One of TIME Magazine's Top 100 Fantasy Novels of All Time — Now in Paperback!

A Texas teen comes face-to-face with a cousin’s ghost and vows to unmask the murderer.

Elatsoe—Ellie for short—lives in an alternate contemporary America shaped by the ancestral magics and knowledge of its Indigenous and immigrant groups. She can raise the spirits of dead animals—most importantly, her ghost dog Kirby. When her beloved cousin dies, all signs point to a car crash, but his ghost tells her otherwise: He was murdered.

Who killed him and how did he die? With the help of her family, her best friend Jay, and the memory great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Ellie, must track down the killer and unravel the mystery of this creepy town and its dark past. But will the nefarious townsfolk and a mysterious Doctor stop her before she gets started?

The breathtaking debut novel from Darcie Little Badger features an asexual, Apache teen protagonist—and combines mystery, horror, noir, ancestral knowledge, haunting illustrations, and fantasy elements, in one of the most-talked-about books in years.

AWARDS

Locus Award Winner—Best First Novel
A National Indie Bestseller
Nebula Award Finalist
Lodestar Award Finalist
Ignyte Award Finalist
American Indian Youth Literature Award Finalist

P R A I S E

“Groundbreaking.” —TIME

“Deeply enjoyable from start to finish.”—NPR

“Utterly magical.” —SyFyWire

“Atmospheric and lyrical...a gorgeous work of art.”—BuzzFeed

“One of the best YA debuts of 2020. Read it."—Marieke Nijkamp

? “A fresh voice and perspective.”—Booklist (starred)

? “A unique and powerful Native American voice.”–BookPage (starred)

? “A brilliant, engaging debut.”—Kirkus (starred)

? “A fast-paced murder mystery.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)

? “A Lipan Apache Sookie Stackhouse for the teen set.” —Shelf-Awareness (starred)

BEST OF THE YEAR

NPR • Buzzfeed • BookPage • Chicago Public Library • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus • Shelf Awareness • Reactor • Booklist

Author Biography

Darcie Little Badger is an Earth scientist, writer, and fan of the weird, beautiful, and haunting. She is an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.

Rovina Cai is a freelance illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. She works out of an old convent building that is possibly haunted. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and the Children's Book Council of Australia. Recently she has illustrated books by Patrick Ness and Margo Lanagan.

Supplemental Materials

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