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Ezra gets into a terrible fight with Matt at school defending Nora, and that same night, Matt's house burns down. Instantly, Ezra becomes a prime suspect.
Knowing he won't get a fair deal, and knowing his innocence, Ezra's family sends him away to run traplines with his grandfather in a remote part of Canada, while the investigation is ongoing. But Matt is looking for him ...
From acclaimed author Anton Treuer comes a novel that's both taut thriller and a raw, tender coming-of-age story, about one Ojibwe boy learning to love himself through the love of his family around him.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 28, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9798891785519
- File size: 203689 KB
- Duration: 07:04:20
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 22, 2024
Ojibwe teen Ezra Cloud hates his Northeast Minneapolis home; he’s tired of the bullying he endures from his peers regarding his heritage (“White people didn’t have to live that kind of fear,” Ezra thinks). He much prefers the surroundings of Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, his
reservation on the other side of the U.S.-Canada border. The taunting becomes more personal for Ezra when bully Matt torments Ezra’s Ojibwe friend. That night, Matt’s father and uncle die in a house fire, and Ezra is the prime suspect. To escape police suspicion, Ezra’s father sends him to Nigigoonsiminikaaning, where he will work the winter trapline with his grandfather. While navigating the snowy wilderness, he learns about
the animals of the area, as well as his grandfather’s past. He also struggles with unresolved anger at his father over his mother’s death while working at a dangerous lumber company. This leisurely paced novel by Ojibwe author Treuer (Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask, for adults) contains immersive detail about trapping methods as
well as Indigenous tales about the natural world, making for an intriguing if meandering adventure. Ages 12–up. -
Anton Treuer does double duty as narrator of his debut novel, set largely in the wilderness surrounding the Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, north of the Ontario-Minnesota border. Working with Grandpa Liam on his trapline, 15-year-old Ezra Cloud grapples with grief at the recent loss of his mother. It's an affecting story, but, sadly, Treuer is less gifted as a narrator of long-form prose than as a writer. His voice is pleasant and light, well suited to this earnest Ojibwe teen's interiority, but his delivery is halting, and his rendition of Ezra's conversations with his best friend, painfully wooden. His characterization of Grandpa Liam is delightful, but that may not be enough to engage listeners. This is one audiobook kids may be better off reading. V.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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