I found out about this book while scrolling through NetGalley, and the second I saw that it was a prequel to Elatsoe, I had to read it.

This is a prequel about Elatsoe's grandmother Shane as a 17 year old girl, but you don't have to read Elatsoe to know what's going on, and both books can be read in either order as standalones.

This book is so well-crafted and thoughtful; it took me a little while to fully immerse myself in the story, because the setting and vibe is so different from Elatsoe, and it is a little slower paced, but once I got into the groove, the story flowed over me.

We follow Shane as she tries to figure out the mystery of her mother's and a child's disappearance, and along the way we learn about her history, as well as explore her relationships with her family and friends.

A strong focus of the book is on Shane's grief; grief from losing not only her home and her family members, but also losing her culture and language. This book tackles the harm caused by colonialism, which goes beyond stealing land, but also erases culture and peoples.

At its heart, this book is about family and community. At times Shane may feel alone, like she has to take on her burdens by herself, but her friends and family are always there for her (dead or alive).

I also loved Rovina Cai's lovely illustrations at each chapter heading; they tell a story parallel to the main story, and they add another layer of depth.

Overall, this is book was written full of heart, and it shows <3

I feel so conflicted about this book. As self-proclaimed number one Elatsoe stan, I was super excited for this prequel, and I'm lowkey devastated it didn't live up to my expectations. For most of the book, I struggled through each chapter as the characters continued to contribute information that wasn't relevant to the plot and as more and more world-building lore was discussed that also wasn't super necessary to the overall story. This only confused me and made the book hard to read. I really wish it had gone through a few more rounds of edits to clean it up a bit more :/

However, all that being said, there were still plenty of parts about this book I enjoyed, it just took me most of the book to get to that point. It wasn't until about 75% through that I realized characters kept sharing what I thought were useless bits of information and random memories because the whole point of this book is the beauty of storytelling. Once this clicked, I was able to enjoy the book way more, as well as each character's sharing of small memories and grand adventures alike. Considering how both of Darcie's other books are steeped in storytelling traditions and the special experience of sharing those stories with loved ones, I should have understood this sooner, but with the choppy writing it took way longer.

I do still recommend this book, especially if you enjoyed Elatsoe and wanted an expansion of how that magical realism world works, as well as get to know Ellie's grandmother and her mammoths a bit more. If you can get past the seemingly all over the place writing in the first half of the book, this is a really lovely ode to storytelling that is worth a read regardless of the book's other issues.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Levine Querido. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy Thriller, Fantasy Mystery
Audience: Young Adult (okay with a younger audience too)
Readability: The first novel is ELATSOE. I think you can read this one without having read the first because it's a prequel.
Representation: Indigenous people and alludes to gay love but nothing is on the page

I loved ELATSOE and couldn't wait to read SHEINE LENDE, and I enjoyed this one too.

Things I loved:

- Magic system
- Intersection of multiple types of magic
- Indigenous people
- Ghost dog
- Mystery
- Prehistoric animals
- Mystery
- Inclusion of how languages are dying

This novel flows really well and connects most of the loose ends. The one thing that came a bit out of the blue was when the friends express their love to each other and it becomes a conversation about the types of love. I think it could have been summed up faster because it interrupted the flow of the narrative. Some of the girls' names confused me because I'm accustomed to "Shane" and "Donnie" being associated with boys—these were nicknames.

I truly loved this novel. It's worth your time no matter your age.

Happy reading!

Darcie Little Badger's Elatsoe enchanted readers with its incredible world building, lovable ghost dog, and unforgettable characters. In Sheine Lende, readers get to return to the world of Elatsoe before Ellie's time, learning her grandmother's story.
When she was a child, Shane's family was traumatically displaced from their home, and each other, after a flood. Years later, seventeen year old Shane and her mom work with their dogs, ghost and presently alive, to track and rescue missing people. When Shane's mom goes missing while searching for missing siblings, it's up to Shane and her remaining grandparent to find all three-- even if her grandpa isn't consistently reliable.

Labeled as a prequel to Elatsoe, Little Badger's latest novel is unputdownable. Readers are pulled in, immediately engrossed, and just as delighted and intrigued by Shane's world as we were by Ellie's. While Shane is Ellie's grandmother and their stories are connected, Sheine Lende is also its own story.

Like all of Little Badger's work, Sheine Lende is full of incredible character work. Every character is tangible and lifelike, even the ones we only meet in memory. Shane, her friends, her beloved family members, and side characters met along the journey are intricately crafted, flawed, relatable, and add to the overall worldbuilding. This worldbuilding isn't limited to the world Little Badger has created with fairy folk, monsters, vampires, and humans living in the same realms, but also with the representation of 1970s Texas. The way the real historical setting is combined with the more speculative world really roots the reader in the setting. Plus, the communication limitations of the 1970s add to the tension of the plot! Genius all around.

As Shane searches for her mother and the missing boy, she also searches her own memory for clues and ways to solve a fairy ring puzzle. These memories are integrated seamlessly, adding to the character development and world while moving the plot forward. Weaving in these memories feels organic, and is an accurate representation of how grief never really leaves us.

Grief isn't only over losing loved ones, but also losing the sense of home that comes with them and literal home as well. Shane's family's loss of their home, and struggle to find a new one, highlights the intergenerational trauma of Native displacement that is present in the story and in Native communities across the world. Along with this, Little Badger really captures the stakes of young Indigenous folks learning their traditional stories and ways of being while feeling the disconnect of displacement. This is especially poignant, as readers see Shane wrestle with not remembering how to make her grandmother's tea or the details of a particular Lipan Apache story. It is even more resonant when held alongside Elatsoe, as readers know Ellie is connected to her culture and stories. Holding these two books together, readers feel both the loss, fear, and hope of watching Shane commit to staying connected to her culture and knowing she succeeds, as Ellie is connected in her own story.

Speaking of feelings, that is another arena where Little Badger shines. The FEELINGS this book gave me! This is one of those books that I know I'll carry with me, returning to it again and again as a favorite.

Breathtaking illustrations by Rovina Cai supplement the chapter headings and section breaks. These brief moments of captured time add to the story, fit the tone, and are one of many details that come together to make this book completely unforgettable.

Thank you to the author, Levine Querido, and NetGalley for a digital ARC such that I could share my honest opinion.

Sheine Lende will be available April 16, 2024.

Book Review: Sheine Lende (Elatsoe, #2)
By Darcie Little Badger

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

In this prequel to Elatsoe, Ellie’s grandmother, Shane and her mother Lorenza track missing people. Like Ellie, Shane can commune with spirit animals and her ghost dog Nellie is her constant companion. One day, Lorenza disappears after responding to a call about a sixteen-year-old girl and a ten-year-old boy who went out for a walk and never returned. Shane has never tracked anyone without Lorenza, but she is determined to find the missing siblings and bring her mother back home. While searching, Shane stumbles upon a fairy ring near the site of an abandoned house where the children were believed to play. Fairy rings, follow their own rules of magic, creating portals to other realms. Could they possibly have passed through? And if so, where might they have landed? How far will Shane go to retrieve her mother and the missing children?

I was delighted to return to the world of Elatsoe. Darcie Little Badger has created a fantastical world that is at once recognizable and yet wonderfully just out of reach. On its surface, Sheine Lende is a mystery, but layered within its narrative are the Lipan Apache’s history and struggles - issues of displacement from traditional homes, local authority’s disinterest in the disappeared, loss and collective grief. I also appreciate how Little Badger seamlessly weaves Lipan lore, customs and traditions within the story. But as was true with Elatsoe, it’s the credible characters and their relationships with one another that will win you over.


Many thanks to the author @Dr.LittleBadger, @LevineQuerido and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. DNF. I will not finish. This book is a little too slow for my taste. I really liked the first book so I thought I’d give this a try, but I’m not really into YA anymore. This makes me give a star rating.

4.5 stars rounded up

If you loved Elatsoe you should definitely pick up Sheine Lende as well! This follows Ellie's grandmother as a teen girl in the 1970's when magic makes her mom and two kids disappear and Shane is on a mission to find them, even if it means a trip to the underworld. It's a slower-paced novel that is as interested in developing the characters and their backgrounds as it is in the search and rescue with mystery elements. It's a lovely, heartfelt story with adventure that expands on the magical world of Elatsoe and integrates the history and culture of the Lipan Apache people. Loved it! I received a copy of this book for review via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I read Elatsoe in 2021 and liked it. Here we go again, the prequel. It is set in the 1970s, focussing on Elatsoe’s grandmother Shane.

Pretty illustrations again above each chapter. Young adult, 12 years and up. I am not a big fan of YA, but this was very readable. Shane is 17 years old and comes across as very mature. There’s no silly romance. It doesn’t feel too strongly like YA.

Themes are loss of identity, community and family. Shane is a Lipan Apache. Her family lost their home in a flood and the community has been scattered. They live in Texas. Her mother works in search-and-rescue, finding lost people with her dogs. She teaches Shane, who goes on searches with her. There is also Shane‘s little brother, Marco. And eventually their grandfather Louis.

This is a world in which magic exists. The women of Shane‘s family can call the ghosts of animals. One of their tracking dogs, Nelly, is her mother‘s old dog, retuned as a ghost. This world knows fae. They are aliens from a different realm, an anomaly in space and time, from different planets, connected to Earth by fairy rings. Vampires are known as well, although we don‘t meet any of them this time around.

Someone is lost. And in the process of finding them, Shane‘s mother is lost as well. It is now up to Shane and her family and friends to figure out what happened and to find her mother.

I am still debating how much I liked the last third of the story. It‘s the most otherworldly part and the resolution seems to be a bit too easy and superficially told. I was missing a deeper look into how it all resolved itself. If that makes sense.

Still, I liked this and I would definitely get any further books in this word and recommend them to others.

PS: yes, there are mammoths on the cover. No, I am not telling you why.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

I read the ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

I think I appreciated this prequel more than I did Elatsoe (which I also liked, just didn't quite gel with) - the characters still feel written younger than their age (style-wise, voice-wise, not maturity-wise), but the narration worked a little better (and the suggestion that this is a story told to a younger sibling could actually account for the younger feel) and the conclusion was so satisfying, both as a balancing of the scales and as a beautifully executed plot-twist. The characters were engaging and lovely, and the prose very pleasant.

Sign me up for the third book with a ghost cat.

Darcie Little Badger is a truly exceptional storyteller, and her writing is a testament to her incredible skills. I was eagerly anticipating her next book, As the world she had created was one I longed to be a part of. The author, is someone I wish I had the chance to read when I was growing up. One aspect I truly admire about this author's work is the representation of diverse characters. I'm always eager to get my hands on their books, as I can always relate to the characters or see a resemblance to someone I know. The book emphasizes the importance of family, even in the face of brokenness.

"Sheine Lende" by Darcie Little Badger is definitely worth the read. It's a little harder to follow than Elatsoe was. I also struggled with the shift in narrator perspective. Still, the story is gripping and engaging. The characters are well thought out and well developed. An enjoyable read.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

This book was, ultimately, magnificent.

Sheine Lende felt a little darker, a little more grown-up than Elatsoe, and it was excellent. The realities of growing up Lipan Apache were fully dug into, including poor living conditions, poverty, and exploitation, but the characters are not miserable for this. It felt quite real - this was accepted, but not a fate they felt resigned to.

Just as in Elatsoe, the characters and the world are wonderful. Beautifully built, with the magic in the world perfectly natural, and the characters are exceptionally human. I often struggle with teen characters in YA, but the teenagers in this felt perfectly their ages, and very realistic for it.

Pacing-wise, I did feel like the plot moved slowly in parts, and maybe a little too fast at the end. It isn't a fast story by any means, and it is better for taking its time, but those are parts where I wish it had been paced a little differently.

And oh, I cried. The way that grief is written is beautiful, and it ripped my heart out enough that I had to put it down and sob for a while.

I will admit, it did throw me off that Shane being Ellie's grandmother and growing up in the seventies threw me off a bit. It makes perfect mathematical sense, but it's disorienting!

Overall, though, a fantastic book, and a fantastic sequel.

A beautiful addition to the Elatsoe series!

Shane and her mother Lorenza rescue lost people. When Lorenza disappears while searching for a missing teen and child, it's up to Shane and her mother's ghost dog to find out where a fairy ring sent them.

I loved the way this adventure was told, and I always appreciate Sapphic representation, even if it was in side characters. The writing was gorgeous, steeped in storytelling, and I wholly identified with Shane's loss of her father. I hope to see more from this universe!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

I loved the book, but still felt like with this, as with Elatsoe, that the dialogue felt weird to me. Overall a great novel, I loved how they expanded on the world, and the magic. I think the characters were well crafted and that the plot was compelling and kept me interested throughout the novel.

5 stars

"And Shane whispered to her father, "Why is this happening to us? What did we do to deserve this? He looked her in the eyes - his face was gaunt now, his cheekbones were too sharp, and his chin was rough with patchy stubble, but is expression was so tender - and he said, "Nothing. Tragedies aren't punishments."

Darcie Little Badger delivers another 5 star read. Her writing and her stories sing to my soul.

This is the third book I've ready by this author. Elatsoe is in my top three favorite books of all time. I read A Snake Falls to Earth last year and was again simply blown away by the storytelling. In Sheine Lende, we get a prequel to Elatsoe and we spend time with Shane, Ellie's grandmother, as she navigates high school, a part time job at a pizza place, and assisting her mother Lorenza in finding the missing. We follow Shane, her little brother Marcos, her mother Lorenza, her best friend Amelia, and Shane's recently returned grandfather Louis. When Lorenza goes missing while searching for two lost children. it's up to Shane to find her.

My absolute favorite thing about this book, and all of this author's works, is the clear respect each of the main characters have for each other. Children respect their elders and the elders respect the children. When a character shares their truth, they are listened to and believed. This goes for friendships as well. I just can't describe how much this means to me. My second favorite thing are the pets, both living and dead and how they are members of the family and who love and are loved so deeply. The connections between the human characters and the natural world are so strong and meaningful. The supernatural elements are so much fun, and I love they way they are just accepted by everyone, even people who can't see or feel them.

I recommend this book and this author to everyone. I would say that I think reading Elatsoe before reading this one helped me to understand the world building more than I would have otherwise, but if you go into this one blind I still think there is so much to enjoy.

5/5 stars with a warming ghostly glow...

In my very first review of Elatsoe back in 2021, I named it “one of those magical books I wish had been around when I was a child”, as it would’ve been a foundational book for me. Luckily, that never stopped me from adoring it all the same as an adult, and joyfully adding it to my all-time favourite list. Since then, I’ve reread it a number of times and have been well on my way to considering Darcie Little Badger a favourite author, sheerly based on my love for this one book.
Then came the announcement I didn’t see coming; a new book in the same world, functioning as a prequel to Elatsoe. After finishing Sheine Lende, I can confidently say that I’m no longer “considering Darcie Little Badger might become a favourite author”; she is an all-time favourite for sure!

The Story:
Sheine Lende is set in the same world as Elatsoe, and functions as a prequel to Ellie’s story. Although there are references to the first book throughout, the story follows a completely new cast of characters and can be read as a standalone as well.
We follow Shane, Ellie’s grandmother, whom we already know has lead an interesting life, and shared the same talents of communicating with (animal) spirits. Shane works with her mother and their ghost dogs, tracking down missing persons even when their families can't afford to pay and authorities don’t seem to care. When her mother, alongside a local boy, is next in line to disappear after a strange interaction with a fairy ring, Shane takes it upon herself and her ghost dogs to return her home safely. Together with her brother, her friends, and her lone, surviving grandparent - who isn't to be trusted - set off on a journey to find them. But they may not be anywhere in this world - or this place in time.

What I loved:
I’ve mentioned before that Elatsoe is one of those quintessential comfort books for me. There is an almost indescribable quality to the writing that radiates comfort, warmth and whimsy, despite not shying away from heavier subject matter. Sheine Lende, carries forward that same atmosphere through its shared themes. Both stories are essentially about family and generational -love (covering both biological family and found-family alike), and how these connections to our supporting networks can carry us through the darkest of times. The worldbuilding is rooted in Apache mythology, from an own-voice perspective of the author. I deeply admire how the author manages to honour her culture and history by intertwining threads of generational- and cultural trauma specific to the native America experience, whilst also writing about themes universal enough to be relatable for readers from a variety of backgrounds.
None of this was a surprise of course; I knew full well that Darcie Little Badger was capable of this kind of writing from reading Elatsoe. What díd surprise me was how invested I got in the new cast of characters from page one. I didn’t think Shane would be able to hold a candle to my love and investment in Ellie and Kirby, yet I think I loved both protagonist equally in the end. Ellie and Shane are distinctly different, strong characters, but share a very important quality. They both are strong because their community allows them to be. They stand on the shoulders of giant and know themselves to be backed by the ghost of the generations that proceeded them. That powerful sense of connection is the backbone to anchor of the story and the beating heart of my love for it.
This is where I’d usually include my “what I didn’t love”-section, but I honestly have no points of critique to give here… Elatsoe did something truly special for me: it’s the kind of book that feels like a strengthening and encouraging hug from a loved one. I didn’t think Sheine Lende, would be able to repeat that, but it absolutely did! This is a novel I cannot recommend highly enough.

Many thanks to the author and Levine Querido for providing me with (yes, I’ve said it!) my most anticipated ARC of the year. All opinions are my own.

This was the adventure story I didn't know I needed, and cannot live without! I haven't read Elatsoe, but it is now that the top of my TBR because of how much I loved Sheine Lende. The main character Shane is a reluctant hero who doesn't back down or give up once she's thrust into a quest to save a lost boy and her mom. This book is plot-driven with high stakes, and those stakes do not let up until you reach the epilogue. I highly recommend this book for folks who love adventure, light-fantasy, and plot-driven stories.

A beautiful book and so beautifully written. This prequel immerses us in the story of Shane who along with his mother can train ghosts, so they are sought to find some missing children, which immerses us in a mystery plot, but everything is complicated when Shane's mother also disappears and now it is up to her to find them and find out why it happened.

We are immersed in the stories of the ancestors and how they build us to some extent into who we are now; how those powers develop throughout the story and how we see this fantasy point with the family's ghost dogs to solve the mystery.

The beautiful illustrations shown in each chapter of the story gives a super beautiful touch to the story and a point to fall in love with. The world building gives us a glimpse into the indigenous culture and all the folklore of these groups.


Do I recommend it? Yes, it is a beautiful story that you can get to like with that point between magical realism and fantasy that can interest many.

My queer book club (Reading Rainbow Queer Book Club @doverpubliclibrary, drop by if you’re in the area!) read Elatsoe (the first book of this series) last year and I loved it. Big thanks to @netgalley and @levinequerido for the ARC of this book.

This book follows Ellie’s great grandmother, Shane, and is a prequel to the events in Elatsoe. If you’ve read the first one you may remember that instead of ghost dogs, Shane could call ghost mammoths. And this the story of how that came to be.

Shane and her mother rescue people who have gotten lost in the wilderness. When a teenage girl and her little brother go missing in strange circumstances they call on Shane and Lorenza to find them. But a simple lost in the woods case turns out to be more complex than expected, involving strange faerie rings and the possibility that the missing kids might not actually even be on earth any more. When Shane’s mother suddenly goes missing too and the government swoops in and shuts down all information, Shane knows that it’s up to her to rescue everyone who is missing. Turns out where they are is stranger than anyone could have expected.

Read This If You - loved Elatsoe, want to read more stories by indigenous authors, like a good paranormal mystery, love stories of intergenerational families, love dogs (especially ghost dogs!)