It was an interesting and fascinating read. I learned so much about native American culture. I would definitely recommend

I talked about this one in my Monday Reads post.
https://www.unleashingreaders.com/28463

I’ll be using this in my class!

First the cover of this book is stunning! And the content even more so. What a powerful and moving story. The journey and self discovery in this book felt truly genuine. This will definitely be one of my top reads this year

Where Wolves Don’t Die is exceptional! I’ll be adding it to my shelves to read over and over again!

Anton Treuer was a fantastic narrator and I appreciated the translation guide at the end of the book.

Where Wolves Don't Die was an amazing story. I highly recommend this novel. Where Wolves Don't Die would be an exceptional addition to any library or classroom.

15-year-old Ezra is constantly bullied. Even a house fire killing the bully's family can't stop the bullying. When Ezra is the prime suspect, his dad takes him to the Ojibwe reservation to be with his grandparents. This is a time of reflection, learning the ways of his people, learning stories of the past, and trying to discover who actually set the fire. Ezra gains a deeper respect for nature, family, and even himself.
We are reminded of the importance of cultural preservation, generational relationships, and storytelling.
Many deep topics are just barely touched on. They are so lightly mentioned that it is easy to bypass the horrific events the family has endured.
VERDICT: A must-add to expand Indigenous perspective in teen libraries.

Ezra and his struggles caught me up - dealing with bullies, being an outsider, all the accelerated awkwardness of youth, together with its natural wonder found me curious as to his resolutions and problem-solving. He's Ojibwe, and lucky to have a grandfather who can teach him the old ways, and lucky us, Reader, we have the chance to go along. There are explicit bits about animal kills, but the use of 100% of the creature, and the respectful manner in which it was done helped me over that hump (mostly). It brought up many thoughts of what if things 300-200 years ago had gone differently. . .how and where would we be today? Would we be today?

Ezra's grandfather is his cornerstone, and it was encouraging to see that relationship heal them both, and extended remedies to shorten the distance between Ezra and his father and mother as well.

Anton Treuer's book is hopeful, while being mindful of the unique cultures of indigenous peoples and the value of honesty when considering the past troubled history - all while living a 2024 life and managing the everyday challenges families face, no matter where their generations of dna point.

*A sincere thank you to Anton Treuer, RB Media, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

It was an interesting story to listen to. I like listening to First Nations, especially Ojibway, voices, as I live in their territory. I'm so glad to see more of their authors being published.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

What a unique, beautiful, cool book! I really loved this read. Ezra was such an awesome character. I feel like this book was such a great coming of age story. This book offered so much. The characters were phenomenal, the plot was really interesting. I loved the father son relationships it explored, the Indigenous experience it showcased, and the strong narrative.

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

loved this audio - such a great read. Intense suspense and wonderful mystery - you can't always see where it is going - which is great!

I loved Where Wolves Don't Die. It was an excellent YA read but still had the heft of an adult novel. Overall, great narration and storyline.

Audiobooks are very rarely my thing, but I found I quite enjoyed this one. Although I still struggled a little bit with pacing, I am as always an absolute sucker for stories about family that hit you right in the heart, and I can guarantee this one did just that.

This was a solid, YA coming-of-age novel from the perspective of a teen Indian boy.

I enjoyed seeing him connect with his culture and feel like he was achieving the markers of manhood, while gaining introspection and insight into why his father acts the way he does. There was a lot of heart in the character relationships and none of the conflict seemed unreasonable or overblown, but was handled maturely.

My only tiny nitpick is the way they refer to alpha/beta/omega dynamics in wolves which felt very Western influenced and has long been disproven, even by the scientist who originally wrote the paper.

I liked this! This isn’t my first time reading a book by a Native author, so I was familiar with some of the themes in the novel and I found it to be both entertaining and emotional. My only critique is that some of the characters felt a little one-dimensional at times, but I enjoyed the plot and narrator. Four stars!

4.25 stars

**Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Basics
Author: he/him, Indigenous Ojibwe
Genre: YA Indigenous fiction
Setting: chilly & snowy Canada & US
Themes: escape, growth, coming-of-age, return to roots, tradition, loyalty, family, love
Mood: resentful, contemplative, heartfelt

Pros
+ Ezra - 15yo Indigenous boy who returns north to his family's Canadian hunting grounds after his school bully's family is killed
+ Grandpa Liam - Ezra's grandpa who is a master hunter and wilderness expert (fav character)
+ Nora - Ezra's best friend who was also being bullied
+ Indigenous hunting methods are truly genius
+ Indigenous coming-of-age rituals
+ Indigenous life & death beliefs
+ truly gorgeous nature writing (makes me want to visit Canada)
+ made me cry fat tears

Neutral
/ This centers male experiences (through the son, father, and grandfather) told through a male POV (son). Would've loved to have a dual POV switching between the son and his best friend, a girl. Seeing how they are treated differently (expectations, rituals, hobbies) would have been very interesting.

Cons
- Mentions the alpha/beta/omega wolf hierarchy quite a lot (literally about a wolf pack & also as a metaphor for Ezra's family). However, that theory has been disproven. Wolves don't have that kind of hierarchy in the wild.

TW: bullying, death (off-page), physical injury, death of animals, parental death (off-page), cancer, skin burns, drugs (mentioned), Indigenous incarceration (off-page), Indigenous murder (mentioned), cutting up of dead animals for food, Indigenous child stealing, child death (off-page), wild animal attack, attempted r*pe/murder (off-page)

There were parts of this book that I really loved! But ultimately, I found myself wanting more emotional immediacy from Ezra as he processed his grief, anger, and growing pains. This is something I've come to expect from YA, especially; perhaps these expectations contributed to my dissatisfaction with the emotional depth in this book.

Ezra is a thoughtful Ojibwe teenager growing up between the city and ”the Rez.” This first person narrative (read beautifully by the author) unfolds a story that has a mystery at the center but mostly is about Ezra figuring out how the world works - universal teenager stuff like being mad at your parents for things they can and can’t control, how to tell someone you have feelings for that you want to be more than friends, dealing with bullying, loss and grief, and homework.

And also the perspectives, traditions, beliefs, and experiences unique to being a Native American boy in modern society. Being part of a whole community who knows from centuries of violence and oppression of their people that they have no room for error in interacting with non-natives, that their brown skin and misunderstood culture subjects them to both child welfare involvement (rooted in state sanctioned kidnapping of whole generations of children) as well as police brutality and false arrest and conviction regardless of their culpability.

“Ezra, you’ll notice many kinds of moose in the woods…Moose can be dangerous. They are usually happy to eat lily pad roots and be left alone, but on the rare occasions when one attacks a human, it is not usually a big, mature, fully-antlered male who charges. The mostly likely moose to charge a person is a young bull, and that’s the moose who is most likely to be shot, or hit by the car. You see, Ezra, the moose is a metaphor for manhood. We often make our biggest mistakes when we are young. That’s when we are most likely to drive too fast and pay the price. To experiment with alcohol and drugs. To go on a date and not respect our partner. Or to hurt ourselves . If you want to live to be a big, mature, fully antlered bull, you have to act like one. You have to move a little slower and think before you act.”

All in all, it’s a beautiful story about connection and care set in a place and culture with such deep respect for nature and animals, a way of living with the earth with mutuality rather than depletion and exploitation. I would highly recommend it to YA as well as adult audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to listen to and review this excellent audiobook.

Where Wolves Don't Die Audible
by Anton Treuer
As a reader or listener Anton Treuer is a great voice not only for his book, but for the Ojibwe language. His compassion and voice is shown throughout the book.
The book shows the complicated nature of native relationships. Especially on the boarder between Canada and United states. The Tribal land allows individuals to provide for their families through traditional roles. The problem is prejudice that is formed between law enforcement, and governance. This causes problems with investigations, and other events that affect Native Americans in both countries. The book shows the spiritual nature of Native beliefs and how they support each other traditionally. It is respectful of social rules, tribal law, and tribal belief. I think this is a great book for children of Native cultures all over the world, showing the value of family, tradition, and the guidance of balance.

I really enjoyed this audio version of Where Wolves Don't Die read by the author. He has a beautiful voice that I could cheerfully listen to for much longer. His delivery was excellent and, despite the drama, wasn't over the top. I dislike narrators who over dramatise situations. I learned at the back that Dr Treuer is a professor who teaches the Ojibwe language so I guess this goes a long way to understanding his excellent narration.

Where Wolves Don't Die tells the story of Ezra Cloud, a Native American boy, living in Northeast Minneapolis. Ezra has an ongoing feud with the local bully, Matt Schroeder. The feud comes to a head when Matt attacks Ezra's friend Nora and culminates when the Schroeder's home is burned down. For safety's sake Ezra is taken back to the family reservation where he begins to run traplines with his grandfather. Whilst there he learns not just family history but also tribal and learns to respect the landscape, it's flora and fauna - not least of all the wolves whose clan his family are part of.

This is a great YA book that delves into Ezra's state of mind very cleverly - his anger at the loss of his mother, how much he blames his father for everything, his hatred and fear of Matt. He comes across as your typical self-centred, whiny teenager who is given the chance to see what life is really all about. There's also a sweet (but not too soppy) sub-plot involving Nora.

The book gives you insights into Native American tradition and their horrific history at the hands of settlers. But it never goes too far and keeps all the information imparted as part of the story. It is all very cleverly woven together by a master storyteller.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for the advance review copy.
Edit Review

Living in Minneapolis is not easy or pleasant for Ezra Cloud. He has some friends, but there are other kids at his school who hate him and make his life miserable. Being Ojibwe makes Ezra a target for certain kids, such as Matt Schroeder. After a tragedy occurs in the neighborhood, Ezra moves to remote Canada to learn from his grandfather where he learns many valuable lessons and truly matures and grows up.

I really enjoyed this coming-of-age story about a boy, his father, and his grandfather. I have not read many stories like this one, and I enjoyed myself greatly as the story progressed. I love how it is truly about love and family, but with some mystery and tragedy sprinkled in.

I received a gifted audiobook ARC copy of this book via NetGalley from Anton Treuer and RBmedia in exchange for a complete and honest review.

The audio version of this book only made it more enjoyable. The narrator, who just so happens to be the author himself, really added an extra element to this story. I think it is amazing when an author narrates their own story. The only critique I have for the narration is that it was read really slowly, so I did end up speeding up the narration a little.

I highly recommend this book as it has important themes of love, grief, and maturity. It is a well researched, well thought-out, and insightful book on growing up in a society that is not always kind to people who are different.