Tag Archives: Indigenous

Review: Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer

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Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt
Adapted by Monique Gray Smith
Zest Books
Published November 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Braiding Sweetgrass

Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things–from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen–provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book BRAIDING SWEETGRASS. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us.

With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, BRAIDING SWEETGRASS FOR YOUNG ADULTS brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.

My Review

I first heard of BRAIDING SWEETGRASS when a book club that I technically joined but am terrible at participating in read the book for one of its selections. I followed some of the discussion about the book, and I had it on my reading list, but hadn’t managed to read it by the club deadline. So when I saw that there was a YA version coming out, I figured that would actually be perfect to read and review here.

One of my favorite things about the book is how thoughtful it is. The author shares stories and traditions, inviting readers into a greater understanding of the way that North American Indigenous people see the world around us. Instead of thinking of ourselves as the most important or only important creatures, she invites us to think of all of nature as fellow creatures, or kin. I like the inherent respect and the way that changes the connection with the natural world when I think of it like that.

She also shares the idea that we approach nature with gratitude, appreciating her gifts. Asking before we take. Taking only what we need. Using everything we take.

I Like the Book’s Structure

The book is broken into short sections that explore tradition and the science underlying those methods. Do they work? Why? How? I loved the connection between those two things. I think it really resonates with me that spiritual truth and science are hand in hand, not oppositional forces. So I loved that exploration.

She also continually invites readers to think about how we interact with the natural world. In what ways are we connected to nature? How can we connect? Or show gratitude? How can the traditions she shares (and cautions against appropriating) influence how we see and act in nature.

So I feel like she gave me a lot to think about, and a lot to look forward to experimenting with.

I think BRAIDING SWEETGRASS is a great book for anyone interested in conservation or plants or nature. It’s also a welcoming read to any who want to learn more about Indigenous people, their history, and their beliefs.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The author shares her own and other Indigenous tribes’ traditions and stories (with permission). She is herself a member of the Potawatomi tribe.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Includes creation stories, ceremonies, and traditions of Indigenous people.

Violent Content
References to the Trail of Death (forced relocation of tribes which resulted in the deaths of many). References to residential schools and the harm they have done.

Drug Content
Tobacco is sprinkled on the ground as a ceremonial gift.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of BRAIDING SWEETGRASS FOR YOUNG ADULTS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

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The Marrow Thieves
Cherie Dimaline
Dancing Cat Books
Published May 22, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Marrow Thieves

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world.

But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing “factories.”

My Review of The Marrow Thieves

I picked up this book without reading the back cover copy, so I was not prepared for the story at all. In a way, I think that was really good because it allowed me to feel the full force of my shock as I took in what was happening in those opening scenes. THE MARROW THIEVES isn’t an easy read, and it’s not supposed to be.

The writing is really beautiful though, if that makes sense. It’s not overly poetic or lyrical necessarily, though it does drift that direction especially in its descriptions of nature and the natural world. It’s raw and gripping and there’s a desperateness about it that made me feel like I needed to keep reading.

The characters are really well-crafted. I felt like I knew them and could picture them, and sometimes even predict what they were going to do. I loved Miig so much. And Rose, Wab, and Minerva! Such great characters.

I think the only thing that felt weird to me was how little French thinks about his brother, who’d been captured. At first he thinks of him a lot, but then not so much for the rest of the story. I didn’t expect that, especially with how much the story focused on family and those left behind.

Besides that, though, this book totally gripped me. It’s dark and a bit grim, but also threaded with hope and strength and courage. I think readers who liked THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy or maybe THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee would definitely enjoy this one.

Content Notes for The Marrow Thieves

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All central characters are Indigenous.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene shows some intimate touching. References to sex. Kissing between two men. Two men in the story are married.

Spiritual Content
Shows some beliefs and traditions of Indigenous people.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for gun violence and violence against women and children.
Situations of peril. Multiple scenes showing violent capture or fighting. More than one woman shares her story which involves brutality against her. A child is murdered. Those who’ve escaped the schools or recruiters often have horrible scars.

Drug Content
A couple characters smoke tobacco. One character gets high on some kind of pills.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.