''Elatsoe'' is a 2020

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

novel by

Darcie Little Badger Darcie Little Badger (formerly Darcie Erin Ryan; born 1987) is an American novelist, short story writer, and Earth scientist. Her writings are specialized in speculative fiction, especially horror, science fiction, and fantasy. She is a member ...

marketed to young readers aged 12–18. It is Little Badger's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

. It was included on ''Time's'' list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. Some publications have classed the novel as part of the Indigenous Futurism movement.

Plot

''Elatsoe'' is set in contemporary

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, but supernatural creatures like

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

s, and

fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

exist. The titular character Elatsoe, nicknamed Ellie, is a 17-year old

asexual Asexual or Asexuals may refer to: *Asexual reproduction **Asexual reproduction in starfish *Asexuality, the lack of sexual attraction to anyone or lack of interest in or desire for sexual activity. **Gray asexuality, the spectrum between asexualit ...

Lipan Apache girl. She has the ability to recall the ghosts of deceased animals, due to knowledge passed down through her family; Ellie chooses to bring back the ghost of her childhood dog, Kirby, as her companion. Ellie's best friend, Jay, is a descendant of

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...

. One night, Kirby is spooked by an unknown cause, and shortly afterward Ellie learns that her cousin, Trevor, has died in an apparent

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

. After her mother flies to fictional Willowbee, Texas to support his widowed wife, Lenore, and infant child, Trevor's ghost appears to Ellie. He tells her he was murdered by Abe Allerton, a wealthy local doctor, and asks her to protect his wife and child. She and her father join her mother in Texas. Ellie sets out on a mission to bring her cousin's killer to justice, during which she learns about some misdeeds committed by her own ancestors.

Development

Little Badger came up with the idea for Elatsoe when she was a teenager. Although initially intended to be written for an adult audience, Little Badger decided to shift to a young adult demographic given the teenage protagonist.

Critical reception and reviews

Cole Rush of

Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''Tor.com'', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on specul ...

gave 9/10 review to ''Elatsoe'' and wrote "I highly recommend picking up the book and relishing Darcie Little Badger’s exquisite tale". It was also reviewed favorably by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'', ''

The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietors of t ...

'', and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

''.

Awards and honors

Awards

Honors

*''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'''s Best 100 Fantasy Books of All Time *

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

's Best YA SFF Book of 2020 *

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...

's Best of the Best Books of 2020 *''

'' Best YA Book of 2020 *

's Best Book of 2020 *''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' Best Book of 2020 *''

Shelf Awareness Shelf Awareness is an American publishing company that produces two e-zines focused on bookselling, books, and book reviews: ''Shelf Awareness'' is aimed at general consumers, while ''Shelf Awareness Pro'' caters for industry professionals. ...

s Best Children's & Teen Books of 2020{{Cite web , title=Shelf Awareness's Best Children's & Teen Books of 2020 , url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=973#m17034 , access-date=2022-12-03 , website=

References

2020 American novels 2020 children's books 2020 debut novels American LGBTQ novels American mystery novels American thriller novels American young adult novels Children's books about ghosts Children's books set in the 21st century Children's books set in Texas Children's books with LGBTQ themes Contemporary fantasy novels Asexual fiction Ghost novels LGBTQ young adult literature Native American children's literature Novels set in the 21st century Novels set in Texas Young adult fantasy novels Lipan Apache Locus Award–winning works Apache in popular culture