Two #OwnVoices Indigenous Novels [MG Review]

Interview @ Cynsations | AICL recommendation | Review @ Fuse8 | Review by Lili @ USOM

In I Can Make This Promise, artist Edie prepares to work on a video project with two friends over the summer. But when they discover a box in the attic full of letters from someone named Edith, Edie begins to dig into her past to learn about the Native family she never knew – her Native mother was adopted by a white family. In the interview linked above, Day notes that she isn’t writing historical fiction. I Can Make This Promise is Edie’s story, here, today. Of course, the past has influenced Edie’s identity. She learns about the impact of cultural genocide on her family. But this is fundamentally Edie’s story – one that includes hope and re-connection and new relationships. I Can Make This Promise could be an important mirror book for Indigenous youth who have been cut off from their culture.

Interview @ SLJ | Review @ Quill & Quire

I Can Make This Promise and The Ghost Collector each feature a girl with special talent, albeit one that is more supernatural than the other. Shelley catches ghosts in her hair. She and her grandmother help them move on to where they’re supposed to be. Mostly, Shelley helps with animal ghosts. When Shelley’s mom dies suddenly, Shelley’s grandmother has to take on more work to support the two of them. She leaves Shelley to be babysat by a neighbour. But Shelley has other ideas – she needs to find her mother’s ghosts. Shelley becomes obsessed with clinging to the ghosts that she catches, rather than helping them move on. Not as dark and heavy as it might sound, nor as sensationalist as it might have been in the hands of another writer, The Ghost Collector is a moving, compassionate story about working through loss and grief.

I initially found it odd that, after Shelley’s mother’s death, Shelley’s grandmother didn’t immediately have a conversation with Shelley about the likelihood of Shelley’s mother becoming a ghost. But then I reminded myself that I’ve never suddenly and unexpectedly lost my daughter and become my grandchild’s caregiver. That conversation could easily have been missed among other priorities.

A Note on Length

My first thought on finishing The Ghost Collector was “Well, that was nice, but it felt like a short story stretched out”. Then I read the acknowledgements and look! The Ghost Collector originally began as a short story for adults. I read I Can Make This Promise in one sitting. Both books made for quicker reads than the (usually more fantastical) middle grade I usually read. I wonder if this is an intentional style of storytelling, or a consequence of both Day and Mills being debut authors. I also want to acknowledge that books like these (#ownvoices Indigenous novels for children) have long been disregarded by publishing, so my personal preference for a ‘meatier’ story is irrelevant. These are both important works that I’m glad to see published. And, they’re the ideal length for recommending to all young readers!