The Marrow Thieves

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A story about family, love, heritage, survival. As French realizes in the end, "as long as there are dreamers left, there will never be want for a dream. And I understood just what we would do for each other, just what we would do for the ebb and pull of the dream, the bigger dream that held us all. Anything. Everything." Even though this story is set in the future, it feels eminent and real. It's sad to say, but I can picture things turning out this way, and that makes this into an important cautionary tale. It's a warning to be vigilant and watchful about the way we treat others, especially those who are already marginalized as a people group. This is an important book to read, and a story that sucks you in from the very first page.

I loved the different relationships in this group, and the way new families were built, not based on blood, but based on care, devotion, friendship, and love. Watching French and Rose fall in love was tender and sweet, but I also treasured their relationships with each of the others, with Miig, and Wab, and Chi-Boy, and Minerva, and Ri-Ri. It was interesting to see the dynamics of different types of family play out when French found his father again - just because he had found his "real" family, his blood, didn't mean that the gang from the woods that he had spend the last 5 years living with wasn't his family anymore. Where does your loyalty lie when you have more than one allegiance? I appreciated what his father said to him at the end, whenever French was trying to figure out how to tell him he was leaving. Quoting his mother, he said, "...Running only works if you're moving towards something, not away. Otherwise, you'll never get anywhere." Passing down the history of their people was essential to survival and healing, but it was equally important that they look to the future and not live in the past.

Running through this story is French's coming-of-age tale. Through his eyes, we see the disintegration of our society, but we also see the personal side of all the little moments that grow him from a child to an adult. He definitely didn't have an easy childhood, losing his family one by one, and in a way, he lucked out when he stumbled upon a new family in Miig and the others. There are moments through out the story that are real turning points for French - the moose in the woods, grabbing the electric fence, Rose in the hotel, Ri-Ri's death, killing the Indian who wasn't an Indian, finding his father again, Minerva's passing, choosing Rose as his family, finding Isaac - and we can see how his reaction to those moments shaped his character and defined him as a person. French had so much responsibility for someone so young that I occasionally forgot that he was still a teenager. When he's irrationally jealous of anyone who looks at Rose, and blames her for other people's actions, I want to punch him. It helps to remind myself of his youth, and his insecurities that stem from his age, and that Rose can stand up for herself, because she is a strong woman.

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