The nitty-gritty: Less horror and more family drama, Bad Cree is a beautifully written examination of family ties and emotions, with just a touch of otherworldly horror.

I have to admit Bad Cree was almost a DNF for me, but I pushed through, and ultimately I’m glad I did. This really isn’t horror at all, although there are a couple of scenes that fit that genre. Mostly, this is the story of a family dealing with grief and loss. I think if my expectations had been different, I would have rated this book higher, but I went in expecting horror and that’s not what I got. Still, by the end I was fully invested in the dynamics of Mackenzie’s close-knit family, and the emotional ending bumped up my rating a bit.

The story takes place in a small town in Alberta, Canada and revolves around a Cree family. Mackenzie left her home of High Prairie after her kokum (grandmother) died, and she hasn’t been back since. Even when her sister Sabrina died, nearly a year ago, Mackenzie couldn’t face the sadness of Sabrina’s death, and she didn’t go home for the funeral, even though her family begged her to. But lately she’s been having strange dreams. In the last one, she dreamed she saw Sabrina being attacked by crows, and when Mackenzie woke up, she was holding the severed head of a crow. Mack knows she can’t figure out what the dreams mean by herself, and despite her reluctance, she decides to go home to her family.

Coming home is fraught with emotions and memories, though. Her sister Tracey (Sabrina’s twin) is still mad at her for refusing to attend their sister’s funeral. Mack’s mother and beloved Auntie Doreen are thrilled to see her again, but there is an underlying sense of hurt that Mack knows will be hard to mend. As the family tries to help Mack figure out the meaning behind her dreams, Mack begins to remember long buried memories of growing up in her close-knit Cree family. And when the dreams become threatening, Tracey helps her unravel the mystery of what really happened that night in the forest before Sabrina died, and how a monster from Cree mythology might be connected.

The story starts out very slow, and in fact the pace only picks up at the very end with the appearance of the wheetigo, the mythological Cree spirit who is threatening Mack in her dreams. I’ve always been a little leery of stories that revolve around dreams, so I was taking a chance on this story to begin with. Luckily, the dream sequences worked pretty well for me, but their dreamy quality didn’t do much to help the pacing, unfortunately. The first half of the book is focused on Mack reuniting with her family, and most of these scenes are very “talky,” meaning the characters talk a lot and don’t do much else. Being home brings back lots of childhood memories, and while I loved learning more about Mack’s Cree upbringing and family traditions, I’ll admit my attention started to wander every time one of these memories came up.

On the other hand, I loved the strong bonds among family members and the interactions between Mack and her sister, mother, aunts and cousins. There was such a joyful feeling to the story once Mack arrives at High Prairie, even though the pall of Sabrina’s death still hangs over the house. Being together and helping each other through the bad times is what her family does, and I loved the way they embraced Mack’s arrival, treating her as a family member even though she hasn’t been supportive lately. And the author doesn’t sugar coat the characters’ emotions and reactions when Mack comes home. Each is upset with her to varying degrees, because to them, her refusal to come home for the funeral was a betrayal. Mack has some very uncomfortable conversations, especially with her sister Tracey, and I appreciated that the author made these interactions so believable.

I liked many of the characters. Mackenzie is a young twenty-something woman who doesn’t know exactly what she wants, but she knows that being around her family only makes her grief over her dead sister worse. I also loved her best friend Joli, a non binary character who isn’t in the story much but has a big presence when she is. We get flashbacks of Mackenzie’s childhood and times spent with her kokum, and I loved those scenes. Kokum is nurturing and sweet and tells wonderful stories and teaches the three sisters about the local plant life. In a nice change of pace from other books I’ve read lately, there aren’t any horrible, villain-like characters. These are all just regular people trying to live the best they can.

Johns infuses her story with Cree mythology and beliefs. For example, dreams are extremely important to Cree people, and often predict the future or give warnings. Mack’s cousin Kassidy has had prophetic dreams her whole life, and one of her aunts dreams only in certain colors, which gives her hints about what’s coming. And then there’s the wheetigo, a spirit who feeds on greed and misery. The author ties its presence to the oil industry in High Prairie, illustrating some of the injustices done to indigenous people over the years. The brief moments when the wheetigo takes center stage in the story were unsettling and creepy, and I only wish it had been more of a focus. 

Even though Bad Cree wasn’t exactly the story I was expecting, I’m glad I read it. Jessica Johns’ thoughtful and emotional depiction of Cree family life was nicely resolved at the end and gave me a warm glow.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

I think the writer is talented, and there is a lot of interesting imagery. I did think the relationships between the women in the family were great to read. Something about this wasn't for me though. I can't put my finger on it. I'll still recommend it to customers and will be looking forward to her next book.

This book is WONDERFUL. Beautifully written and paced just right, I will read anything Jessica Johns writes from now on. I've been trying to read more horror books written by Indigenous authors, written about Indigenous characters and I am so glad I read this one. The story holds power and beauty to go along with a fantastic story about death, loss, and the strength of family.

This is promoted as horror, but for me, the family elements turned out to be much, much more of a draw than the creepiness. And that was fine and dandy! The relationships between grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, and cousins is the real lifeblood of the story, as far as I’m concerned.

Thanks to Doubleday Books for the Advance Review Copy.
Only my 4th book read so far, I can already confidently say that this will be in my top books of the year. This is the type of book you put on your bookshelf, highlight and recommend to all your friends. Following Mackenzie, from her nightmarish dreams where she brings things back to her interactions with her estranged family following the death of her sister, this book will have you quickly thumbing through the pages to see how it all ends.

The writing in this is wonderful with it's slowly building menace that is heavily influenced by Indigenous stories that have been passed down. While these stories may not be familiar to most readers it is not a requirement to understand what is going on. The sense of community that is displayed in the story is wonderful with the highlight being Mack's Aunties. Their strength and displays of love are what drive the story and what make you care what happens to everyone.

Themes of disconnection, trauma and grief are distributed along with connection, forgiveness and healing in this tale that also has moments of visceral horror. Fans of Stephen Graham Jones will adore this story. Highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and Doubleday Books for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ugh. I was intrigued by this one initially, but it fell flat for me. It’s advertised as being in the horror genre, but it’s definitely more a character study on grief. I liked the native folklore and appreciated getting to learn more about the Cree culture, but the pacing of this story just left me so bored about 80% of the time. Sheer curiosity to find out what was really going on was the only reason I didn’t DNF this one. If you go into this book knowing it’s more literature than horror, you might enjoy it. There was a lot to like, but for me, I was expecting something else and so this one was disappointing.

My rating: 2.5/5 stars

Have you ever wondered if your dreams have any meaning to them? This book will have you asking yourself that.

This page-turner had me up trying to figure out this supernatural horror story. Besides the great storyline, I enjoyed the strong female family connections.

If you are looking for a page-turner with a little supernatural spin to it, you will want to check this out.

Thank you, @doubledaybooks and @jessicastellaa, for this gifted eARC.

How does a novel that opens with a woman waking to a crow's head in her bed wind up being only a 3-star read? I feel like it's very much an it's-not-you-it's-me deal. The MC is just weeks away from the first anniversary of a major death -- oof, did this book get its timing right or what. MUCH of the narrative explores deep feelings of loss and pain and regret -- feeling that are still extremely raw for me -- while also being a coming-of-age novel interlaced with reconciliation to the point of feeling overly YA.

I wanted the terrifying dreams. I wanted to be haunted by the Weetigo. I wanted that sense of unease. And while it was there, I feel like the supernatural/horror element took a backseat to other themes that are Not For Me at this point in time.

I did appreciate how female-forward (matriarchal, rather) the cast was though!

As the anniversary of her sister’s death approaches, Mackenzie finds herself plagued with strange and disturbing dreams. After a nightmare where she has to battle a murder of crows, she awakens to find the severed head of a crow in her hands. As the nights go on, her dreams become more vivid and she finds herself bringing objects from the dream world into the waking world. Her dreams keep sending her to her family’s favorite camp site, and to a memory that has disturbed Mackenzie for years. When her dreams become too disturbing to handle alone, she finds herself back home for the first time in years.

Her family, still grieving the loss of Sabrina, Mackenzie’s sister, and the recent loss of her kokum, comes together to discover what is behind her disturbing dreams and how to keep her safe.

This is a fascinating story. Mackenzie is a compelling character who is burdened by the grief of her sister’s death and her guilt over not going home for the funeral. Growing up, Mackenzie was always surrounded by family. From camping trips to late night card games and cousin sleepovers, Mackenzie has always been surrounded by her family. But Sabrina’s sudden death and Mackenzie’s behavior created a rift that’s she’s unsure of how to heal. Johns does an incredible job of expressing the different ways that we grieve and how that impacts our relationships with others.

When she returns home, Mackenzie discovers that her mother, aunts, and cousins have more experience with the mysteries of dreams and the supernatural than she realized. I really loved learning more about Cree culture and the myths that were shared in the story. Many of the women all had some type of special gift and it was a bit sad to hear how they felt the need to keep it secret, especially when it became clear that they needed everyone’s knowledge to solve the mystery and keep everyone safe.

I was a bit surprised to find a horror novel that was more of a slow burn and character driven. I found it very well written, the story very compelling, and the characters very interesting and realistic.

The hype is real. Go get yourself a copy of this book today.

I just finished Bad Cree, my first book of 2023, and I’m not sure I’ll read a better one all year.

This book is considered horror, and I get that, but it’s so strange to also be able to say that reading this book felt like a breath of fresh air in so many ways. Bad Cree is a modern weetigo story that really makes you take stock of everything your aunties have ever warned you about. More than that though, and what really stood out for me was the reminder that Indigenous ways of walking through and understanding this world are valid.

I’m so thankful to the author for writing Mackenzie’s story and to the editors and publishers who let a modern story be told without non-Indigenous characters and without male characters. It is a compelling, complete story–as is.

Put whatever you were reading down. Run, don’t walk, to this one.

Tokšá aké, book friends 📚☕️

After the untimely death of her sister, young Cree woman Mackenzie starts having dreams involving crows and a strange memory of her sister before her death. When she starts to bring items back to the real world from these dreams, she heads back home to reunite with her estranged family to find an answer to what is happening to her and find some closure.

Pros:
- The strongest part of this book is the family relationships that are explored throughout, and some of the dialogue between the family members feels organic in a very real way.
- Short, and quick read, so it's not much of a time commitment.

Cons:
- Feels a bit childish at times, and the characters act in unrealistic ways, jumping to wild conclusions based off very little information (and everyone is immediately onboard with no questions.)
- Isn't very scary at all. Probably more of a mystery, but it's billed as horror so it needs to be pointed out.

Three stars. Likely closer to 2.5, but rounded up because it's quick to get through. I never really felt captured by this, but it's fun at times and the characters are decent.

FFO: The Only Good Indians, forest hauntings, Google searches

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Doubelday and Netgalley*

An incredible debut horror novel that focuses on grief and how we get through it both individually and together.

The MC leaves home, a tribal community in Canada, and moves to the city. She does this just after her grandmother, her “kokum” passes. Soon after, her sister dies but she can’t bring herself to go home…until Sabrina is haunting her dreams forcing her to go home and reckon with her past and the death of her sister.

The focus on Cree culture and dreams are vital to the story and will leave you wondering if this is really supernatural. What happens when our dreams become reality?

I’ll start this off by saying I don’t know if this was for me or not, but the horror just didn’t do it for me.

My biggest issue is the fact that this is supposed to be an adult novel but the writing really feels like YA. The voice of the character, who is in her early twenties, doesn’t feel like that. It’s more like a seventeen year old. Which was a bit disappointing. The premise of this book was really interesting but I just couldn’t get through it with much enjoyment. The way it was written just sort of stuck in my craw.

Also the characters made decisions that were seemingly on the more immature spectrum of things. Like if you’re Googling things, are you really thinking it through in the moment? And by that I mean, there wasn’t any real deep thought gong on when it came to making plans. They were just like “Let’s google it!” and then didn’t even do that well because of the fact they just needed like, one or two more keywords and it would have given them the answer they needed.

It also made me think of Twilight, the movie at least, where Bella does a basic internet search and gets an absolute buttload of information that she needed.

What really shone in this book however, which I think was kind of beautiful, was the relationship aspect of the book. There’s so much focus on the family aspect. The relationship between sisters, friends, aunties, mom. And how important that is, also a lot of interesting information about how that’s important to Cree.

And while that was nice, it wasn’t exactly what I signed up for because I wanted horror and I didn’t really get it.

I would give this a three (3) but it’s closer to a two and a half (2.5).

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher.

I love a good atmospheric horror read and man did Bad Cree fit the bill. It's dark, emotional and has some really great spooky moments.

I especially love the lore that is woven into the story, and the strength of family that is at the core of it all. This would make a perfect book for Spooktober.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

TITLE: BAD CREE
AUTHOR: Jessica Johns
PUB DATE: 01.10.2023 Pre order Now

Atmospheric
Vivid
Tense

Bad Cree is a story about a Cree woman named Mackenzie, who left her community after the death of her kokum- grandmother, and who is now haunted by vivid dreams - holding a severed cow’s head, which leads her to return home and face the tragic death of her sister Sabrina. This coming of age story touches upon grief and loss, and surrounded in Cree folklore, beliefs, and culture. It’s a story steeped in the mysterious, the supernatural, and also the strength of families - the women, the aunties, the kinship. Dreams do have meaning, and many times intersect with the waking world, our reality.

Bad Cree is an impressive debut novel that packed a punch and had enough thrilling and ominous element that had me flipping those pages. Fantastic debut!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and HOT DANG this is another winner. I was instantly entranced by the title and the description, and reading the actual book paid off. I don't want to spoil anything, but Johns' voice is an instant classic - I haven't felt this way about a new-to-me horror writer in a while! The cultural notes as well are beautifully specific and relevant to the story. If you need an excuse to stay up past your bedtime, this is the book to help you do it. (To show you how serious I am, I immediately purchased a hardback copy of it for myself as soon as I could!)

After reading Bad Cree’s synopsis, I knew I would be in for an emotional ride. What surprised me is how effective the scares are between the mounting dread and grief-fueled descriptive visuals.

Anyone familiar with grief and grieving know how it doesn’t take much to open the wound. Jessica Johns pulls no punches: grief is described in a way that is sometimes painful to read. However, I found myself highlighting whole paragraphs because of how beautifully they are written. Johns puts into words what you know on some level but can never voice. This proves to be cleansing.

A lot of the story is told through genuinely terrifying visuals. Some of these visuals heavily feature elements from indigenous stories. An underlying theme is that of the power and strength of family, especially after all the helplessness that accompanies grieving. That is what I love most about horror: it can be much more than terror and frights; it can be healing. Bad Cree is brutal and beautiful and cleansing.

Mackenzie's dreams continually bring her to a memory of her sister Sabrina at their family's lakefront campsite, years before Sabrina's untimely death.
In the waking world, a murder of crows is following Mackenzie. Soon she's bringing back things from her dreams: a crow's head, choking up lake water. Then, the text messages begin from someone claiming to be Sabrina.
Mackenzie travels back to her hometown --- back to the thick blanket of grief enveloping her family, where her dreams become more dangerous.

Bad Cree is a brilliant debut from Jessica Johns steeped in supernatural horror, legacy, and grief.

Thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Bad Cree was released January 10, 2023.

Y’all this book was EXCELLENT!!! I was in a bit of a slump last week/had no motivation to read and this pulled me right out of it! It sucked me in so fast!!

The premise is just so intriguing. A woman ~travels in her dreams, sees her dead sister and wakes up holding things from the dream? It’s just so chilling and made me want to know more.

So. This was not only a great little horror number but I really enjoyed learning more about Indigenous lore and customs. This also showed a different take on a ~creature I’ve read about a few times and I really enjoyed reading and learning more.

And the web this weaved was just so incredibly well done. I loved meeting Mackenzie’s family and learning their relationships to dreams as well. Dreams are just so curious and I love how they can be utilized in horror. And this one just did it so, so well!

I read this primarily at night, just before I went to bed and let me tell you. It definitely sparked some dreams!

So this was all around EXCELLENT and I’m so glad I had the chance to read it!! I could not recommend this more highly!! Horror lovers, please pick this up!

And thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Bad Cree hooked me from the start and wouldn't let go until I was done. If this is an indicator of 2023 horror novels then we are all in for a treat!

As the anniversary of her sister's death approaches, Mackenzie, a young Cree woman, begins suffering from bad dreams. These dreams aren't your average nightmares - Mackenzie is actually pulled into a dream world and often takes part of it with her upon waking, whether that be a branch, a crow's head or her dead sister's bloody shirt. She's not sure what these dreams mean, but she thinks the answers lie at her family home...only once she arrives more questions arrive and the dreams become even more sinister.

While this book is short, it's a bit of a slow burn, so if you're looking for something super action packed this may not be for you. But even when I could feel myself losing interest and I was ready to set it down for the night something exciting would happen and I would pick it right back up again. Jessica Johns really knew how to get me invested again. Though this is a horror novel, it's also a family story that looks at the ways we grieve the loss of loved ones. I loved meeting Mackenzie's family and once she goes home I really felt like I was sitting at the kitchen table with all of them. The author does a great job of conjuring that environment and making it feel real.

I'll also note that I loved the mythology sprinkled throughout this book. I don't know much about Native American lore, so it was very interesting to me and I look forward to reading and learning more.

Thank you so much to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for a review copy. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.