Hi, everyone. Mahsi cho for giving me the opportunity to share five of my favorite Young Adult books published by Indigenous authors here in Canada. What distinguishes works by Indigenous authors in their writing is simple: we are living in a time right now where members of many Indigenous communities are starting to publish their poetry, novels, short stories, illustrated works and plays, etc. for the very first time in English and in their own languages. With this comes the braiding of the oral tradition and Indigenous languages, with their own wisdoms and perspectives with the written word. I did not know that when I published my first novel, The Lesser Blessed, (Douglas & McIntyre) in 1996 that I would be the first member of the Tlicho Dene to publish a novel in print and, as far as I know, Beast is only the second Tlicho novel to have ever been published. What an honor!
Here are five Young Adult novels written by Indigenous authors that inspired me as I wrote my new novel Beast.
Will’s Garden by Lee Maracle
What I love most about this novel is the author invites you into Will’s Sto:loh home in British Columbia and this novel invites you to visit each room at your leisure. You get to hear the hopes, dreams, laughter and history of Will’s family expressed in the laugh and worry lines on the faces of his parents, aunties, uncles, brothers, cousins, nephews, nieces and ancestors. I can’t remember a family in any book that I felt so privileged to spend time with as Will’s. I love the love stories here. I have meditated non-stop on the insight one of the men provides in this novel on what sacrifices parents have to make when they have children, and how lovers can become strangers when they become parents. Of all of the late and great Lee Maracle’s books, this is my favorite. What a mentor and what a friend to so many.
Deadly Loyalties by Jennifer Storm
Blaise, a young Native girl in Manitoba, witnesses the death of her best friend and reluctantly enters a Native gang after running away from home. Absolutely an incredible debut from one of our most promising Indigenous authors in Canada!
Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont
If you want to know what it was like growing up Indigenous in the 80’s this is YOUR book! Very, very funny. You’ll be giggling, smirking, laughing and enjoying yourself on every single page. A great read for everyone.
Little Voice by Ruby Slipperjack
What a joy to read! The story follows “Ray”, a young Ojibwa woman growing up in Ontario from the summer of 1978 to the summer of 1982. Because Ray has green eyes, she is bullied and ostracized in her community. This changes when her grandmother, a midwife, takes her out on the land in her canoe and they portage and camp and find adventures together as Ray learns more about what it means to be a human being. As in all of Ruby’s novels, I felt innocent reading it. She brought me back to the bush, and she reminded me just how rich our traditional people are on the land and with each other. (Grades 6 and up)
The Night Wanderer by Drew Hayden Taylor
Drew Hayden’s novel, The Night Wanderer, is a joy to read. It takes place on the Otter Lake First Nations Reserve in Ontario—where the author now lives. The novel opens with Tiffany’s father, Keith, deciding to make extra cash for the family by renting out a guest suite in their house. What they don’t know is that their first guest, Pierre L’Errant, is Ojibwa and a vampire. What sounds like a plot that could turn into a sitcom or campy is actually the opposite. Annick Press calls the novel “a mesmerizing blend of coming-of-age novel and pulse-pounding thriller”, and I agree. Pierre L’Errant could have torn the throats out of the entire Hunter family, two bullies (who are without mercy themselves) and the residents of the reserve of 1,100 or so. Instead, what we leave the novel with is a wiser Tiffany Hunter and a vampire with a peace that only home can bring. I’d give this novel a 5 out of 5. It’s just brilliant!
Mahsi cho. Thank you very much for reading this. I hope you love these books as much as I do.
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