Ace Book Review: "Elatsoe" by Darcie Little Badger

 “I once said that your Sixth-Great-Grandmother was too stubborn… I used to consider that part of her to be a character flaw. I might have been wrong. She knew herself, and never doubted what she knew.”

I don’t know if this is a universal shared experience for schoolchildren across America or not, but some of my most vivid memories of lessons as an elementary and middle school student are the times we learned about Indigenous Peoples, something that became more vivid thanks to my location growing up. I was born and raised in central Pennsylvania, and as such, many fascinating lessons about Native Americans could be demonstrated amply in field trips or in stories that took place practically in my backyard. I was always deeply fascinated by the stories of tribes such as the Lenape, the Shawnee, the Susquehannock, the Erie, and more.

As I got older, I got to experience more history thanks to my job at my town’s local historical society. My hometown, Bethlehem, was home to a unique group known as the Moravians, who were known to have better relationships with many Native American tribes than most missionaries, often going so far as to learn their languages in order to more effectively communicate to them. As such, various Native American Moravians existed, and it was a privilege that I got to learn about these stories and share them with visitors as a tour guide.

But even though I was lucky enough to learn a lot of fascinating stories throughout my time as a Pennsylvania resident, I never learned nearly as much as I would have liked about the tribes to whom Pennsylvania was home. Beyond that, there are so many tribes and indigenous people groups throughout America, that I imagine it’s impossible to be familiar with all of them, something which makes me deeply sad as someone who loves learning about culture, history, and customs.

Therefore, when I discovered the existence of the 2020 novel Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, a story about a young asexual teenager from the Lipan Apache tribe, I was extremely excited. The chance to read a story about an asexual Native American girl, written by an asexual Native American author, seemed like a beautiful blend of many of my own interests and fascinations combined. This is something that gets even better when you consider the world the story is set in: a modern world with elements of magical realism, something I’ve always loved.

The story centers on the titular Elatsoe, Ellie for short, who has the power to bring ghosts back from the land of the dead, including her beloved pet dog Kirby. And indeed, the action begins right away when, on an otherwise completely normal day, Kirby seems to sense some great danger and pain. Sure enough, it turns out that Ellie’s cousin Trevor has died, seemingly in a car accident. However, when Trevor appears to Ellie in a dream and tells her that he’s been murdered by a man named Abe Allerton, Ellie makes it her mission to try and uncover that truth.

With her family, as well as her trusty ghost dog and her best friend Jay, Ellie goes to be with Trevor’s family to help them during this trying time, and begins to explore the secrets of Willowbee, Texas – a town that is not what it seems. Realizing that the mystery goes deeper than just the question of what happened to Trevor, Ellie, Jay, and their families are forced to deal with complicated magic and even more complicated family history as they look for a way to bring the dead some justice.

Right off the bat, this book struck me as one of the most refreshingly creative stories I’ve read in a while. It’s a terrific mix of familiar fantasy like vampires and wizards, combined with magical lore tied to the tales of the Lipan Apache. This creates a world that is so rich and colorful that I absolutely loved exploring it and surrendering to the rules of its magic, delighting in a tale that could have only been told by a Native author writing a Native protagonist. And more than that, it’s a story that I believe could only be told by an asexual author, which makes the depth of its world and its story all the more satisfying to me.

Like many of the recent books I’ve discussed on the blog, Ellie being asexual is not a huge part of the story, but I deeply appreciate that it’s a part of it at all. I read that author Darcie Little Badger seeks to “reconfirm the presence and importance of LGBTQA+ community members” in her work, so I can imagine that this type of representation is even more valuable for members of her tribe and so many others. And Ellie really is terrific representation. She’s brave but realistic, kind-hearted and clever and determined, but very grounded at the same time. I really enjoyed her as a character and was swept up in her adventures, both those as she investigates Trevor’s murder and as she slowly begins to learn about her own powers and history.

I also loved that the aspec representation allowed her and her male best friend, Jay, to have a completely platonic bond. There is nothing weird about their bond and they both are completely comfortable around each other in a way that I’m constantly seeking more of in media. Additionally, the fact that Ellie’s identity is in the background allows it to not be tied to the plot, the way it sometimes can be in sci-fi/fantasy novels. In some of the other fantasy novels I’ve discussed on the blog, I express concern that a character’s magical ability and their aspecness can be conflated; while sometimes this is very effective, as it helps us understand that they can feel “other”, it can also sometimes lead to a strange feeling when their circumstances change or evolve.

But in this completely magical world where so many people are descended from magical creatures (like Jay) or have supernatural abilities like Ellie herself does, the fact that Ellie is asexual just feels like part of who she is, not a part of her powers. Furthermore, because Ellie has a great family and support system of friends, it allows this wonderful feeling of seeing a world where her asexuality is just inherently accepted. It’s mentioned delightfully in passing when Ronnie, Jay’s older sister, asks Ellie to be one of her bridesmaids and says she can bring someone only if she wants, since she knows Ellie is asexual. To that end, Ellie would much rather bring her ghost dog Kirby than anyone else, and this is considered completely fine within the rules of this world – both the ghostly associations and Ellie’s identity.

In that sense, I found this book very comforting and approachable. However, if there’s one main critique I have of the novel it’s that its writing does feel pretty young. Most of the books I’ve read on this blog are considered Young Adult, but I don’t think that should ever be a barrier to reading a book – often these types of things feel more like marketing or a way to organize books in a bookstore, and even Young Adult books can be deeply affecting and profound. Elatsoe is, like these books, a Young Adult novel, but there are times where the writing feels like it skews a bit younger, almost approaching middle grade.

That’s not to say the plot is middle grade – as there are elements of the story that have a delightfully spooky or even downright scary edge to them – but the writing itself sometimes takes away from these darker moments by having an overall youthful feeling. Again, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, but I definitely felt at times like I was reading a novel that wasn’t a fit for me; despite that, however, I’m glad I read it for the plot alone and can’t fault the writing for appealing to that younger demographic. If anything, that’s actually a good thing, since I believe younger people too would benefit from seeing Ellie as a character and experiencing her story – both her aspec story and her Native story – just as I benefitted from hearing the history of Native Americans when I was younger.

Although the writing style made it a little jarring at times to swing from present day action to a character’s story about the past, I nevertheless was very glad these stories were there and feel that they were an important addition. These stories were often colored by the same magic that makes up the rest of the plot, but they still give us the feeling of what it must be like to share these stories. For instance, there are many stories throughout the novel of Ellie’s Sixth-Great-Grandmother (whom she refers to as Six-Great) and how she too summoned ghosts.

Six-Great is a hero to not only her family, but to her people, and reading about her heroics adds a rich layer to the novel whose presence can be felt keenly in everything Ellie does. As I said, this can sometimes feel like it swerves out of the main plot, but each story is an interesting window into Ellie’s family’s past, and makes it feel like we are being welcomed into her world to share in these stories and that we too are allowed to admire this amazing character, even though she never actually appears in the novel. In general, this type of personal nature of the narrative is something I loved as well.

As I said before, a large majority of the books I’ve read for the blog are Young Adult novels specifically, and many of the sci-fi/fantasy ones I’ve read tend to focus on the idea of the main characters overthrowing the government or other powerful force. This is something that tends to be central in a lot of media catered to young adults, not just aspec books like the ones I review – and often sci-fi/fantasy media in general. Oftentimes, this is extremely valuable in these stories, as it helps young people visualize a world where their actions matter. However, I admit that sometimes these plotlines can get extremely repetitive when you read multiple books that play with the same theme.

For that reason, I really appreciated that the conflict in Elatsoe was not quite so large. Rather than Ellie and her friends fighting to overthrow a corrupt government or change the entire world, they’re fighting for the sake of their family and a single town under the influence of the deadly magic wielded by people like Abe Allerton and his allies. Like many Young Adult books, it explores themes of power, injustice, and corruption, but its spin on these topics is so unique that it manages to feel fresh, even when exploring themes I’ve seen covered before.

Making this a conflict that is primarily driven by Ellie’s family and their tragedy actually makes these themes more approachable and applicable, more thought-provoking and effective in a way that sometimes the larger, sweeping narratives about broad social change don’t manage to be. The fact that Ellie is doing these things while also being aspec representation adds an extra element for me, because it reminds me that the best changes can start on that smaller level.

At its core, I believe this novel is a story all about the power of connection, whether that be how Ellie connects to her past and her ancestors, or to her family in the present. Even just Ellie’s connection with Kirby is one of the most important elements of the novel – and certainly something I could deeply appreciate as an animal lover. It’s these connections that drive Ellie to seek justice for Trevor and in doing so, she comes into her own power and learns more about herself. It’s these connections that make the bond her family shares – both in the world of the living and the spirit world (the “land below”) – that much more powerful. And it’s these connections that really make the magic of the story’s world come alive (so to speak).

Overall, I recommend Elatsoe as a unique tale told through a uniquely Native and aspec lens, but which tells a story I believe everyone can relate to. Even if we can’t relate to the specific circumstances of Ellie’s life or the struggle she goes through in the novel, I believe we can relate to her heroism, her steadfastness, and her emotions. Although we don’t live in a world where we can raise ghosts or fight vampires, we do live in a world where the power of connection and of stories is a very real magic in and of itself, and for everyone who believe in that magic, I believe Elatsoe will be a rewardingly inventive experience. I hope we can have more experiences like it in future.