A lot of the influencers I follow didn't really like this so I was kind of expecting to be disappointed myself, but I thought it was incredible. Great story of family and indigenous folklore that genuinely scared me and had a complicated world with an interesting premise. I think it went on a beat or two too long, and it was hard to get through in the middle, but I really enjoyed it and would recommend to other horror fans.

It took me a bit long to finish this one due to confusion during the first few pages. When I got the hang of it, I loved eerie vibe it gave off. I don't read a lot of horror but this one had some elements in the plot that made it worthwhile.

A heartwarming horror story about generational trauma. Don’t expect
straightforward horror, expect family healing through a scary situation. Really incredible writing.

This is a horror based novel about an Indigenous woman. I truly did enjoy this story. It was mysterious and intriguing while being really scary! I enjoyed getting a chance to learn more about Indigenous people and their family life. It's something I don't think I have come across very often in literature and so while this was an excellent read, it also was a chance to learn more about another culture.

This is an amazing, truly horrifying novel, and I couldn't put it down. I'll read anything Jessica Johns writes, at this point.

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns is one of those books I really wanted to like, but ended up feeling “meh.” The synopsis of this new release sounded promising, intriguing, and an interesting addition to the horror genre. Additionally, I was excited to get some additional indigenous representation. Continue reading my review to see why Bad Cree did not quite hit the mark for me.

Characters
The characters in Bad Cree present to the audience a brief look into some of the experiences of different people, mostly women, in the indigenous communities. Additionally, Johns included a brief representation of other gender identities. While we do get this increased representation, unfortunately, the characters seemed undeveloped. Their motivations were not always clear, making their choices seem in no way understandable to explain. In a way, the characters themselves seemed like recycled versions of themselves, lending to a circular and repetitive feel. One could argue that combining the existing characters to have fewer characters could have helped to give more depth to the characters.

Plot and Pacing
The plot was certainly very intriguing. I have always enjoyed the use of dreams as avenues for storytelling in film and print. The dreams in Bad Cree add an interesting element but also contributed to the circular repetitive feel I had about the characters. It was not the best usage of this plot device. This led the pacing to being slowed down as well. Beyond that, once the pacing did pick up, it was almost like the plot seemed to change and go down a different road. Twists and new developments are fine, but the way it happened in Bad Cree seemed superimposed and unnatural. A final note on the plot, it did not really feel horror-like at all, which was an unfortunate pitfall.

Overall
I do not feel strongly one way or the other about Bad Cree. While I enjoyed the aspects of indigenous folklore, it was not quite a horror book. I support incorporating dreams as a plot device, but the pacing was not spot-on for me.

Indigenous Horror is my favorite horror! There is something so chilling to read a book that’s seeped in mythology and lore, something that makes it even more believable that these monsters really do exist. This was excellent.

This was a great read for someone like me who has always had vivid dreams...and nightmares. Little by little, the dream world attempts to impress itself upon the protagonist Mackenzie's reality in horrific ways, and I was constantly wondering what dangers would befall her and her loved ones if it succeeded. Indeed, the horrors in the dreams are visceral and occasionally stomach-churning; they were one of my favorite parts of this book to munch on. However, because Mackenzie tries for a long time to avoid her guilt and grief surrounding her family, it took roughly half the novel for the plot to quicken enough for me to get into "Oh, what's going to happen next?!" mode. Still, when it got going, it really got going.

Also, probably one of my favorite book cover designs I've seen so far this year. And no, my crow tattoos do not make me biased.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-ARC!

Bad Cree, the debut novel by Jessica Johns is immediately gripping and captivating. From the first sentence, Jessica Johns weaves a story of family, self-discovery and dreams. It is a story steeped in culture and expresses dreams as authentic tools. The power of connection, the healing of family is interwoven with a creeping tension and terror. The family dynamics and relationships focus the novel and the voice of the main character is powerful. 

I love how vibrant and beautiful the story is at times and messy just like life. The exploration of grief and how it impacts each of us in different ways is brilliant. I also love the way real life blends with the supernatural in this novel, how deftly the author weaves the narrative. It is authentic and truthful. I also love the insight into the author’s own culture and how that makes the story more impactful. 

If you like supernatural horror that still holds a touch of hope, a story that is gripping and captivating, I highly recommend you check out Bad Cree by Jessica Johns. It is powerful, real, complicated but mostly it is about grief, family, and connections and all of us can understand those elements, no matter our background.

Atmospheric and creepy. I really enjoyed this book, but am unsure how I feel about it now knowing the author might be play acting as Native when she's not.

I really loved the creepiness and atmospheric writing of this book. I've already handsold several copies just by telling people it's spooky and Indigenous--it sells itself!!

On page one, a young Cree woman awakens with a crow’s head in her hand. Tell me that doesn’t get a horror fan’s blood pumping. When Mackenzie blinks, the head disappears. Was it real? Just her imagination? Something she carried over from her nightmare?

Mackenzie is still grieving her sister’s death a year ago. She’s also carrying guilt from not going home for the funeral. Soon the dreams about a night before her sister died become overwhelming, and Mackenzie travels home for help in dealing with them. I immediately loved her family – loud, occasionally obnoxious, a little pushy, and unconditionally loving and supportive. The dreams don’t stop, but at least she’s surrounded by people who can help her work through them and offer insight. The mention of Cree beliefs, customs and traditions fascinated me, and I wouldn’t have minded more.

Gold stars to the author for the creepy imagery – it really grabbed me. The crow’s head in chapter one started with a bang, but pacing ebbed and flowed for me in places. Occasionally the plot lingered too long in a certain scene, and it pulled me from the story. But not the ending. It was very vivid and atmospheric – and also bittersweet.

Bad Cree is undoubtedly a horror story, but it’s also about a loving family dealing with overwhelming grief. I’ll definitely be looking for future titles by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Mackenzie begins to have dreams about her sister's death that happened during a weekend at their family’s campsite. But after a dream, she wakes with a crow’s head, a crow she’d torn the head off of in the nightmare. Even more unsettling, crows have been following her when she is out in the city where she lives, settling in trees to wait for her while she's at work or her apartment. One morning she awakens from a nightmare, throwing up water from the lake near her parent’s home in Alberta and receiving threatening texts from her dead sister, Sabrina. She returns home to find the truth.

Bad Cree is an interesting horror novel where the heroine is Cree, a Native American. Cree people believe in interpreting their dreams and dreams are what is terrorizing the young woman. Is what she is experiencing dreams or are they real too? Can her culture enable her to solve the mystery of what really happened to Sabrina and can her family help her? The novel makes a great heart-pounding read where the real and not real and Indigenous symbolism strikes at the heart of it all.

Man, I really don't like when I read a book written by an author a part of a minority group - in this case, an indigenous author - and don't vibe with it. Unfortunately that was exactly what happened here with Bad Cree. It felt like a chore to read for me. Maybe it's because I don't love dream sequences in books to begin with? That is a huge part of this story.

I loved this. Go in cold, if you can. The less you know about the story, the more shocking it will be when it reveals itself to you!!!
Mackenzie is dealing with some heavy stuff: she lost her grandmother and her sister in a short period and she's trying to find her place in the world. Now this: she's having some pretty horrific dreams and, somehow, she's bringing stuff out of the dreams with her when she wakes up!!!
It's time for Mackenzie to go home. The juxtaposition of Mackenzie's family (full of strong females, tight-knit, very supportive) with this big bad (that I shall not mention) that tortures her in her dreams is amazing.
I loved every minute of this story and the ending is perfect. The pacing on this novel is perfect, the characters are very well developed and some of the scenes are never going to leave me. It was darn near perfect. I can't believe it is a debut.

This didn't totally feel like horror to me, but I really enjoyed it! It's more on the supernatural/magical realism side of things with a little bit of horror and family drama.

I loved the creepiness of Mackenzie's dreams and the atmosphere of the entire book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an atmospheric and creepy supernatural read that I really enjoyed. It contained many cultural elements to it that were integral to the story and I loved learning about, this was my favorite part of the story by far. The pacing was a little slow and it was lighter on the horror but it was perfect for me. I liked the ending and the overall resolution, and this author is definitely on my radar.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC and NetGalley and Doubleday Book for the digital galley to review.

Love love love. Some parts felt drawn out for the sake of length; debating on telling mom and aunties or going alone x2, etc. otherwise loved it. I wish the aunties had more defining characteristics. I couldn’t tell them apart and could barely tell Kassidy and Tracey apart. Perfect read for middle school + up for Indigenous authored horror.

One of my favorite horror reads. I loved the dream horror, the atmosphere, the exploration of identity and self, the folklore, and the complicated family dynamics and relationships. Will read anything Jessica Johns writes!

I really enjoyed this one, and especially appreciated that this book based on dreams was written as a bit of dare to someone telling the author no one wants to read about dreams. I found the birds nice and unsettling.