Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

Moon of the Turning Leaves is the sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow and will be one of my best books of the year.

Crusted Snow left us with the small northern Anishinaabe community leaving their houses and heading into the woods to return to a more traditional way of living two years after the power outages. Turning Leaves takes place ten years later, following up on these same characters and how their lives have changed since leaving their houses behind. Unsurprisingly, they are thriving. However, some have noticed that resources are starting to run low and the idea of returning to their original homeland in the south becomes pressing. The problem is, they have no idea what’s been happening anywhere else in the world in the last decade or more.

Six people are chosen for the exploratory journey that will take about two months in total, if all goes well. They are going into the unknown, so there are distraught farewells from loved ones who are worried they won’t return. Will the journey be dangerous? What will they find in the city to the south and beyond?

I love stories about people living and surviving in the woods, so this was a page-turner for me. It will be interesting to see if the author writes a third book – both Crusted Snow and Turning Leaves have satisfying endings in and of themselves, but there is also room for more story.

“The imaginary boundaries she saw her father and the others referring to had dissolved, along with the people who had created them. The land itself had wiped the temporary lines from collective memory, leaving only the boundaries that mattered most: the weaving rivers, the zigzagging shorelines, and the subtle, irregular slopes of the hills and valleys.”

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

I had been tempted by Bad Cree for a long time, so when I saw it made the cut for this year’s Canada Reads I finally read it. I found it to be a fast-paced read with an unexpected plot.

After the loss of her grandmother, MacKenzie moves away from her family to live on her own in Vancouver. Not long after, one of MacKenzie’s sisters dies, compounding the family’s grief, but MacKenzie makes the regrettable decision not to go home for the funeral. Then the dreams begin.

…loneliness can make once-beautiful things terrifying.

The plot of this story is pulled along by dreams: dreams of the future, the past, and terrifying dreams that MacKenzie can’t shake. She finally decides it might be time to head home in the hopes they will go away. But they don’t go away – they get worse. What do they mean? How can she stop them?

On the surface, Bad Cree is a suspenseful thriller, but the underlying story is about community. MacKenzie isn’t able to help herself as long as she remains isolated. She needs the help and support of her sister, cousin, mother, and aunties to finally heal from her wounds.

Note: I love that nature is a big part of this book.

“Being by the lake is different than being by the ocean. The ocean announces itself, the steady sound of waves letting you know it’s near and ready. By the lake, the noise comes from everything around it. Trees rustling in the wind, birds and bugs chirping. The lake itself, though, stays quiet unless big winds or nearby boats disturb the water into lapping the shore. It watches more than it speaks.“

Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

I loved Emily Austin’s first book, Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead, and I loved this one too for many of the same reasons. Austin’s characters are quirky and endearing, and–with the exception of the neurodivergence–their minds work a little like mine.

Enid works for NASA and is obsessed with space. Every time she calls her mom, she tells her at least one new fact about space. And she tends to do this whenever she is reminded of her father’s other children: the sisters she didn’t get a chance to know until the death of their father. She wants so badly for them to like her, but feels anxious and out-of-place when she’s with them.

It’s just been Enid and her mom since her dad left, and Enid quickly took on the job of adult whenever she noticed that her mother wasn’t wearing lipstick. When this happened, Enid would have to fend for herself for a while, as well as take care of her mother. Now that Enid lives on her own, she still does this. She pops in unexpectedly not knowing if she’ll find her mom’s house in perfect order or in a shambles.

“I hope there’s an alternate universe where my mom is married to some kindhearted man who loves her. I hope she has a sewing room, and multiple well-adjusted kids. I think that would have happened if I weren’t born. It might have happened if I were a different type of kid. She had to spend all her time with me. I didn’t have friends. I was antisocial. I was always home with her. Something was wrong with me.“

Enid is irrationally afraid of bald men, she listens non-stop to true crime podcasts, she is deaf in one ear (often leading to unfortunate misunderstandings), she watches old Youtube videos of her teenage self even though she loathes them, and she does not believe she deserves to be loved. Luckily, Enid has a good friend on her side, a mother who loves her, and a couple of half sisters who might not be as scary as Enid fears.

“I wish I were born different. I wish I could smile at bald men, or call my mom just to say hi, and not to check if her head’s in the oven. I wish I were normal.“

Bring on the next one, Emily!

What have you read from the library lately?

#LoveYourLibrary