Publishers Weekly
★ 03/18/2024
Employing elegant verse, Ojibwe author Quigley (the Jo Jo series) crafts a story of two Ojibwe kids learning to cope with sorrowful life events. Eleven-year-old Ariel loves to dance ballet; it’s something she has in common with her beloved aunt Bineshiinh. But when Bineshiinh disappears, ballet doesn’t feel the same. Trying to find comfort in movement again, Ariel practices traditional Indigenous jingle dancing and, in delving into its history, learns that Native women are “ten times more likely to/ be murdered.” Meanwhile, Ariel’s 12-year-old neighbor Tomah uses humor to hide the fact that he struggles to read. Despite his academic insecurities, he discovers that he is a gifted storyteller and uses his talent to call attention to the disappearances of women in his Turtle Mountain community. Through Ariel and Tomah’s steadfast resolve, this heartbreaking yet heartening story tackles themes of grief and the strength it takes to grow through adversity. Even as the tweens confront personal challenges, they remain committed to bettering their surroundings in a moving narrative that highlights issues relating to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis while celebrating the healing power of art—including dance, folklore, music, and poetry—and the solace one can find in connecting with one’s heritage. Ages 8–12. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. (June)
From the Publisher
"Heartbreaking yet heartening. Even as the tweens confront personal challenges, they remain committed to bettering their surroundings in a moving narrative that highlights issues relating to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis while celebrating the healing power of art—including dance, folklore, music, and poetry—and the solace one can find in connecting with one’s heritage." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A captivating, exquisitely penned story of hope and survival." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Powerful...words tighten, trail, or scatter across otherwise barren pages, giving distinct personalities to the dual narrators while also underscoring the deep grief their communities are experiencing. Quigley (of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) walks a delicate line between terrible sorrow and tentative hope." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
An impactful story about discovering how to declare yourself proudly and bring awareness to your community; this opens an important window into the modern-day life of Native American culture that has yet to be fully explored thoroughly in middle grade literature. — School Library Journal (starred review)
With this excellent choice for reluctant readers and fans of Anna Rose Johnson's The Star That Always Stays (2022), Quigley seems to have carefully and painstakingly placed every word on the page in such a way that, like the red bird, the entire novel spreads its wings and dances. — Booklist (starred review)
School Library Journal
★ 06/01/2024
Gr 4 Up—Quigley's novel in verse highlights the beauty and struggles within Native American communities through the alternating lens of two preteens. Ojibwe Nation dancer Ariel, 11, is finding new purpose in her movements while trying to deal with the pain of her missing aunt. Her neighbor in the Intertribal Housing Complex is classmate Tomah, 12, who is a gifted oral storyteller afraid to open up about his reading difficulties. Both characters evolve through the process of finding their voice with hearty emotional impact. They work to overcome and finish strong, displaying pride in their community through their natural giftings. There is an emphasis on the #MMIW (Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women) social cry with statistics shared. The Ojibwe language and cultural practices are effortlessly infused in the free verse poems, with a glossary available at the end. VERDICT An impactful story about discovering how to declare yourself proudly and bring awareness to your community; this opens an important window into the modern-day life of Native American culture that has yet to be fully explored thoroughly in middle grade literature.—Lindsey Morrison
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2024-03-23
In this novel in verse, two urban Indigenous children persevere despite sorrow.
Eleven-year-old Ariel’s Auntie Bineshiinh has gone missing, leaving the Turtle Mountain Ojibwe girl unable to pursue the ballet lessons she loves; the family needs the money to search for her aunt. Twelve-year-old Tomah, who lives in the same Intertribal Housing Complex as Ariel, uses humor to mask insecurities about his struggles at school. Years ago, Auntie Bineshiinh babysat Ariel and Tomah; she taught them to “see / past / what / others might / see,” and both children now confront their problems with sensitivity and perceptiveness. Ariel decides to do a school project on the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and as Tomah’s grandmother teaches Ariel to perform the Jingle dance, she learns that the dance can help heal both her and her community. Meanwhile, Tomah finds inspiration in observing the nearby birds and realizes that while he may have a reading disability, he’s a gifted storyteller nevertheless. Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) employs ample white space and inspired formatting as her potent, eloquent words dance across the page. She makes deft use of imagery: A bird motif underscores Auntie Bineshiinh’s absence (indeed, her name is Ojibwe for bird), while Tomah uses a red dress, a symbol for missing Native women and girls, to raise awareness. The protagonists’ dual perspectives convey a mix of hurt and optimism; above all, the power of community comes through.
A captivating, exquisitely penned story of hope and survival. (Ojibwe glossary, author’s note, information on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and jingle dancing, note from author and Heartdrum curator Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Verse novel. 10-16)
