This heartbreaking, novel left me in tears, but full of hope for the wonderful protagonist, sixteen-year old Winifred. We follow her over a summer full of humiliation, loss and grief, but also love and a growing understanding of her identity.

Winifred and her dad live in a cemetery; he works at the crematorium. Winifred’s mother had died giving birth to her; Winifred's dad has been mourning for years, and has consequently put a wall between them, leaving her to figure out how to navigate her difficult teen years mostly alone. She did have her mother’s elderly aunt Roberta for some time, who provided love and support till she died, leaving Winifred mourning and at loose ends, as now she had no remaining connection to stories of her mother, an indigenous woman, and her heritage. Roberta’s daughter Penny, though alive, is a spiteful, occasional presence in Winifred’s life.

Winifred had looked forward to the summer to forge a physical connection with Jack, her sole friend from school, which failed miserably, with Jack’s friends humiliating her online.

Then, the cemetery owner was going to let Winifred’s dad go for decreasing cemetery profits.. Winifred has no desire to leave, as her mother’s ashes are in the graveyard, and the cemetery is Winifred’s place of safety, where she wanders at all times of the day and night.

When someone mistakenly thinks she’s a ghost, a man running ghost tours wants to bring people through the cemetery, giving Winifred hope that this will keep her father’s job safe.

Then she meets Phil, a vibrant, young woman with a somewhat spiky personality. And who is a ghost. Winifred, after her initial terror, begins interacting with Phil, learning about Phil’s life, and death.

Winifred initially sees Phil as a way to save her father’s job, and goes so far as asking for Penny’s help. Which Penny does, but in her own way, co-opting much of the first ghost tour so as to highlight the indigenous people possibly buried here, but more importantly, to ensure Penny creates a new revenue stream for herself, to augment her already shady activities as a spiritualist.

Seeing how Penny’s summoning hurts Phil, Winifred must decide what’s more important: protecting the cemetery and her dad’s job, or her ethics and Phil’s physical manifestation?

Winifred has lot to deal with during this book. Her feelings, mistakes and wants are portrayed unapologetically and honestly. Her pain is raw, as is that of Phil's, whose story is pretty sad. Cherie Dimaline is terrific at balancing the conflicting, big emotions of adolescence, and has crafted a powerful, deeply moving story.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I wanted to like this one more. I loved the different topics that were hit on: grief from losing a parent, an absent parent due to grief, messed up family relationships, Native American culture and representation, crossing the line on social media, so many things. At time there was too many things to deal with almost. The social media drama with our main characters best friend felt like it should have been made a bigger deal and should have been a moment with the dad involved. I loved the sweet dad and was glad their relationship was healed over the course of the book. While I enjoyed the narrative and relationship with the friend/ghost it was hard to jump into the ghosts narrative at times. Switching between the two was a not fluid for me. The sexual content was a little much for my taste and there was plenty of foul language. I would recommend this to strong and older readers, but not put on my general HS library shelves in today's climate.

Cherie Dimaline is a season's pass for me. I will ride ALL THE RIDES.

That doesn't mean some of those rides don't make me mildly queasy.

This book is heart-breaking and weirdly uplifting, and tragic and hopeful, and regardless of the book blurb, NOT A GOOD TIME.

The author, though?

Even as you're sobbing, and furious, and anxious, and all-round miserable, she, with her gorgeous prose, deep character insight, and, maybe a little VenCo magical skull-f**ckery? draws you in, stops you from throwing the book into the fire, and makes you fall in love.

Read this book with lots of tissues and your support animal nearby.

Your face will be red and blotchy but you'll be better for it.

8/10

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin House Publishing Canada for this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced readers copy of Funeral Songs for Dying Girls. A really beautiful coming of age novel, loss, love, heartbreak.

This book was engaging and filled with a wonderful story. Though I would say this is not my favorite by this author I still very much enjoyed it.

Win lives in a graveyard. Her dad is in charge of the crematorium and her mom is with them in the form of her ashes. Win doesn't think anything is unusual about her life until she does a presentation about it in elementary school and suddenly becomes an outcast, nicknamed "Wednesday Addams". She's trying to navigate teenagehood, her best friend morphing into a very hot, cool guy, and the possible loss of her living space, as the cemetery tries to stay financially afloat. It's a lot. One particularly frustrating evening, Win calls out in the graveyard for some help. The response is not what she expects, and the presence of a compelling, beautiful ghost in her life makes things a lot more complicated.

I love the way Cherie Dimaline writes. There are always places in her books where I have to stop and put the book down, and sit with what she's just said for a minute. There's an amazing point in this book where she is talking about fear, and the language is both searing and hilarious, reminding us that we are only "a pair of pants and a utensil" away from being very, very primal. There are spots in this book where you laugh out loud, and spots that will make you cry in frustration and anger. For me, that's the Dimaline reading experience.

Win is an incredibly realistic 16 year old girl, particularly one being raised by a largely non-verbal dad. She is twitchy, and all over the place, and a deep thinker, and desperate to be loved. She is compelling and when she feels emotions, Dimaline really makes the reader feel them, too. The parallel story of Phil, the ghost that Win calls up, is beautiful and brutal. Allowing the parallel stories lets the reader engage with two different experiences of Indigenous young women, and lets Dimaline address some of the issues around assuming that the Indigenous experience is monolithic. I felt like the book was a great companion to Cliff Cardinal's play "The Land Acknowledgement", and they would work extremely well in tandem in a Grade 11 Indigenous Voices English class.

There is a lot going on here. Sometimes, I felt like the forward momentum of the story got bogged down in all the places the author wanted us to see. It is a slow starter, but once it's rolling, the ride is pretty remarkable. TW: drug abuse, grief, MMIWG

This book is heartbreaking and beautiful. I loved the writing style, found the story immersive, and I can’t wait to share it with my students!

I unfortunately did not enjoy this one like I had hoped. There were some aspects of the book such as the fatphobia that made me extremely uncomfortable. I have since read other reviewers talk about it so I'm glad it wasn't just me. I hopefully will read more from this author later but we'll see.

I was fortunate enough to have received both an egalley and a phyical copy of Dimaline's new YA novel. I fell in love with Dimaline's writing when I picked up her speculative horror masterpiece 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃.

𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 is at its heart a book about moving on and letting go of those we lost. Told through the eyes of 16 year-old Winnifred, whose father runs the graveyard that her mother is buried in, this story is heartbreaking and raw and again brings in elements of Metis culture and the supernatural that make Dimaline's books so special. I really felt for Winnifred and the story arc was perfect- a very quiet yet powerful read.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for my gifted copy.

As with other Dimaline books I have read, the writing in this book absolutely shined. I found the way Dimaline described Winifred's daily life was beautiful and I absolutely felt the melancholy attitude she had for her everyday. I loved that there was a huge focus on family relationships and how important they are to feel a connection to your community and ancestors. Winifred grows as a character because you watch her develop her sense of self and confronting her past while carving some sort of future for herself (the way she goes about this is a major learning lesson in the novella). Despite this larger theme, I found the novel to be very difficult to get through. There were a lot of missing pieces in the book and I felt like the characters that surrounded were very surface level (except for her aunt, which whom her closer relationship to her Metis heritage develops). Her best friend (if we can call him that), her cousin, her dad and the ghost that haunts her all felt really underdeveloped that I just could not care about her relationships to them and it made it hard to place myself into the story. I really enjoyed the ending however because you really see how the events of that summer changed Winifred and you come out of the book excited for her to have new experiences.

Wow! This book was beautifully written. The flow and imagery of the sentences are so elegant and captivating.

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, follows Winifred, a sixteen-year-old girl who lives with her father and obese dog in a cemetery. She's an outcast, "weird", and determined to save the cemetery so she and her father can stay in their apartment on the property. How? After a few accidental "ghost sightings", in which she was mistaken for a ghost, she believes this may be the key to staying in their home, especially after running into a real ghost. When Winifred learns more about her new ghost friend, Phil, she realizes she doesn't want to exploit her. She has to decide what's more important, her home, or her new friend.

I was wowed from the beginning, Dimaline quickly pulled me in with the poetic feel of the language used in this novel. I definitely recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review of this novel.

This book was good. It was not a perfect book but it still was a good read. I love gothic books and dark books. This book was definitely in my realm of books that I love to read. I think if you love gothic books and cemeteries you will like this book too!

I was thrilled to see that Cherie Dimaline had two books coming out in 2023. The second is the newly released Funeral Songs for Dying Girls. It's labeled as YA fiction.
Winifriend lives with her widowed father on the grounds of a cemetery. She’s awkward and has few friends, except for Jack. But as they grow older, Jack is moving on and leaving Winnie behind. And then Phil arrives. Is she a figment of Winifred’s imagination? Or could she be real? Or...

Dimaline’s prose are simply wonderful. I stopped more than once to savour Winnie’s words before carrying on. Her descriptions and inner dialogue conjure up vivid mental images and thought provoking ideas.

The setting is just as well drawn - the mossy paths, the headstones, the mausoleums and more. I've always found cemeteries to be peaceful and calming. And so did Winifred - until now.

The supporting characters are just right. My faves were Floyd, the cemetery's handy man and Auntie Roberta - everyone needs an Auntie like this. And all of us probably have an annoying relative like Penny.

There are many themes - life, loss, love, coming of age, friendship, family and identity. Dimaline addresses them all with a fresh, unique and thoughtful eye.

I really like Dimaline's writing, messages and storytelling.

I wasn’t totally convinced I was going to like this book, after I had read the first 100 pages I almost stopped reading it. I am glad I stuck with it, it was well worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and the connection that was built between Winifred and Phil the ghost. It’s a sad, touching story.

I really enjoyed this book a lot, and I think Dimaline’s writing is just so gorgeous, but what stopped me from giving 5 stars was the fat shaming (not just of the dog) and also the one weird comparison of a teacher to a ‘fat Hitler’??? It felt bad in a book that was otherwise pretty emotionally moving and intense.
I do also think there’s some main plot point “why?” questions that don’t get answered and while I as an adult reader am game for that level of open-endedness, I feel like a lot of teen readers might get frustrated.

I have truly adored every book of Cherie Dimaline's that I have read before. And this book had some really and truly lovely moments. But as an overall story, it just didn't fully work for me. I liked it I suppose, but I didn't fall in love with it as I had her other works.

First, I didn't feel a huge connection to Winifred. I mean, I felt for her, of course, but I just didn't totally get who she was as a person, if that makes sense? Like her story tugs at the heartstrings, absolutely no doubt about it. But... I just didn't get who she was as a person beyond her loss, you know?

Another issue I had was the nonlinear writing. At times, I was unsure of whether something was happening in the past or present, because there weren't really clear distinctions when one ended and the other began. Perhaps there will be more of a separation in the final book, but it took me out of the story a lot, as I was trying to determine when the heck a thing was happening.

I did really enjoy that there was a big focus on family relationships and personal growth. Winifred had a lot to overcome, and honestly at the start of the story she wasn't particularly likable, but she did grow as a character. She does that through confronting her own past, and that is the part I really enjoyed. I enjoyed the ghost of Phil subplot less, however. I get that Phil was supposed to be a way for Winifred to kind of come face to face with her personal situation, but it almost seemed like... I don't know, like a cheat maybe? I didn't want to only know Phil as she related to Winifred, I guess is my point.

Now to address something I saw in many reviews before I started this book: the fatphobia claims. Look fam, I am quite sensitive to such a topic, and I legit saw like, one reference that wasn't so great? But. To me, one offhanded comment does not equal "rampant fatphobia". And, like I said, Winifred at the start of the story isn't exactly the most likable anyway, so I was taking everything she said with a grain of salt anyway- she was a little judgy tbh. So yeah, I am just not seeing it, and if that worried you, I really wouldn't let it dissuade you from reading this book.

I will say, I really loved the ending of the story. Obviously I can't tell you much about it because endings, but it was satisfying and just the right blend of hope and emotion. And it made me feel good that I stuck with the story.

Bottom Line: This book had some really lovely moments, especially when it came to family matters. It didn't quite hit for me, but neither did it miss.

Beautifully written, atmospheric, trauma-centered. This book isn'tsunshine and flowers or a light beach read. Nevertheless, it's a winner for dealing with neurodivergent habits, grief, friendship, kinship, what happens when we die, love, and wagons.

Winifred is having a cruddy summer. Her BFF Jack turns her down and then tells errryone. Her mom and aunt are dead and she's lost touch with her Metis culture. The cemetery where she lives with her widower father and her obese dog is losing money and her dad will lose his job. A local ghost hunter wants to put on haunted tours after Winifred is mistaken for a ghost- which sounds like a great idea until Winifred calls in a real ghost, Philomena. Phil's friendship makes Winifred's struggles seem less painful until a break happens between the two of them.

Recommending for acquisition for high school library

'Funeral Songs for Dying Girls' is a deeply moving story about grief, loss, family and identity. The writing is beautiful and I really loved the main character and her struggles with grief for both people and community. There's a lot of good here!

This would have been a perfect book if not for the rampant fatphobia. Honestly, a frankly shocking amount and I think it gave the book an immature feel. It seemed to serve no greater purpose to the plot, other than equating fatness with villainy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls is equal parts heartbreakingly-beautiful and chest-constricting in its uncomfortableness. This isn't an easy read and won't be for everyone. I read this in 2-days and was genuinely moved by it.

This novel is told via the 1st-person perspective of a girl named Winifred. It's the summer she turns 16 and Winifred christens it the Summer of Humiliations.

Winifred is at a difficult period in her life. Her mother passed away when she was born, so Winifred has never had a lot of strong female influence in her life. The only adult female she's had a genuine connection with was her Aunt, her mother's sister, who has recently passed on. Not only was this a loss of the only sort of motherly influence she has had, but it was also the loss of the only connection she had to her Mom's family and the Métis community. It's a big loss and she definitely feels it.

Upsetting her world further is the news that the crematorium that her Father works at may be shutting down, his job outsourced. If this happens, Winifred and her Dad will be forced to move from the only home she has ever known. They live in an apartment on the cemetery grounds, close to her Mother's grave. Even the idea of having to move on from this space causes a great deal of anxiety for Winifred, and for her Dad.

When Winifred's comings-and-goings around the graveyard mistakenly get labeled as hauntings however, Winifred sees this as a potential saving grace. A local ghost tour is interested in the hauntings and may add the cemetery to their stops list because of them. If they do, this could mean additional income and a possibility that the crematorium could remain open. They would be able to stay in their house. Winifred needs to develop a plan to coax this possibility along.

After Winifred befriends an actual ghost in the graveyard though, her outlook on everything slowly begins to shift. The ghost is a teen girl, Phil, who died tragically in a ravine next to the cemetery decades before. Through the telling of her story, Winifred's eyes are opened to the greater world around her. She starts to see and consider things she never did before. Through Phil's short life, Winifred is inadvertently introduced to the rest of hers. There's a great big world out there, what is Winifred's place in it?

First of all, the writing in this book is breathtaking, in such a raw, sort of aggressive way. I'm not sure I can quite convey what I mean by this, but basically, in the beginning, Winifred is in a really tough spot in her life. The way she views the world, and tells her story, is jaded and harsh. Not a lot is going her way. She's an outcast at school, ridiculed by her peers for being strange. They call her Wednesday Addams and generally give her a hard time.

She has her Dad, who provides for her and obviously loves her, but he is emotionally unavailable. He's stuck in his grief from the loss of his wife and that has unfortunately put up a bit of a wall between him and his daughter. Winifred has her dog, Mrs. Dingleberry, who she loves so much and her best friend, Jack. Unfortunately, as her and Jack have gotten older their relationship has changed and gotten complicated. Then an event on her 16th-birthday ends up fracturing it further, so she is feeling more alone than ever.

At first, she seemed so abrasive to me. I wondered if I would be able to connect with her, but the further I got into the story, the more I learned about her and I cared more and more. Learning about her family and about her wants, it sucks you in.

Phil's story is even more heartbreaking than Winifred's and the way it is slowly revealed, oh man, so impactful. The final section of Phil's story, I cried. I cried for Phil and for all the young people who have similar experiences to hers. Lost souls who will never find a way home.

Overall, I think this is a powerful story for those who can stomach it. It's not an easy read. It's not fast-paced, or plot heavy, this is very much a character examination and a moving portrait of growing up, discovering your identity and learning to love yourself and others.

I was so impressed with Dimaline's writing and her ability to pour emotion and culture into the story in an unflinching and unapologetic way. It's dark, but ultimately left me full of hope. I am very satisfied with the way it wrapped-up.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tundra Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was moved by this and I hope it gets into the hands of Readers who appreciate it. I think for the people this resonates with, it will be a very memorable reading experience indeed.

As soon as I finished reading page one, I pre-ordered FUNERAL SONGS FOR DYING GIRLS. Okay, I admit to being a fan of Cherie Dimaline's writing, but it was Winifred's voice that made this book sing.

Winifred should be recommended to everyone who enjoyed the Netflix show "Wednesday."--and not just because there will be comparisons of the two main characters. FUNERAL SONGS FOR DYING GIRLS offers a perfect setting with the cemetery, an outcast main character, and ghosts. The story also offers a story and main character deeply rooted in grief and love. The way Winifred talks about her mother and her life living in the apartment at the cemetery is heart-wrenching; it's so very real. Thought of Winifred and her dad losing this place is horrible and the pages describing Winifred's fears are searing.

What makes FUNERAL SONGS FOR DYING GIRLS outstanding is the combination of rooted characters, heart, and laugh-out-loud humor. Winifred is a fantastic storyteller with such a bold sense of humor. I loved reading her--and my creative writing students are going to flip for this story.