This is an assignment for SHSU LSSL 5361
If you loved the cozy, ghost-filled alternate reality of Darcie Little Badger’s Elatsoe, prepare to be completely swept away by its prequel, Sheine Lende. Set in the magic-infused Texas of the 1970s, the story follows seventeen-year-old Shane—a Lipan Apache tracker who uses her keen observation skills alongside ghost animal companions to find missing people. When her mother vanishes into a mysterious portal created by an alien fairy ring, Shane must step up, gather her loved ones, and embark on a perilous dimensional rescue mission across unfamiliar and dangerous magical landscapes.
What makes Sheine Lende so remarkable is how effortlessly Little Badger’s worldbuilding feels. Fantasy elements like portals, standard folklore, and animal specters are seamlessly woven into a story deeply anchored in Indigenous history, family loyalty, and intergenerational healing. Shane’s journey is less about individual heroism and more about the power of kinship, elders, and collective memory. Rather than relying on a classic "chosen one" trope, the narrative emphasizes community agency, showing how shared cultural knowledge and family bonds serve as the ultimate defense against both supernatural and real-world threats.
Critical to the novel’s success is its balanced exploration of historical injustice and non-linear time, blending suspense and high-stakes adventure with quiet moments of humor and warmth. The dimensional rift functions as a poignant metaphor for the displacement and loss experienced by Indigenous communities, yet the tone remains hopeful and grounded in living culture. Highly recommended for secondary school library collections, this young adult novel stands as a brilliant example of Indigenous futurism that will captivate fantasy lovers and literary readers alike.
Little Badger, D. (2024). Sheine Lende: A prequel to Elatsoe. Levine Querido. ISBN: 978-1646143795
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