This book, which focuses on two Métis sisters, June and Lyn, examines what happens when their estranged white mother Renee is called out as a pretendian. An artist, going by the name Raven Bearclaw, she has enjoyed considerable success copying the Indigenous Woodland Art style. When the story is made public, the sisters read enraged online commentary. As they consider what effects Renee’s false representation will have on them and what to do about her lies, painful memories of their relationships with their mother resurface.

The two siblings have reacted differently to their childhood experiences involving their mother. Lyn, a potter and single mother, has anger that has never gone away and has abandonment issues because of Renee’s actions in the past. June is a respected Métis Studies professor who fears her reputation will suffer because of her mother’s falsehoods.

What the novel emphasizes is that it is Indigenous people, who already carry the weight of identity issues, who are re-traumatized when people falsely claim Indigenous identity; it is people like Lyn and June who have to prove that they are actually Métis. June discusses “the problems with Redface or the taking on of any face. How when those with a power take from those who do not, it is not just taking up space, it’s actually violence.” The book also emphasizes that self-identification is insufficient: “’Racial identity isn’t only about you, it’s about community . . . Who you claim but also who claims you.’”

It is obvious that the author is very proud of her Métis heritage: “’Métis actually means a whole people with a history, language, culture and years and years of struggle. These fakers don’t get to have all that.’” And she emphasizes that others should take pride in their heritage as well. Renee, for instance, is part Mennonite and June says, “It’s a rich, colourful, surprising, exceptional culture in its own right. By taking our stories she is effectively discrediting her own, and those of her actual ancestors. That’s sad to me. That’s a missed opportunity.’”

I loved the portrayal of the relationship between the two sisters. It’s obvious that the two love each other, though there are inevitable tensions. And as I know from personal experience, siblings experience childhood events differently and will remember them differently.
Renee is a character who did not arouse much empathy in me. Not only does she take advantage of grants intended for Indigenous artists and accept awards as if she qualified for them, she even uses her ex-husband’s story of growing up Métis as her own. I agree with June that this last is a “particularly sharp violation.” However, her ex-husband, the girls’ father, explains Renee’s anger by saying that “’some people get like that when they’re hurting, always mad at someone.’” He also suggests that she may have a border personality disorder: “’it means you can’t control what you do or your emotions or something. Extreme, that’s it. Those people are extreme in how they deal with things.’” Clearly, we are not to see her as totally evil.

The subject of forgiveness is discussed. When the sisters discuss how to forgive their mother, “’someone who doesn’t think they did anything wrong,” it is suggested that “’You don’t forgive people for them, you forgive them for you . . . so you can stop harping on it. Stop letting it all affect you.’”

This novel is very timely because there have been a number of instances of pretendianism in the news recently, including the controversy surrounding Buffy Sainte-Marie’s dubious claims of Indigeneity. I recommend this look at the dehumanizing effects of pretendianism.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is another great one from Katherena Vermette y'all! I just can't get enough of her writing, her characters, and her deep understanding of families no matter how complicated and flawed. This is a timely topical book about appropriation, but more than that I think has really good a true things to say about proximity to identity not being the same as that identity. She also does a great job illustrating why it matters without hitting you over the head with it. As a settler, it is always important to be reminded of the differences between appropriation and appreciation. For me though this book is less about the politics (though important) and more about how that appropriation is a form of abuse and in this case the continuation of a life of abuse, and what that can do within an already complicated family. In true Vermette form what could be a very heavy topic is so filled with the love this family has for each other and the care they take sometimes in subtle forms for one another which is really the reason I think her books are so freakin magical. LOVED!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Katherena Vermette has created another beautiful book. This one astonishes by weaving tidbits of metis history through the poetry of her words. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book continues to follow the Stranger family, as with "The Break," "The Strangers," and "The Circle," but I feel that it could be read as a standalone without being confusing to the reader.

June and Lyn, sisters, are Métis, through their dad. Their mother, Renee, has been claiming to be Indigenous for the last 10 years to advance her art career as "Raven Bearclaw," and the truth is finally coming out to reveal her as a pretendian.

This story touches on Lyn and June in the aftermath. It asks, how accountable should children be held to their parents' actions? It looks at the conflicting feelings of knowing something is wrong but still, that's your parent.

I love Lyn and June. I feel for them. I definitely recommend anything Katherena Vermette writes.

Another powerful story by one of my fav writers about family, sisterhood, identity, cultural appropriation, intergenerational trauma and so much more.

Told from the alternating perspectives of two half Metis sisters, this book follows their different reactions when their white French Canadian artist mother's claims to Indigenous heritage is revealed to be false.

Timely, heartbreaking, and extremely moving, this book also touches on neglect, mental health, art, ambition and what it means to belong to a community.

Great on audio and highly recommended! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

CW: parental drug use, neglect, racism and childhood trauma

“Having empathy doesn’t mean not having accountability. I do think it’s good to consider people’s motivations and try and understand. That’s how we stop things, fix things, make them better.”

In this novel about a mother outed for appropriating Indigenous heritage, a surprisingly intimate and gentle story about two sisters takes centre stage.

By Manitoba-based Michif writer vermette, this is a novel about two sisters, lyn and June, Michif (Red River Métis) women whose mother, a celebrated artist who claims to be Indigenous, is called out for being a “pretendian,” falsely claiming Indigenous heritage.

This is a notable Canadian issue and real ones gave me a wider view. Briefly: Renee is French Canadian and Mennonite by birth and married lyn and June’s father, who is Métis. She’s taken their stories as her own. The sisters are hurt and angry, but also feel guilty: they knew their mother had used her claims to further her art career, and they’d stayed mostly silent for years.

It was interesting how vermette explores the issue but largely writes the story with Renee off the page. It becomes a narrative of these two sisters: real, truthful, and stark. It addresses their childhood in flashbacks, speaking to their ways of coping and how they negotiate their current relationships. It’s a story that has a lot of love at the centre; it has a big heart and despite its difficult subject matter, it presents a balanced look at the issue, and a compassionate view of…well, just about everyone involved.

The writing style is gentle, often with short paragraphs. Exposition alternates with emotional moments, and I loved how lyn’s sections occasionally became poetry on the page. lyn connects with the land and her heritage through art and making clay pots, a beautiful thing. June is the intellectual, but she is drawn back into family and learns that tolerating difficult things sometimes yields something wonderfully new.

And I also love the cover art by Vancouver-based Cree-Métis illustrator Julie Flett!

Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for a gifted copy.

I dove into this book without reading the blurb and was surprised to learn that it’s about pretendians (people who pretend to be Indigenous). It’s also about family, trauma, and belonging, but the theme of being real or a lie is strong.

The book is told by two sisters, lyn and June, with different sections in their respective perspectives. I really enjoyed getting to know them and their other family members, like their kids and their younger sister Yoyo. They’re both complex and imperfect in perfect ways.

The parts about academia were definitely too close to home at points and reminded me of an experience with a prof I had during my undergrad, which was… yeesh. Lots of discussion about how hypocritical and ironic some parts of academia and the institution of education are- like creating terms like settler colonialism and not taking action.

The dialog from the pretendian was very real, like so real that even I was getting mad at them haha! The frustration was mounting for sure.

The points about imposter syndrome and privilege, as well as white supremacy, were really powerful. There were just so many great conversations throughout the book that really get you thinking.

Overall, I highly recommend this book, though it may be infuriating at times because vermette captures these issues sooooo well!!

Katherena Vermette is an amazing storyteller and writer. I loved that this is connected to her other books although I wish the publisher had included a family tree for the Stranger family as it took me a long time to place Lyn and June within that family and only did once I finally found my copy of The Strangers. Maybe the finished copy has a family tree but I read from an advance copy.

Release date September 4, 2024. Traditional format 📕 (digital). This book follows the story of two Michif sisters June (a professor of Métis studies) and Lyn (a potter/artist). Their mother Renee, an artist (Raven BearClaw) is accused of being a “pretendian”.

I wanted to love this book. The writing style was unique and someone poetic at times but by half way through nothing had drawn me in. The book was slow and draggy and I had no connection to the characters and had no desire to see what happened in the end. I did not finish at 62% mark as this book just wasn’t for me.

I wasn’t sure whether to give this a rating however having finished the majority of the book before not finishing and investing several hours I will give this a 2.5/5. The style of writing was interesting but the content was not enough to carry me through.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada | Hamish Hamilton for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

vermette explores the issue of identity through the story of June and lyn, two Michif sisters who watch their estranged, white mother be called out as a "pretendian" in the media. Horrified by their mothers behaviour, they also have to worry about the ramifications it will have on each of their respective careers, one in academia, one in the arts and how best to respond to the allegations, allegations which they know to be true. Using alternating POVs between June and lyn, we watch the sisters struggle with ownership of their identity and family loyalty. Do they owe their mother their support simply because she is their mother?

vermette's spare writing style almost borders on poetic at times, as she depicts each sister's struggle.

Fantastic book.

Chi Miigwetch Katherena Vermette! Another fabulous and heart wrenching book. I’’m a big fan of this Métis author, and LOVE her work. As a settler I’m trying to do my work towards reconciliation and this book drove home for me how much I need to learn and how important Vermette’s contributions are. From a literary perspective I adore the strong women she writes, their complexities and their abilities to laugh and love. This book is very timely with all the “pretendians” we are seeing “outted” in numerous areas of our society including art and academia. This book challenged me, made me think and wish the Juniper and Lyn could be my friends. I can’t wait to read what Vermette writes next. READ THIS BOOK!

Real ones by Katherena Vermette. Publishing on September 3rd, 2024 by Hamish Hamilton/Penguin.
The story follows two Michif/Metis sisters- Lyn, and June. Lyn lives in Winnipeg with her daughter Willow, and has her pottery artwork keeping her busy. June lives in Vancouver where she teaches Metis studies. She takes a job in Winnipeg (her home), and moves her family there.
While their lives are busy with their families, a bomb is dropped-their mom Renee is called out as a “pretendian”. Praised for her Indigenous work, and awards, she is called out on pretending to be something she isn’t-indigenous.

The media takes a hold of the news and the news send the sisters into a spiral. They cycle through trying to keep their day-to-day lives running, while struggling with the trauma and PTSD caused by their Mother.
Vermette’s prose is blunt and pulls off what few can-a conversation about indigenous identiy using a fictional lens. I get the feeling there may be autobiographical things running through this novel.
I feel like Vermette is building on the conversation about identity, and it is a conversation we all need to have, or continue to have.
4/5

I was so excited when I heard Katherena Vermette was coming out with another book, and I absolutely loved real ones!

While I tried really hard to figure out if there was a connection between the Strangers family in this book at the family in The Strangers, I'm not too sure if there is a connection as this one has been described as a standalone (so far anyway). Similar to her other trilogy, real ones features female main characters who are siblings and Metis. The two main characters in this story are June, a Metis Studies professor currently in the process of moving from BC to Winnipeg for a new position, and Lyn, an artist who makes pottery in Winnipeg. The women's mother is called out as being a "pretendian" after taking advantage of grants and using her ex-husband's stories of growing up as a Metis person in Winnipeg as her own story. For June, once the truth comes out she worries about her image and role in the community, as well as the respect and credibility she wants to bring to her new job. And for Lyn, difficult memories of her childhood come flooding back as she begins to reflect on the relationship she had with her mother, and the many positive and negative relationships she had with others as she grew up.

As I expected, I loved this book. Of course the Winnipeg references were great, but Vermette's writing is just so unique. I love the interconnected stories, the excellent character development and the strong female characters. The issue of false representation is huge and she covered it clearly and with multiple perspectives. Unfortunately, some people don't get it, but perhaps a story like this one might just help someone understand why misrepresenting your ethnicity is a problem. Read this book, it is fabulous. Thanks so much to @netgalley and the publisher @penguinrandomca for giving me the chance to read this wonderful story. It comes out September 3rd!