Power excavates her family history to imbue this novel with authenticity ... Magic aside, it's the belief in the power of pushing back against racism and culture erasure that gives this hypnotic novel's characters the strength to move forward.
Power’s deep knowledge of Indigenous history comes through in keen depictions of the Indian schools, and she illuminates the characters’s struggles with generational trauma, which arise as they try to sustain their connections to the past. This story of survival shines brightly.
Power’s book contains many evocative moments and even more lyrical passages ... But the premise of the book is saccharine. It might have worked better as a middle-grade title or a young adult novel ... An occasionally moving book that’s been steeped a minute too long in sentimentality.
