When a young girl goes missing, Shane, her mother Lorenza and their trained dogs are called for a search and rescue mission. One of these dogs called Nellie however, has died years ago. For generations, Shane’s family has passed down the ability to raise ghosts, allowing Nellie to continue these missions even after his death.

After the girl is safely returned home, another family asks Shane’s mother for her assistance in the search of two missing siblings. Mere hours after the search began, Shane gets a phone call, telling her that her mother has also gone missing. Now it is up to her to discover the mysterious circumstances under which the sibings and her mother have seemingly vanished into thin air, with her ghost dog Nellie on her side at all times

I’m a huge fan of Darcie Little Badgers writing. Her stories feel very organic and all seemingly loose ends tie into each other in the end. Almost every interaction and friendship forged serve the plot. Shane’s Lipan Apache heritage is beautifully described, and present in every part of this book. The memories of Shane’s childhood make the reader feel almost nostalgic and do a great job at describing Shane’s motivations and personality.

The short detours into stories of Shane’s ancestors are always refreshing and well thought out. They give us very real snippets of a culture and its people, and how it translates into a fantasy setting.

As the story progresses, we get to see more of Shane’s powers, which are unlike anything I’ve read in Fantasy. Usually in literature, the raising of ghosts isn’t seen as the serene and helpful power it is in this book, but it definitely works.

The chapter heading illustrations by Rovina Cai accompany the story well, visually tying the book together with their unique, slightly sketch-like appearance.

Sheine Lende is a fantasy book unlike any I’ve read. Anything by Darcie Little Badger is automatically on my tbr list and so far, all of her stories have captivated me, which i expect they will continue to do.

Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for providing me an eARC to review!

After falling absolutely in love with Elatsoe, I was really excited to be getting more, especially with Rovina Cai's beautiful illustrations. Unfortunately I just really couldn't connect with this story - it started off promising with ghost-dog-assisted searches for missing people, but then kind of become an info-dumpy road trip with a bunch of characters I didn't really care for and the world felt a lot more like the 'bureaucratic magical realism' style that I just don't gel with.

Sadly, it just didn't capture the same magic Elatsoe had for me. Perhaps later in the book things may have picked up, but I didn't care enough about the plot or characters to stick with it. I'm still interested to see what the author does next though, and to try her other work A Snake Falls to Earth.

If you haven’t had the chance to pick up a book by Darcie Little Badger let this be your sign!

I’ve had Elatsoe on my bookshelf for quite some time and once I saw news of the prequel I knew it was time to dive in… which hear we are and I’ve just finished Sheine Lende and oh my word it was fantastic! Both are a must pick up!

The book is plotted around a rescue. Shane, her Mom and their ghost tracking dogs help find missing people. Then one day while on a search Shane’s mom goes missing… not only does Shane need to find her mom but also the two siblings her mom was searching for.

On Shane’s journey to bring everyone home safely you get a peek into what Shane has gone through… from her family being displaced to losing people she loved the most.

If your looking for…
A mystery
Beautiful world building
Community
A great look at Lipan Apache Culture
Ghost dogs

I’m hoping Darcie is creating more in the Elatsoe universe because I LOVE these books!

Thank you Levine Querido 📖
Release 4/16

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.Andthebookshelf/

I enjoyed this a lot! I liked the way Shane sees and interacts with the world, and how she things things through and the conclusions she comes to. It felt down-to-earth, unique, and refreshing. I also enjoyed how there was still a focus on stories, like in Elatsoe, except the point was often that Shane did not know the stories, where Ellie did. It was fun to revisit this world adjacent to ours where fairy rings and vampires and other little magics are normal, but to focus on different aspects of the magic - and to have a different experience of visiting Below for each Shane and Ellie.

My heart ached for Shane's family and the struggles they went through, and how they were given insufficient help after the flood and ultimately forced off their land. The narrative spoke a lot about how that pain persists through generations (Shane's younger brother was born after all of this, but he still felt like he remembered it) even as it feels like the Lipan people and ways of life are disappearing at the same time. It was deeply, deeply sad and very well-written.

Let's just get this out of the way, you will not have Sheine riding her ghost mammoth through this. I basically waited for it the whole book, and it doesn't happen. Expectation setting. Now, it is a fantastic story. Little Badger does really excellent mysteries in her fantastical worlds. This is an adventure/mystery/quest that is so rooted in real world issues. Loved all of it.

I wish I had books like these when I was a kid.

This is my second book by Dr. Little Badger, and I was thrilled to return to the world of Elatsoe.

The central plot of the novel concerns a rescue, Shane's, the grandmother from the first book, mother has gone missing and she sets out to find her. The first half of the novel is a bit slow paced, but the eloquence in which Little Badger weaves in Lipan Apache culture and the complexity of the characters and their relationships both to each other and the environment had me hooked.

I loved the magic and the world of Elatsoe and am so thankful for NetGalley and Levine Querido for the chance to read the ARC!

Sheine Lende follows Elatsoe’s grandmother Shane, who is a tracker. Shane and her mother are looking for missing children when Shane loses her mother as well.

The rescue is the main plot of the book, but it touches on family, identity, cultural ties to your past, and so much more on a personal level while also adding to the depth of the world Shane and Elatsoe inhabit.

This book was solid. It didn’t blow me away like Elatsoe did, but still a very enjoyable read.

It felt a little rushed at the end - especially compared to the pacing of the rest of the story, but I’ll definitely be recommending it to friends!

I love Darcy Little Badger's writing style. There is just something about it that resonates with me and it's always so lovely and immersive. I've yet to read something by her that I haven't enjoyed. Having said that, this book is so far, my least favorite of Little Badger's books. It didn't wow me as much as Elatsoe or a Snake Fell to Earth did. Those books blew me away, this one was just a book I really enjoyed. It just felt like something was missing in comparison to the author's previous two books.

It was pretty cool to get more in the same 'world' as Elatsoe. Learning more about Elatsoe's grandmother and her own story was great and the plot was pretty fascinating. I couldn't connect to the characters as much as I wanted too and some of the more minor ones just felt a little flat. Shane herself is a good protagonist and very interesting. There was also some minor plots that seemed to have been built up and then they just fizzle out and are never properly resolved or explored.

The world building is immersive and intriguing and well panned out and there's a lot of things within that world that I'd like to know more about. The fairy rings and their more extended lore and source for example.

Overall this was a great book that I really enjoyed. It was a solid addition to the world of Elatsoe.

4.5

A wonderful prequel to Elatsoe that stands well on its own. You'll learn how to say the title around page 187 this time.

CW: missing children, death of a parent, death of a grandparent, illness, dementia, mentions of blood and vomit.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of Doc’s upcoming new book and it was absolutely amazing. The world building is fantastic in a universe not entirely unlike our own and not unlike the one you wanted to live in when you were 12 and dreamed of being the chosen one. It’s a real place, her world feels lived in, it’s got magic sure but also all the colonial BS and real life traumas that we’re used to. The blend is so smooth.

We know I’m a sucker for (the land currently known as) Texas based stories and Doc being a local makes her a must read on my list. This book is set in the 1970’s on unceded native homeland and with heart and soul you feel her knowledge of that. Read Own Voices stories guys, it makes all the difference.

As extra bonus points, my favorite publishing illustrator Rovina Cai does the cover art and the chapter headers which tell a story all their own.

4.75 only because the story of Hurricane Alda made me feel so bad again (see Hurricane Harvey 2017) that I had to take three days off reading. The rage and uselessness and the scent of that moldy drywall all came back up vividly.

Sheine Lende was a quick delightful read. I could not put the book down. I had to find out how Shane was going to solve the mystery of the missing child and her mother. The words by Darcie Little Badger are beautifully written.

This was a nice return to the world of Elatsoe! Sheine Lende takes us back in time to the teenage years of Elatsoe's titular ancestor that goes by Shane most of the time. With her mother and their dogs, including ghost best boy Nellie, Shane tracks down missing people - until her mother herself disappears while tracking down two missing siblings.

The world is, once again, imaginative and intriguing and I really enjoyed revisiting it. Shane is a good protagonist, too. I did feel like the novel suffered from pacing issues, and the writing in general is rather heavy on the dialogue so I was at times admittedly a bit bored. The side characters weren't entirely fleshed out and there were some plot elements introduced that seemed to go nowhere in the end, like, for example, Shane's relationship with her grandfather. I also felt that the world building, as intriguing as the bits and pieces were, was lacking and made it hard for me to imagine all these things the author kept weaving into the plot.

So in the end, it's a solid novel for fans of Elatsoe that expands on its world by diving into the past, and it's enjoyable for what it is. It's also nothing more than that.

oh my goshhhhhh yessssssssss

I loved Elatsoe so much and this prequel really has everything I loved about that one--intriguing worldbuilding, rad characters, loving family, and real Lipan Apache history/lore.

I think it could stand alone if you haven't read Elatsoe but also like. Why haven't you read Elatsoe???

Another solid book from this author. An enjoyable read, bringing in some fun worldbuilding - it's fun to see our world with fantastical elements, just a little bit different than ours. However, this book did suffer from some uneven pacing, and it also felt like it was trying to be too many different stories at once. The grandfather elements felt like they fizzled out halfway through, the stuff with the woman in the shell seemed only to exist to bring the shells into the story, and the resolution to Shane's mother being missing was anticlimactic. I liked the characters, but some of them felt less developed; I was disappointed that there wasn't more with Amelia and Gabrielle, given their apparent importance to Shane. Also, I don't know what it was, but I never trusted Donnie. It felt like there was meant to be more there that never was fleshed out. I did enjoy this, and I really enjoy the writing style and the world in general, but I'm still waiting for a more tightly put together book that doesn't leave me thinking that this was really two different books put into one. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

I'm so happy to get to go back to the world of Elatsoe (Elatsoe Cinematic Universe?). I just really love this world and its fantastical and supernatural elements and exploration of culture and the afterlife.

Something about the way DLB writes just immerses me and gets my brain foggy brain to pay attention. The bits of humor and science nourish me.

The cornerstone of the story were the authentic characters and the relationships between them. However, the appearance of a couple of more whimsical characters stole the show for me.

What I loved about the book:
- Exploration of the afterlife (the Below)
- Portraying grief, history, culture, family and family that isn't perfect
- Tough, badass women
- Worldbuilding that doesn't overexplain and bore me to tears
- The epilogue

I really need more books in this series and world, preferably specifically with Elatsoe, my ace queen.

the heart of shiene lende
Shane, Elatsoe's grandmother, embarks on a quest to find her missing mother on an emotional journey that explores familial bonds, cultural identity, and the spirit of a family that faced tragedy and historical injustices. The novel stands out for its intricate plot, rich character development, and combination of fantasy elements with modern issues​​, like how Native American land was taken.

a richly woven world
What sets "Sheine Lende" apart is Little Badger's skillful worldbuilding where the supernatural coexists with everyone else. Faeries, vampires, and the ghostly land Below are only a few elements in this book. The idea is that these ghost-whisperers live among ordinary people. At its heart, the story remains human, exploring the strength of a family.

themes and reflections
"Sheine Lende" dives into the exploration of cultural identity and generational trauma. The complexity of relationships (like between Shane and her brother, her grandfather, and her friends) adds layers to the story. And the novel doesn't shy away from discussing social themes, making it a great read for young adults navigating their understanding of the world.

why it stands out
Darcie Little Badger’s ability to blend classic fantasy elements with modern issues sets "Sheine Lende" apart. The novel is not only a fantasy adventure but also a reflection on the societal challenges we face today, wrapped in a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

what i didn't like
I would rate Sheine Lende four-stars. Although there were so many good things about this book, it just wasn't for me. This genre is just one that I usually dislike, and although it was a nice, soft comfort read, there were not many plot twists or other literary devices that I usually search for in books. I think I just wasn't the intended audience for this book, so I'm not going to hold it against the author.

final thoughts
For fans of Darcie Little Badger, "Sheine Lende" is a must-read, further cementing her status as a pivotal voice in YA literature. It’s a book that not only entertains but invites readers to ponder the deeper connections between our past, our identities, and the stories we tell.

As I’ve come to expect with Darcie Little Badger’s works, this was absolutely INCREDIBLE and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy!
I loved Shane, and all her friends and the community she builds for herself and her family. The historical setting was very immersive, and as usual, the world building for this alternate, magic infused, reality was seamless.

What a wonderful book! Elatsoe and A Snake Falls to Earth were two of my favourite books, and Sheine Lende did not disappoint. It worked so well in concert with Elatsoe - so much that I immediately wanted to reread Elatsoe afterwards - but also stood very well on its own with a new cast of characters to enjoy. The worldbuilding we get with the magical elements is so intriguing and I love how well it's woven in, not entirely holding my hand but also not throwing m off the deep end in terms of setting. As always, familial and platonic relationships are such a strong centre point, and I love love love how well they're done.

It's difficult to express just how much I loved this book. Elatsoe was one of my favorite books the year that I read it, and it's already clear that Sheine Lende is going to be one of my favorite books this year. The writing is beautiful, and the world is beautiful as well. I loved the way that the fantasy elements were seamlessly a part of Shane's world in the book. I also loved the way storytelling was woven through the book. Shane's stories, as well as the stories she remembers her family telling, work perfectly in the narration.

Sheine Lende is a wonderful book about community, loss, and resilience. You don't need to have read Elatsoe in order to read and love this book, but if you loved Elatsoe, this is a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.