Elatsoe Bride lives in a world where magic is a daily occurrence. A secret has been passed down for centuries through the women of Ellie's Lipan Apache family: the ability to raise ghosts. Animal ghosts, mostly, including Kirby, her faithful sidekick who can still play a mean game of fetch as well as protect Ellie from any wishing to do her harm. When Ellie's cousin is murdered -- and everyone acts as if it was nothing but an accident -- she'll stop at nothing to make sure justice is done. But there are many, many people in the small town of Willowbee who are equally determined to make sure that Ellie doesn't disrupt their façade of perfection.
It's Ellie's Lipan Apache heritage that really makes this story both unique and engaging; some of my favorite parts involve her sixth-great grandmother, who could also raise animal spirits and was both a heroine and a risk-taker. Ellie is, obviously, very similar in many respects -- daring, sometimes foolhardy, but always brave and willing to defend and help others no matter the cost. Her character is a breath of fresh air, equally as snarky as she is sweet. The dynamics between Ellie and her ghost dog are in many ways the centerpiece of Elatsoe, and it's easy to relate to her love for Kirby. Animals never judge, and have the spectacular quality of perpetually listening to your problems.
Ellie and her Six-Great (as everyone in her family calls her grandmother) are not the only interesting characters, though. Her mother, Vivian, stood out for me: she's strong and outspoken, like her daughter, with a maternal softness that makes her impossible not to love. She provides a moral guide and common sense to Ellie's life that makes her invaluable to the characters and the story itself. Jay is Ellie's best friend, descended from Oberon (yes, that Oberon), and he's as sweet as a cupcake, although I feel that he might've suffered from a lack of depth.
Sadly, though, I didn't quite love this book as much as I would've liked. It has many lovely qualities, and as a whole the reading experience was quite fun, but the main mystery was too generic to really leave any impression. I kept anticipating a twist, something that would at the very least surprise us, but it was pretty much a straight shot after only a few chapters. Yes, we don't know exactly what's going on, but none of it felt shocking when it was finally revealed. In my opinion, there are a lot of things that could've been cut to make this story more succinct without sacrificing its emotion or relationships. The execution felt a bit clumsy, and a little too rushed.
One more thing I must add, however, is how much I enjoyed the fact that there is no romance. Ellie identifies as asexual, and while any other novel would've certainly made Ellie's friendship with Jay into something more, it was so refreshing that Little Badger emphasized the love and connection between them without falling into that boring old stereotype which says women and men can't simply be friends. Many reviews complained about the juvenile feeling of Elatsoe, and while I do agree that it could probably easily be read as middle-grade, I do have to wonder if it's the lack of romance that make people feel this way. For me, it was no issue -- tonally, it's actually quite dark!
Recommended, because it's a young adult book featuring an Indigenous woman protagonist that you'll love! Lots of fun, and I think children (from middle-grade and up) will gobble this up.
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