#elatsoe

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

I've had this on my TBR for a few months now and my library finally got a copy, so I was excited to dive in.

The most common note I've seen is that the writing itself feels more (upper) middle grade than young adult. The character dialogue sounded far more innocent with that attitude of "don't look down at us just because we're kids" and the writing, while smooth, could've been utilized more to flesh out the world and the stakes.

However, this story is an enjoyable whodunit mystery decorated in Native American culture. From the ghosts, to the generational struggles, to the life lessons and magic, it was so beautiful to read about. I think there was suppose to be an attempt at being literary fiction with how often we gotten mini-stories in between the main plot, sort of like we were suppose to use the mini-stories to fill in the blanks. Don't quote me on that though.

The reveal had proper connections to the themes of the narrative so it didn't seem too out of left field. With that being said, I think we could've pushed the exposition and worldbuilding a bit more. The plot's foundation, while solid, left me with some very minor questions because I wasn't completely certain about how the world and its rules worked.