worth rooting for, and there are moments at the close of this book so wrenching that I sobbed while I listened. It's not the easiest of reads, but its construction and execution are brilliant.
And, if the villains seem monstrous, I had only to think about the current conflict playing out in Gaza to remember that power will always treat the vulnerable as expendable, and that morality is hard when disaster, strife and change make the bedrock of our lives uneasy.
Dimaline's reimagining of the suffering and oppression Indigenous peoples have endured is masterful in its commentary and in its character work. Hunting by Stars is as much a study of complicity as it is of resistance, but she never loses sight of her characters as people, how ever flawed, how ever broken, how ever much they struggle to make the best choices in difficult times.
If you haven't read the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume One: Summary: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future, which informs her depiction of the schools that intentionally separated Indigenous children from their parents in my country as an act of state-wide genocide, consider this an invitation to develop some familiarity.
As fascism rises in the west, it is the kind of knowledge everyone should have.
September 29, 2023
Hunting by Stars (The Marrow Thieves #2) by Cherie Dimaline is a great follow up to The Marrow Thieves, but that said I didn't quite like this is as much as I did in comparison to it. It takes up right after book one ends and it's quite a raw story. It's also very hopeful which is probably the best element. If you've read book one, you'll need to read this as well.
June 20, 2023
Listen Cherie,
I don't know how hard it is to do a simple google search, BUT ZEUS DIDN'T EAT HIS CHILDREN.
It was literally Cronus (Or Kronos) that ate them.
I don't know what compelled you to write such a defying, vile lie. It's not so difficult to pick up your fingers and type in google “who ate his children in Greek mythology.” Now, is it?
Get help.
Love,
Greek Mythology Expert
I don't know how hard it is to do a simple google search, BUT ZEUS DIDN'T EAT HIS CHILDREN.
It was literally Cronus (Or Kronos) that ate them.
I don't know what compelled you to write such a defying, vile lie. It's not so difficult to pick up your fingers and type in google “who ate his children in Greek mythology.” Now, is it?
Get help.
Love,
Greek Mythology Expert
March 25, 2022
I think I enjoyed the sequel better than The Marrow Thieves. Loved the character arcs for Rose and French. But oh my Lord, the typos!!! What is wrong with that editor? They have done the author a great disservice with the slapdash editing.
August 14, 2021
Cherie Dimaline really didn’t hold back with this sequel to The Marrow Thieves, available October 18, 2021! I had some mixed feelings as I read this because I read it as both an adult reader as well as a junior high (7th-8th) librarian; reading this served two purposes: one, for my own personal desire to read the sequel, and two, to decide whether or not the sequel would be perfectly fine to add to our library’s collection. But before I go into all my thoughts, a quick summary!
Hunting by Stars picks up a little bit after the events of The Marrow Thieves. French has been captured and is being held in a residential school. Meanwhile, his band of friends take charge in the search and a few even decide to implement a plan to find him and bring him back. While the events of the first book were tough, the challenges presented to the main characters are even tougher this time around, and not all will come out of it unscathed.
What I Loved:
- There were many back and forth chapters between characters and groups of people, which I tend to love as a reader (but also admit can be difficult to follow as a junior higher). Some of these chapters were set aside specifically for a character to share their story of how they arrived where they did, and I appreciated having that extra new background information about characters I remembered from the first book.
- I love how personal this story was in how it incorporates Cree language and culture. (The author’s note was especially wonderful seeing all that went into the story. I really appreciated how she encouraged readers to talk to teachers and do research on other nations and histories, especially in regards to residential schools in Canada and the US.)
- There are some really obvious parallels between the events of the story and the recent events of mass graves being found a residential schools. I found it incredibly timely that the story touched on this information in its own way.
- There were a few parts that were almost reminiscent of Stephen King’s “The Institute” which was interesting to me.
What I Didn’t Love:
- This sequel really upped the ante on profanity usage to the point that it was even a bit distracting. As a junior high librarian, I just can’t justify putting a book in the library that had so much (and a significantly large variety!), and this really breaks my heart because the first one was so impactful and I wanted desperately to be able to house the continuation of the story. As a reader, I didn’t mind it but it was distracting at times and took away from the enjoyment of falling into the story.
- The back and forth between characters and groups was initially confusing (to get your bearings) and I could see junior high kids struggling to stay oriented.
- I wish there had been a little bit more of an explanation of how this world really worked and how everyone got there. (More details on the past world.)
- There were some content moments that were really tough and I was not expecting, and while these sort of ended up okay (ish?) in most cases (and entirely fine in others), again, some of it was just more than I could justify putting in our library. As an adult reading the book, some of it was rough but still made for a great read.
Overall:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book as a general reader but have some reservations as a junior high librarian. This is definitely more Young Adult than the first book and I would be cautious when considering putting it in a library for 7th-8th graders or below. This might be fine for upper level high schoolers or more mature YA readers that could handle some of the tougher content and profanity. I definitely do recommend this to adults and young adults who read the first book, enjoyed it, and want to know where the story went.
Content Warnings:
- Significant amounts of profanity
- Loss of family members and friends (grief, coping)
- Death of relatives and friends
- Some violence
- Abuse (medically, physically)
- Near death of a child (smothering)
- Cult content (dominant male, predatory behavior, abuse of women)
- Culture and identity theft of Indigenous individuals (and associated trauma)
Thank you to Netgalley and ABRAMS Kids for an e-ARC of this book!
Hunting by Stars picks up a little bit after the events of The Marrow Thieves. French has been captured and is being held in a residential school. Meanwhile, his band of friends take charge in the search and a few even decide to implement a plan to find him and bring him back. While the events of the first book were tough, the challenges presented to the main characters are even tougher this time around, and not all will come out of it unscathed.
What I Loved:
- There were many back and forth chapters between characters and groups of people, which I tend to love as a reader (but also admit can be difficult to follow as a junior higher). Some of these chapters were set aside specifically for a character to share their story of how they arrived where they did, and I appreciated having that extra new background information about characters I remembered from the first book.
- I love how personal this story was in how it incorporates Cree language and culture. (The author’s note was especially wonderful seeing all that went into the story. I really appreciated how she encouraged readers to talk to teachers and do research on other nations and histories, especially in regards to residential schools in Canada and the US.)
- There are some really obvious parallels between the events of the story and the recent events of mass graves being found a residential schools. I found it incredibly timely that the story touched on this information in its own way.
- There were a few parts that were almost reminiscent of Stephen King’s “The Institute” which was interesting to me.
What I Didn’t Love:
- This sequel really upped the ante on profanity usage to the point that it was even a bit distracting. As a junior high librarian, I just can’t justify putting a book in the library that had so much (and a significantly large variety!), and this really breaks my heart because the first one was so impactful and I wanted desperately to be able to house the continuation of the story. As a reader, I didn’t mind it but it was distracting at times and took away from the enjoyment of falling into the story.
- The back and forth between characters and groups was initially confusing (to get your bearings) and I could see junior high kids struggling to stay oriented.
- I wish there had been a little bit more of an explanation of how this world really worked and how everyone got there. (More details on the past world.)
- There were some content moments that were really tough and I was not expecting, and while these sort of ended up okay (ish?) in most cases (and entirely fine in others), again, some of it was just more than I could justify putting in our library. As an adult reading the book, some of it was rough but still made for a great read.
Overall:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book as a general reader but have some reservations as a junior high librarian. This is definitely more Young Adult than the first book and I would be cautious when considering putting it in a library for 7th-8th graders or below. This might be fine for upper level high schoolers or more mature YA readers that could handle some of the tougher content and profanity. I definitely do recommend this to adults and young adults who read the first book, enjoyed it, and want to know where the story went.
Content Warnings:
- Significant amounts of profanity
- Loss of family members and friends (grief, coping)
- Death of relatives and friends
- Some violence
- Abuse (medically, physically)
- Near death of a child (smothering)
- Cult content (dominant male, predatory behavior, abuse of women)
- Culture and identity theft of Indigenous individuals (and associated trauma)
Thank you to Netgalley and ABRAMS Kids for an e-ARC of this book!
Read
January 12, 2022Again, as with the first book, I'm not going to rate it. Not just yet anyway. I don't know if this one was published as Young Adult as was the first one. It's better on the less complicated concepts and fewer obsenities front, and less sexual content, but still, in my opinion not YA.
I saw a few readers and reviewers calling it a "masterpiece," but it's nowhere near that level. Yes, the writing is stunningly beautiful and the premise is unique; imparting a great message, but the construction of the story is a mess. Too many vague connections, plot coincidences, continuity blips, and as far as the disease went... it was never explained, not even a tiny bit. At least tell why the lack of dreams was making people sick and how the marrow was administered. A connection needed to be made between the sterility and not dreaming in some way.
The biggest problem for me was that after donating marrow it replenishes itself in 2-6 weeks, so it made no sense to milk the marrow so frequently the donor died. I hate it when a major plot point error kills the entire book.
I also didn't mark these books as LGBTQ because other than it being mentioned they were gay, bisexual, or transgender... and some quick hand-holding it had no real impact on the story
I saw a few readers and reviewers calling it a "masterpiece," but it's nowhere near that level. Yes, the writing is stunningly beautiful and the premise is unique; imparting a great message, but the construction of the story is a mess. Too many vague connections, plot coincidences, continuity blips, and as far as the disease went... it was never explained, not even a tiny bit. At least tell why the lack of dreams was making people sick and how the marrow was administered. A connection needed to be made between the sterility and not dreaming in some way.
The biggest problem for me was that after donating marrow it replenishes itself in 2-6 weeks, so it made no sense to milk the marrow so frequently the donor died. I hate it when a major plot point error kills the entire book.
I also didn't mark these books as LGBTQ because other than it being mentioned they were gay, bisexual, or transgender... and some quick hand-holding it had no real impact on the story
December 31, 2021
This is such an exciting sequel to one of my very favourites, The Marrow Thieves. It answers many of our questions from the first book and sets up some thrilling and shocking twists for us. I was hanging on every word.
What makes a family? In this excellent follow-up to the modern classic, French is placed in an impossible position. He has to make some seriously difficult decisions and this book feels even more mature than the last. The character development is nuanced and kept me guessing as to how they'd react to new threats and familiar faces.
Highly recommend to all fans of dystopian fiction, eco-criticism, and YA SFF/adventure stories.
Content warnings for: residential school, kidnapping, imprisonment, torture, tense scenes with kids in danger, betrayal, threats, brainwashing, murder, medical experimentation, coercion, attempted infanticide, implied cannibalism, childbirth scenes, gun violence, threats of parent/child separation, racism, grief.
What makes a family? In this excellent follow-up to the modern classic, French is placed in an impossible position. He has to make some seriously difficult decisions and this book feels even more mature than the last. The character development is nuanced and kept me guessing as to how they'd react to new threats and familiar faces.
Highly recommend to all fans of dystopian fiction, eco-criticism, and YA SFF/adventure stories.
Content warnings for: residential school, kidnapping, imprisonment, torture, tense scenes with kids in danger, betrayal, threats, brainwashing, murder, medical experimentation, coercion, attempted infanticide, implied cannibalism, childbirth scenes, gun violence, threats of parent/child separation, racism, grief.
December 8, 2022
i promised myself i wasn't going to cry this semester, but does it count if i wasn't crying over school and crying because of the ending of hunting by stars? (damn it, ms. dimaline, i was SO close to making it to the end of the semester!)
working at a bookstore, i made sure to get the marrow thieves into the hands of anyone i could. (i once talked the marrow thieves up so much that a customer asked me if i was the author lol) this sequel is equally painful as it is beautiful-- just like the marrow thieves. dimaline is a genius at discussing difficult topics while still holding onto hope. it is an honor to read her books. now, let's make this a trilogy pleeeaassseeee.
working at a bookstore, i made sure to get the marrow thieves into the hands of anyone i could. (i once talked the marrow thieves up so much that a customer asked me if i was the author lol) this sequel is equally painful as it is beautiful-- just like the marrow thieves. dimaline is a genius at discussing difficult topics while still holding onto hope. it is an honor to read her books. now, let's make this a trilogy pleeeaassseeee.
August 23, 2022
I personally liked this a ton more than the Marrow Thieves, it was pretty horrifying and real and the inclusion of Indigenous names that matched some of my friends in real life just made it more real and more sad, but I still love this piece of Indigenous fiction that also is amazing dystopia! A perfect combination
December 18, 2021
This is Young Adult/Dystopia/Sci-fi and it is also #2 in the Marrow Thieves books. I liked this more than book #1. Both books have been an A+ when it comes to creativity.
I liked the story in this one and I has hooked from the first scene. There were also some ethical questions posed that were worth pondering. They fit snuggly into the story line. So 4 stars.
I liked the story in this one and I has hooked from the first scene. There were also some ethical questions posed that were worth pondering. They fit snuggly into the story line. So 4 stars.
June 12, 2022
Liked this one just as much as the first!
Read
August 9, 2022Damn have I never simultaneously hated a main character more, yet genuinely didn't want them to be in their situation. I guess systematically stealing indigenous people's marrow so you can have FUCKING DREAMS makes you root for your main character no matter how one dimensional they are. Yes apparently this is either part of a series in this dystopia or another novel in the same world, and no I did not know that until the audiobook reader personificator told me at the end of the book. I might read the other one, aptly named "The Marrow Thieves". Also, why leave Derrick/Derek/other phonetically identical forms because this was an audiobook for me? I wanted to fuck him and I was supposed to be biased against him because he wasn't the main love interest in this series. He wasn't pushy, he wanted to help rescue French even though French was a dick to him and would probably steal his wannabe gf's heart away, and he stuck with all of that after stepping on a fucking rusty beartrap to help Rose find him. Why did she fucking abandon him to never see him again? What did she see in French that I didn't? I don't know, anyway, I just needed to get that out. Other than advertising SHIT taste in men apparently, the book was pretty good. Derek/Derrick/other phonetically identical forms because this was an audiobook for me, it's ok. Even though you're in Canada so you're legally not allowed to get angry, I can buy you a plane ticket so you can go kill Rose and/or French. I also have some really old hot sauce in the fridge if you need for... some reason pertaining to revenge/sobbing uncontrollably. It's... probably... fit for human consumption.
October 16, 2021
So much more than a YA fantasy book! This was a compelling, continuation of the Marrow thieves story featuring the rag-tag cast of Indigenous characters I fell in love with the first time as they continue to evade capture by authorities looking to use their blood to cure people afflicted with a pandemic like disease.
So much of this dystopian story rings eerily true, from the legacy of residential schools, the history of racial discrimination and ill treatment of Indigenous peoples and of course life during a pandemic. I couldn't put this sequel down and look forward to more should we be so lucky. Much thanks to NetGalley, Libro.fm and the publisher for my review copies!
So much of this dystopian story rings eerily true, from the legacy of residential schools, the history of racial discrimination and ill treatment of Indigenous peoples and of course life during a pandemic. I couldn't put this sequel down and look forward to more should we be so lucky. Much thanks to NetGalley, Libro.fm and the publisher for my review copies!
August 13, 2023
4 stars for the quality of writing and the intensity and truth of this story, but I honestly think it's too dark for a YA novel. I actually dreaded picking it up as the story went on.
YA requires melodrama, coincidence, and a ramping up of the pace, over which the protagonist will succeed - yet the actual content of this book is unremittingly dark, dealing with the very real and recent living and psychological conditions of a genocidal state which burns Indigenous people for fuel. These clash more and more frequently. The latter half of the novel is really so bleak 😭 and we didn't have the time to dwell on any of the events that occurred - and boy did they fucking occur!!!
However the central metaphor is strong - that the very living matter of Indigenous people in North America, both materially and spiritually, is the resource on which the state rests upon, and for the settler state and way of life to continue it must harvest it and attempt to destroy Indigenous people themselves. And yet Indigenous people live and thrive and dream on despite these conditions ! Its a beautiful book and really important, reminding us that no person or death can be a journey to anything else, whether it be the small daily deaths required of capitalism and alienation, or the large deaths of our friends and Community.
.... But was I completely overwhelmed and sad reading it and also kind of wishing it would end...?
Yes
YA requires melodrama, coincidence, and a ramping up of the pace, over which the protagonist will succeed - yet the actual content of this book is unremittingly dark, dealing with the very real and recent living and psychological conditions of a genocidal state which burns Indigenous people for fuel. These clash more and more frequently. The latter half of the novel is really so bleak 😭 and we didn't have the time to dwell on any of the events that occurred - and boy did they fucking occur!!!
However the central metaphor is strong - that the very living matter of Indigenous people in North America, both materially and spiritually, is the resource on which the state rests upon, and for the settler state and way of life to continue it must harvest it and attempt to destroy Indigenous people themselves. And yet Indigenous people live and thrive and dream on despite these conditions ! Its a beautiful book and really important, reminding us that no person or death can be a journey to anything else, whether it be the small daily deaths required of capitalism and alienation, or the large deaths of our friends and Community.
.... But was I completely overwhelmed and sad reading it and also kind of wishing it would end...?
Yes
February 17, 2022
Story is a home. It's where we live, it's where we hold everything we'll need to truly survive- our languages, our people, our love. p21
*We're going to make sure future generations will be safe and well and whole.
>Yeah, but honestly? Whose future generations? p140
How do you sanely respond to insanity? p74
For Cherie Dimaline, her response was to write another book, even bigger and more powerful and nuanced than her first book, call it a sequel or what happens next. This complex fable works so well because it is anchored in truth and guided so skillfully and with such lovingkindness by CD, whose clear and penetrating words hold this vision steady.
Clearly, the insanity continues to morph. Another sequel is surely called for.
There's not enough kindness in the world to make what's going on better. We need to do more. p179
July 7, 2021
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.
5 stars
What can I say? I really love everything I read from Cherie Dimaline. She creates engaging and timely stories that pull me in immediately. She writes with care and love when representing a variety of identities in meaningful ways. She makes me think and laugh multiple times in the same text. She is, simply put, a fantastic storyteller. Once this book is released, I will be looking for opportunities to incorporate the novel (or possibly even selections from it) into classes with my high school English students.
5 stars
What can I say? I really love everything I read from Cherie Dimaline. She creates engaging and timely stories that pull me in immediately. She writes with care and love when representing a variety of identities in meaningful ways. She makes me think and laugh multiple times in the same text. She is, simply put, a fantastic storyteller. Once this book is released, I will be looking for opportunities to incorporate the novel (or possibly even selections from it) into classes with my high school English students.
October 24, 2025
★★☆☆☆ (2.5)
a haphazard jumble of plotlines that seemed randomly stitched together and characters I fell out of love with or vehemently disliked, I spent this book mostly frustrated with our main personnel. the marrow thieves had so much promise but this sequel didn't live up to it for me :/
the States being hailed as some semblance of freedom because they elected someone who outlawed marrow harvesting was also preposterous; didn't believe that for a single second
I might be goaded into reading whatever comes next, only because I'm hopeful for a buildup towards abolition, but aside from the potent commentary in the worldbuilding everything else seemed rather shallow
a haphazard jumble of plotlines that seemed randomly stitched together and characters I fell out of love with or vehemently disliked, I spent this book mostly frustrated with our main personnel. the marrow thieves had so much promise but this sequel didn't live up to it for me :/
the States being hailed as some semblance of freedom because they elected someone who outlawed marrow harvesting was also preposterous; didn't believe that for a single second
I might be goaded into reading whatever comes next, only because I'm hopeful for a buildup towards abolition, but aside from the potent commentary in the worldbuilding everything else seemed rather shallow
December 15, 2021
Some books you wish didn't have sequels, and some books you just think don’t need sequels, until you get a sequel. And then you realize how completely wonderful the sequel is. And now I'm hoping for another sequel after this one. This group of characters still has a lot of story left to tell.
This was sad and scary and depressing and also so uplifting and hopeful. There is plenty of nonstop action but the real strength of this book is the characters, each one so rich and alive. I felt sad when I closed the book, because I'm going to miss spending time with them.
This was sad and scary and depressing and also so uplifting and hopeful. There is plenty of nonstop action but the real strength of this book is the characters, each one so rich and alive. I felt sad when I closed the book, because I'm going to miss spending time with them.
December 3, 2021
“They finally get a chance to provide something to society, to pay us back for centuries of free school and special privileges, and they’re even trying to get out of that.”
Holy. Goddamn. Shit.
I’m a slow reader to be completely candid, and I absolutely devoured this book in ONE DAY. If you’re not ready to face the reality of racism, the lasting effects of colonialism, or the heartbreak of loss and grief, then this book is not for you. As someone that studies political science in university, I felt going into this book that I knew a lot about Canada’s history and the way the government abused Indigenous people. But holy moly, reading this story told by someone of Métis descent completely blew my mind of what I thought pain really feels like.
Set in a futuristic Canada, where a deadly plague has left the majority of the population unable to dream, indigenous people are discovered to be the ‘cure’ since they never lost that. Picking up straight where The Marrow Thieves left off, Hunting by Stars follows the journey of Frenchie and his family as they are split up, desperately clinging on to hope that they will once again reunite. The story is extremely fast-paced and there are numerous story lines involved that all come to a head in the most explosive way.
Aside from being an incredibly exciting sci-fi story, this book has the most beautiful writing and really taught me something about how anti-Indigenous rhetoric is still vastly prevalent in today’s world. I’m so glad that Cherie Dimaline wrote this sequel because it truly changed my life.
Beautiful. 5/5
Holy. Goddamn. Shit.
I’m a slow reader to be completely candid, and I absolutely devoured this book in ONE DAY. If you’re not ready to face the reality of racism, the lasting effects of colonialism, or the heartbreak of loss and grief, then this book is not for you. As someone that studies political science in university, I felt going into this book that I knew a lot about Canada’s history and the way the government abused Indigenous people. But holy moly, reading this story told by someone of Métis descent completely blew my mind of what I thought pain really feels like.
Set in a futuristic Canada, where a deadly plague has left the majority of the population unable to dream, indigenous people are discovered to be the ‘cure’ since they never lost that. Picking up straight where The Marrow Thieves left off, Hunting by Stars follows the journey of Frenchie and his family as they are split up, desperately clinging on to hope that they will once again reunite. The story is extremely fast-paced and there are numerous story lines involved that all come to a head in the most explosive way.
Aside from being an incredibly exciting sci-fi story, this book has the most beautiful writing and really taught me something about how anti-Indigenous rhetoric is still vastly prevalent in today’s world. I’m so glad that Cherie Dimaline wrote this sequel because it truly changed my life.
Beautiful. 5/5
December 10, 2022
Sometimes you risk everything for a life worth living, even if you're not the one who'll be alive to live it.
After reading The Marrow Thieves last month, I immediately placed Hunting by Stars on hold via my library. Soon after starting it, I had to brace myself because I knew, from that little taste, that this book was going to hurt. Boy, that it did.
While this is a continuation from the first book, this one is very different in the way this story is told. You are following three different paths that come together eventually, meaning you follow French, but also two other points from his found family. However, Dimaline does a fantastic job of never making you feel lost of confused.
This novel explores the decisions one makes when it comes to survival, to coming home, to being back with someone you love and them not being who you knew them to be. Many of the decisions made/outcomes of said decisions hurt like hell.
Caring for fictional characters is a dangerous career, but I do it with honor.
If you have not read any of Dimaline's novels, take this as your sign to do so. Whether it's with The Marrow Thieves or Empire of Wild , just pick one of them up. I guarantee you'll feel the same way that I do.
⭐️ 4 STARS ⭐️
January 16, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up because I think this is good YA, but not my kind of YA.
I was surprised to see a sequel to The Marrow Thieves and even more surprised to see it takes place immediately after the ending of the first book. That kind of expediency threw me off, and unfortunately it sets the pace for the entire novel.
We follow French, captured by Recruiters and placed in a school. About half the chapters in this book follow other characters POVs, but we always come back to French and his perspective. And the novel continues its fast pace, where French learns what happens in the schools and tries to play the system and resist brainwashing. The pacing seemed unrealistic to me, but I think that's because this is YA and many books for this range tend to love at this speed.
I did find this novel easier to read than the first book, but it also feels more heavy-handed, with many scenes happening and being resolved within a few chapters, never to really be looked back on. We don't really sit with anything for too long.
The world this book is set in is, frankly, horrifying. A group of people are being hunted for their literal bone marrow. The majority of the world has been ravaged by plague and is going insane from lack of dreams. But at the same time, so many things are resolved that it doesn't really feel like anything is at stake. And the timelines are a bit wonky.
If you liked the first book, I think you should read this one. But it didn't hit quite as hard this time around.
I was surprised to see a sequel to The Marrow Thieves and even more surprised to see it takes place immediately after the ending of the first book. That kind of expediency threw me off, and unfortunately it sets the pace for the entire novel.
We follow French, captured by Recruiters and placed in a school. About half the chapters in this book follow other characters POVs, but we always come back to French and his perspective. And the novel continues its fast pace, where French learns what happens in the schools and tries to play the system and resist brainwashing. The pacing seemed unrealistic to me, but I think that's because this is YA and many books for this range tend to love at this speed.
I did find this novel easier to read than the first book, but it also feels more heavy-handed, with many scenes happening and being resolved within a few chapters, never to really be looked back on. We don't really sit with anything for too long.
The world this book is set in is, frankly, horrifying. A group of people are being hunted for their literal bone marrow. The majority of the world has been ravaged by plague and is going insane from lack of dreams. But at the same time, so many things are resolved that it doesn't really feel like anything is at stake. And the timelines are a bit wonky.
If you liked the first book, I think you should read this one. But it didn't hit quite as hard this time around.
March 9, 2024
Hunting by Stars is a sequel to Marrow Thieves. We follow the group from the first book, but split up. French has been captured by the agents of the Residential school system, and is undergoing the process of reprogramming. His storyline is the hardest to read from the oppressiveness, hopelessness and cruelty. Rose has left the group, with the goal of getting French out of the school. She is stopped by a different group and that situation is just as awful.
The novel continues to be just as thought provoking and important, and awfully, terribly realistic. Half of the horrors French and Rose had to go through I could 100% see happening, especially as the world as a whole continues to march onwards, ignoring science and not caring about our fellow human beings.
At one point, French asks his elder, Miig, “how can I bear this weight?” And Miig responds “heavy things keep you close to the ground.” I really appreciated the idea that uncomfortable, heavy ideas or actions can keep you grounded and realistic. They may weight you down, but the connection to the Earth and that weight is important. And maybe community/found family/elders can help you bear that weight.
I’m slowly working my way through all of Cherie Dimaline’s novels and I haven’t found one that hasn’t resonated with me yet. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were fabulous.
The novel continues to be just as thought provoking and important, and awfully, terribly realistic. Half of the horrors French and Rose had to go through I could 100% see happening, especially as the world as a whole continues to march onwards, ignoring science and not caring about our fellow human beings.
At one point, French asks his elder, Miig, “how can I bear this weight?” And Miig responds “heavy things keep you close to the ground.” I really appreciated the idea that uncomfortable, heavy ideas or actions can keep you grounded and realistic. They may weight you down, but the connection to the Earth and that weight is important. And maybe community/found family/elders can help you bear that weight.
I’m slowly working my way through all of Cherie Dimaline’s novels and I haven’t found one that hasn’t resonated with me yet. I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were fabulous.
October 11, 2021
I received an ARC through the online SLJ Teen Live! event back in August. I have not read the first Marrow Thieves, so my thoughts are from the perspective of a fresh reader.
Cherie Dimaline's Hunting By Stars is a raw, emotional story about persecution, family, and identity. The danger these characters face is palpable, and I legitimately wasn't sure who was going to make it out of this one. I will say the premise itself is a little hard to swallow for a story that grounds itself in such stark realism, that a global lack of dreams would lead to people trying to harvest Indigenous bone marrow (believing dreams to be stored in there). The harvest camps and systems of capturing Indigenous people are pretty sophisticated and organized for people who have supposedly gone mad from this virus. However, if you can accept the premise and move on, you're in for one heck of a ride.
French is a standout protagonist, and I loved watching his journey over the course of the novel. The decisions he's forced to make, coupled with the characters he meets, dive deep into the morality of survival in this situation. At what point is survival noble, and when is it selfish? Is living another day worth it if you do horrible things to do so, and can you live with yourself if you're forced to choose between lives? Rose, another great character, is a fantastic contrast due to her firm, unchanging approach at life. Each character brings something unique to the table, and though you get more time with some than others, you feel each loss as a punch to the gut.
I also loved the worldbuilding. The people you meet along the way, vigilantes, how the harvest camps operate, the blood cult - each creative wrinkle offers something unique and makes the world feel more lived-in. This is a world you'd never want to visit, but it feels almost every bit as real as this one.
If you're Christian and have certain sensitivities to how your faith is represented, you might want to sit this one out. There is a section that paints Christianity in a very unflattering light, heavily associating it with the people who commit these cruelties against Indigenous people. As a Messianic myself, it did bother me a bit, but once you get past the section it barely comes up again. I understand Christianity has historically been involved with colonialization and atrocities against Indigenous people, which the book is commenting on. I also understand not every narrative needs to provide positive examples when commenting on issues, and as a book about Indigenous people it naturally reflects more Indigenous beliefs, but I'd be lying if this section wasn't a bit of a turnoff.
In terms of negatives, I don't have too many. Certain plot points introduced near the end just disappear, which may be saved for a later installment, but it does seem a little odd to introduce a tension that late and do nothing with it. The beginning is a little slow, but once it picks up speed it never lets up.
Overall I had a great time reading this, and if you're a fan of survival or dystopian fiction and have any interest in the premise whatsoever, check it out. You won't be disappointed.
Cherie Dimaline's Hunting By Stars is a raw, emotional story about persecution, family, and identity. The danger these characters face is palpable, and I legitimately wasn't sure who was going to make it out of this one. I will say the premise itself is a little hard to swallow for a story that grounds itself in such stark realism, that a global lack of dreams would lead to people trying to harvest Indigenous bone marrow (believing dreams to be stored in there). The harvest camps and systems of capturing Indigenous people are pretty sophisticated and organized for people who have supposedly gone mad from this virus. However, if you can accept the premise and move on, you're in for one heck of a ride.
French is a standout protagonist, and I loved watching his journey over the course of the novel. The decisions he's forced to make, coupled with the characters he meets, dive deep into the morality of survival in this situation. At what point is survival noble, and when is it selfish? Is living another day worth it if you do horrible things to do so, and can you live with yourself if you're forced to choose between lives? Rose, another great character, is a fantastic contrast due to her firm, unchanging approach at life. Each character brings something unique to the table, and though you get more time with some than others, you feel each loss as a punch to the gut.
I also loved the worldbuilding. The people you meet along the way, vigilantes, how the harvest camps operate, the blood cult - each creative wrinkle offers something unique and makes the world feel more lived-in. This is a world you'd never want to visit, but it feels almost every bit as real as this one.
If you're Christian and have certain sensitivities to how your faith is represented, you might want to sit this one out. There is a section that paints Christianity in a very unflattering light, heavily associating it with the people who commit these cruelties against Indigenous people. As a Messianic myself, it did bother me a bit, but once you get past the section it barely comes up again. I understand Christianity has historically been involved with colonialization and atrocities against Indigenous people, which the book is commenting on. I also understand not every narrative needs to provide positive examples when commenting on issues, and as a book about Indigenous people it naturally reflects more Indigenous beliefs, but I'd be lying if this section wasn't a bit of a turnoff.
In terms of negatives, I don't have too many. Certain plot points introduced near the end just disappear, which may be saved for a later installment, but it does seem a little odd to introduce a tension that late and do nothing with it. The beginning is a little slow, but once it picks up speed it never lets up.
Overall I had a great time reading this, and if you're a fan of survival or dystopian fiction and have any interest in the premise whatsoever, check it out. You won't be disappointed.
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