Book Review: The Marrow Thieves

Métis author, Cherie Dimaline said about her novel The Marrow Thieves that she wanted to write a world where indigenous youth are the heroes, and where they have a future. This novel has been described as a dystopian book, but I read it as a story of hope, preserving a way of life still striving to survive. It is beautiful, heart-breaking, and action-packed.

The main character, Frenchie, catches up with a group of survivors after Recruiters have taken his brother. In a world where people have gone mad because they can no longer dream, Indigenous people are hunted for their bone marrow. They are taken to schools built with the intention of harvesting the marrow containing the dreams, decimating anyone with native blood.

Dimaline captures the harrowing past, and the heavy present in which indigenous cultures push to thrive, yet her story constructs a key to a hopeful future. Frenchie is tough, sympathetic, love-struck, naive, scared and determined. His story is one about family and the importance of defining himself within his family.

This is more than a novel for young adults. It is a legacy of storytelling, necessary for compassion, empathy and dreams to become part of our future.

Read about Cherie Dimaline in Quill and Quire and CBC Books