The worldbuilding was truly amazing and I enjoyed the mystery. I thought I had the twist figured out in the middle of the book and I actually didn’t! I loved all the characters in the main character’s family as welll, and Kirby might be one of my favorite dog characters in a book. My biggest criticism was that book had some very dark moments that were handled with very awkward lighthearted humor/dialogue and not given their full emotional weight, and that tone shift was unsettling. Some of the dialogue also felt a bit childish. Without those two issues the book would have been 4.5-5 stars for me.

I adored the premise of this story and loved Elatsoe and her dynamic with Jay and her family. The story featured a compelling mystery, a magic system rooted in Apache culture, and a deeper message about the greed and evil of colonizers. 

Also, Kirby is the goodest boy. 

I absolutely loved this! The plot was mysterious and faced-paced and kept me hooked to the book. The characters were loveable and fleshed-out. The message was powerful and important. The only thing that always threw me a little was the fact that Ellie was supposed to be seventeen - she (and also Jay, for that matter) always made me think they were at most twelve-year-olds. 

Elatsoe surprised me twice: First once I realized it bordered on juvenile fiction and was set in the summer (for some reason in my head it was specifically a winter read), and second when I enjoyed it anyway.

I was hooked by the mystery and even when I figured it out, I was still engaged by seeing how everything would resolve. Sounds silly, but I appreciate that there were no fade-to-blacks on the action scenes. I was on the edge of my seat bed! Ellie is a great character and this will be a great series. I learned about the Lipan Apache both while reading and afterward on my own time, and I applaud the author for sharing her heritage with young readers. 

& a mini applause to Rovina Cai, whose charming cover illustration urged me to pick the book up in the first place! The dogs! 🐕🥺

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! For me, I found it to be a nice balance of fantasy (mostly grounded in "reality" with elements of fantasy). I also loved the asexual and Indigenous representation.

If I had read this book back in middle or high school, this very likely would have been my favorite book. The story features a teenage Lipan Apache girl, Elatsoe, living in an alternate U.S. where magic and mythical creatures exist. Elatsoe is the type of heroine I loved looking up to as a teen. She is smart, innovative, and passionate and is an all-around loveable character from the very beginning.

This is an Indigenous Futurism book that feels like a cross between Nancy Drew, Ghostbusters, and Netflix's Wednesday. The thoroughness of world-building made it very obvious to me why this book has made it onto Time's list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. Every bit of lore revealed about this alternative U.S. society was interesting and believable when viewed with an imaginative lens. The magic system and the way it interweaves society as we know it feels plausible in the same way that the world's of Harry Potter did.

This book is incredibly heartwarming and interesting. It had a bit of a horror element to it, which I didn't expect, but it was done in a way that still didn't seem too intense. The plot and the lore hooked me from the very beginning and easily held my attention through the end.

My only critique of this is that there were some vampire parts that felt too cheesy for me, but I'm not letting it affect my rating because I have to remember that this was written for ages 12 through 18. Most of the book felt like it was good for teens and adults alike, but it was some of the vampire scenes towards the end that made it feel more middle-grades/YA.

All in all, this was a wonderful book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I read this as an audiobook I borrowed from my local library, but I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy for my personal collection because I anticipate reading this more throughout my lifetime and encouraging my friends and future kids to read it.

First of all, I'm jealous of Ellie's abilities. I want to play with my lost pets.

Overall this was a 5⭐️ read. It's a little slower paced but such a beautiful story.

Romance was not there since our FMC is asexual, but she has a friend (Jay) who wishes the romance was there.
"Sorry," Jay said. "I wish I could help. There's a loophole, you know."
"Is it marriage?"
"Maybe."

I went back and forth between the audio and the print. The chapter illustrations were so lovely.

RTC!