To honor Native American Heritage Month, here are some of the newest novels for teens by Indigenous authors of North America.
In The River Run by Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo, Alfred Swallow and his friends Orson and Junior are forced to leave their reservation and attend a residential mission school to learn the ways of white people. In the depths of their despair at the conditions and poor education they face, Alfred is visited by a ghost who tells them to escape and run to the river.
Moniquill Blackgoose’s fantasy novel, To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, depicts the remote island of Masquapaug, where no dragons have lived for generations. When Anequs finds a dragon egg and bonds with the young dragon, her people are thrilled to have a dragon once again living amongst them. The Anglish conquerors, believing she has no right or ability to bond with a dragon, send her away to a colonist school, but Anequs and her dragon have better ideas.
In Godly Heathens, a fantasy novel by H.E. Edgmon, Gem has been hiding their strange dreams until trans girl Willa Mae appears to tell them they are both reincarnated gods who must claim their inheritance and defend themselves against a rival god.
Three teens navigate the disappearance of one’s Native cousin and the upcoming sale of their pizza business in Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jenny Ferguson. Can their friendship keep them strong enough to face an uncertain future?
Darcie Little Badger’s prequel to Elatsoe, Sheine Lende, follows Shane (Ellie’s grandmother in Elatsoe) who must search for her mother in the World Below after she has tangled with a fairy ring and disappeared.
In Ari Tison’s novel Saints of the Household, Bribri American brothers Jay and Max realize they are perpetuating their own father’s abusive patterns towards their mother after witnessing their town’s beloved soccer star rough up their cousin. Will the healing powers of family and art be enough to help them break the cycle of violence?
~ posted by Wally B.
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