Mary: Hello, and welcome to YA Book Club! This month we’re reading Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, who has a PhD in Oceanography and is definitely an author to keep your eye on. She seems very cool.

If you haven’t seen this book in person, please run out and find a hard copy because the cover and art throughout is gorgeous! Elatsoe follows Ellie, a Lipan Apache, who is tasked by her recently murdered cousin to solve the mystery of his death. There’s a twist to this mystery, though. Ellie knows who killed him but she doesn't know why. 

For me, that’s where I want to start, by talking about how this book functions as a mystery, in a way. Emily, you’re the resident mystery expert (in my opinion), so I hope you have some thoughts on this! 

Emily: I did like that about the story. To me, the “why” and “how” questions are always the most important part of a mystery anyway. It doesn’t really matter as much who did it. It’s more important to find out the story behind what happened, and that’s what Ellie is doing here. With the help of Jay, who was a really great character. I loved Ellie and Jay’s banter together and the way they worked as a crime-solving duo. I especially love when Ellie said they were partners and Jay got all excited because all this time he thought he was her sidekick. Like, what a pure, touching moment! 

Mary: I know! I loved the dynamic between Jay and Ellie. What good friends.

Todd: Yes! I completely agree. It almost felt to me like this could be a new mystery series, like Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys, because I thought the mystery was really well done. I am not sure that will actually happen (or that it even should, to be honest), but I appreciated the mystery aspects of the novel because it was not your average kind of mystery story. It felt appropriate and like Little Badger had really thought out the consequences of the world that is built within the novel. Like, if the main character can raise and communicate with the dead, then there does not have to be any suspense over who killed Ellie’s cousin, only why, and it lets the novel spend more time on fleshing out the characters’ motivations throughout.

Emily: I sort of hope Little Badger writes something entirely different next time and leaves this as is because it works so well on its own. The story definitely had a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys feel to it, so I can see what you’re saying. A lot of that for me had to do with not only the way the mystery story played out, but the voice of the story as well. I read a lot of reviews of Elatsoe that said this book felt a little more middle grade than YA, and I would have to agree with that. There’s a sort of innocence to Elatsoe and Jay that feels more middle grade. I don’t really mean that as a negative thing necessarily. I think middle grade can be great! But I also sort of had trouble believing Elatsoe was getting ready to go off to college because she seemed so young in a lot of ways. Thoughts on this? 

Mary: That’s a good point. I had to keep reminding myself that Ellie is supposed to be 17. So many YA books focus on VERY different themes, and it was refreshing that Elatsoe didn’t. For me, I grew up pretty sheltered, and while I wasn’t completely unaware or uninterested in sex and dating, it wasn’t on my radar for the most part. I really identified with Ellie in that she didn’t seem to grow up too fast. Other YA experiences aren’t bad or wrong, but I think it’s nice that there’s a different sort of portrayal of what 17 looks like. 

In a lot of ways, Ellie is super mature, too! She’s calling on the power of her ancestors and keeping family traditions alive in a way a lot of adults would struggle to do. I think that’s really cool. 

Todd: For me, there’s something in the tone of the novel, where it is able to treat these very serious topics—murder, the erasure of the Lipan Apache way of life—while not giving in to that darkness. The ability of the book to both be about these dark topics while not giving into that darkness really helped inform my reading of who Ellie is. Because while I agree that the novel does feel like it could be for a middle-grade audience, I found that really refreshing. A lot of YA novels that I have read feel like they are overly dark or mired in trauma, and while those things are present in Elatsoe, they never overwhelm the story that Little Badger is trying to tell, and a lot of that is due to the way that Ellie is written.

Mary: Another really cool thing about Elatsoe that I’ve been itching to discuss is how the world of the book treats the paranormal. There was a moment when I was reading where I looked up and said, “Oh, so...vampires are real?” The world of the book seamlessly incorporates supernatural elements both from Lipan Apache culture and a more generic world mythology, like vampires. This really worked for me. The casualness with which characters treated monsters was amazing. 

No one is particularly surprised that Ellie can call ghosts back to the world of the living, and no one is surprised that Jay’s sister is marrying a vampire, though they do have thoughts on the appropriateness of it. How did this worldbuilding work for you guys?

Todd: The worldbuilding really worked for me. It felt authentic to the people within this world. Like, if you know that vampires and magic exist, you wouldn’t be constantly commenting on it. It would only come up if it were relevant. I love that aspect of the novel, and it is one of the things that really drew me in as I was reading it. 

Emily: I don’t think we want to go full-on spoiler with this, because I would love for people who are reading this review to go back and read the book if they haven’t already. But I will say that the magic really worked for me in connection to the mystery and how the mystery developed. Like, to put it less opaquely, Little Badger has come up with some unique magic unlike anything else I’ve read, and that leads to surprises that feel earned and kept me wanting to read. 

To speak specifically about the supernatural, I love the way Little Badger answers a question I’ve always had about ghosts. If ghosts are just people, why should we be scared of them? When Ellie encounters the ghost of her cousin, she feels like she shouldn’t be afraid even though everyone has told her that, yes, all ghosts are scary. Or human ghosts anyway. But the ghost of her cousin explains to her that he’s not actually her cousin. He’s just, like, an impression of the emotions that were left behind when her cousin died. I don’t know if I’m explaining this as well as I could, so if someone wants to add to that, go for it!

Mary: No, I think you explained it well! Human ghosts aren’t people anymore; they’re not all the emotions and associations family has with them. Instead, they’re angry that they’re dead and want revenge, or to cause others suffering. I agree that Little Badger is doing something unique here, and I really appreciated it. Ghosts are scary in a lot of media, but we often don’t get a clear image of why, but Little Badger spells it out in a way that both makes sense and doesn’t break the world of the story (which involves lots of animal ghosts). 

Todd: It is very clear throughout the story that human ghosts are different from animal ghosts, and it is discussed so much that it really builds up anticipation for when a human ghost finally appears. That’s just good writing! 

Mary: Ellie doesn’t label her sexuality in the novel, but Ronnie, Jay’s sister, does. She refers to Ellie as asexual, which seems to fit Ellie’s attitude in general. I really appreciated the Ace representation while also not dwelling on it. For this story, Ellie is trying to help her family, and there’s not time to be worried about who to take to prom or whatever. Still, everyone was really respectful of Ellie and didn’t try to push her. Like one time Jay asks her out, but then says, “as friends,” just to reemphasize that he understands her sexuality and doesn’t want to force her into a date she doesn’t want. 

Emily: Right, and I think it was sort of a little reassurance to the reader as well that we didn’t have to worry about Jay and Ellie’s friendship becoming something more. Which was nice. They are such good friends, and as I mentioned earlier, that relationship works really well for me.

Mary: So much of YA lit has romantic plots (because, I guess, teens are worried about love!), but Elatsoe didn’t focus on romance between our protagonist and anyone else. Instead, we see the love between Lenore and Trevor, Ellie’s cousin, and the love between Ellie’s family members. Oh, and of course we see the power of friendship. For me, that worked really well, and I enjoyed the break from romance. It felt right for Ellie, and this is a different kind of representation I’d love to see more of. And yes, I also loved Ellie and Jay’s friendship. I had a guy best friend in high school and we never wanted to date. I think that should be normalized!

Todd: I totally agree! And for the romantics out there, there is still a love story embedded in the novel through Ronnie and Al, and while that isn’t the focus of the novel, it still manages to be effective throughout. I really love Ronnie enlisting her basketball team (and bridesmaids, along with Ellie) to help save Al at the end, and the way that Ronnie’s family navigates the fact that Al is a vampire shows the ways that this supernatural world still has to deal with mundane issues like your potential in-laws not approving of you. That was really nicely done.

Mary: I want to live in a world with ghost pets. Can you imagine if every cat you ever had the pleasure of living with could come back and hang out with you forever? I would love that for all of us. 

Todd: Truly, the best. Also, ghost cats wouldn’t have cat dander, so they could cuddle with you and your allergic husband (hypothetically).

Emily: I definitely was thinking about how much I wanted to hang out with my ghost pets as I was reading it. That part of the story was true wish fulfillment for me, especially at the end when her ghost dog was playing with her new dog. The dream, am I right?

Mary: Truly, the purest dream.

Emily: But that leads me to a question I want us to address: how this novel handles death and grief. This is a mystery, but in a bigger sense, this book is about grief and remembering our loved ones. When Ellie’s cousin Trevor dies, we learn a lot about how Lipan Apache people view death and honor their loved ones. How did this part of the story work for you guys?

Mary: The grief for a huge chunk of the novel felt really visceral to me in a way that worked. Little Badger didn’t try to gloss over how painful and messy death is, and she didn’t try to make Lenore’s responses to her husband’s death “make sense.” Lenore especially was grieving, hard. It didn’t have to make sense or be neat.

I felt like I was learning something by reading Elatsoe, being exposed to a culture that’s different from what I grew up in, and that’s something I really treasured about the novel. All of the Lipan Apache traditions—like not saying the deceased’s name for a period of time, keeping the burial ground secret—were woven into the narrative in a way that made perfect sense and also educated readers. The world of Elatsoe felt...warm? Peaceful? Even amongst such grief, the order of Ellie’s culture and traditions felt comforting. I really enjoyed seeing how the Lipan Apache keep their loved ones alive in their memory, and the idea of generations and generations of family welcoming you into the afterlife is such a lovely, comforting thought. 

I couldn’t get over how everyone seemed to respect each other in the novel. Jay really respected Ellie’s culture, and she respected Jay’s lineage as well (I won’t say what, because it was one of the most delightful parts of the book for me!). All of the racism/classism was reserved specifically for the bad guys, which gave the novel a kind of reassuring moral compass for me. 

Todd: I agree that the grief felt visceral but also realistic. And I really appreciate that Little Badger used that grief as a way to discuss the Lipan Apache traditions and culture without just having Ellie tell us “Here is what the Lipan Apache do” like we are in a PowerPoint presentation. It felt natural and worked really well, while also weaving together a lot of ideas about the importance of storytelling. 

One of my favorite aspects of the novel is the way that Ellie remembers one of her ancestors, who she refers to as Six Great, and the way that the stories of Six Great are combined with Ellie’s story. It really drives home the point that Ellie is carrying on a tradition that existed before her and will continue to exist after her. 

Emily: Okay, speaking of Indigenous traditions and the Indigenous voice of this book, there is something else I feel like we need to bring up. Again, without spoiling TOO MUCH, I absolutely loved the way this book addressed how certain lives are “valued” more than others. Specifically, our country has an issue of valuing rich white male lives more than others. And Indigenous lives are seen as dispensable. That’s essentially ingrained in our country’s history. White people came to this land and claimed it as their own, completely ignoring the fact that Indigenous people had been here for a long time already. Like, this book did SUCH a good job (in my opinion) of addressing what it means to be Indigenous in America. From their connection to the land, to the way white people have stolen from them, to the traditions and lore. Like… I feel like this is something we really need to acknowledge here at the end. 

Mary: Yes! I completely agree. The thing for me is that it was all woven into the story so well. Like Todd said earlier, it never managed to be preachy like, say, Moxie. I think you articulated how I feel about it really well, Emily. The way the novel explains how some lives are valued is right in the mystery of the novel, and it all just works. I truly cannot praise this book enough. Every part of it was so magical and good. 

Todd: Y’all are spot-on! The thing that the bad guy does in this book is such a potent thematic idea, and it really does manage to tie together a lot of the threads of the story in a way that was extremely satisfying. I wish I had had a YA book like this when I was a teen, because it did such a great job of speaking on Indigenous issues while also just being a very good book!

Emily: If it’s not clear, I rated this book 5 stars. What are you guys’ final ratings? 

Mary: I also rated it a big 5 stars. I haven’t read a YA book I felt this strongly about in a long time. I can’t wait to see what Little Badger does next! 

Todd: 5 stars out of 5 for me! Go read Elatsoe right now, if you have not!

Next time on YA Book Club, we’ll be reading Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas. Join us in April!