Young Adult: 2021 Releases

Christian Allaire (Nipissing First Nation Ojibwe)

Style is not just the clothes on our backs — it is self-expression, representation, and transformation. As a fashion-obsessed Ojibwe teen, Christian Allaire rarely saw anyone that looked like him in the magazines or movies he sought out for inspiration. Now, as the Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue, he is working to change that — because clothes are never just clothes. In this book, Allaire discusses topics like cosplay, makeup, hijabs, and hair, probing the connections between fashion and history, culture, politics, and social justice.

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Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians)

Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When family tragedy strikes, Daunis must put her plans for college on hold to care for her ailing mother. Now, she finds solace in her deepening friendship with Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team—but even as she falls for him, she knows something isn’t right. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug. Drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine, Daunis goes undercover to track down the source, but the search proves more complicated than she imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. As the deceptions—and deaths—keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and decide how far she will go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

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Patricia Cutright (Cheyenne River Sioux)

Native women have filled their communities with strength and leadership, both historically and as modern-day warriors. The twelve Native American and First Nations women featured in this book overcame unimaginable hardships – racial and gender discrimination, abuse, and extreme poverty – only to rise to great heights in the fields of politics, science, education, and community activism. The impressive accomplishments of these dynamic women provide inspiration for all. Their determination and courage reflect the essence of the traditional Cheyenne saying: “A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground.”

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Cherie Dimaline (Metis Nation of Ontario)

In a dystopian future, the Indigenous people of North America are being hunted and locked in residential schools for their unique ability to dream, rumored to be housed in the marrow of their bones. Since losing his family to one of these schools, seventeen-year-old French has been traveling north with a group of other dreamers who, like him, are trying to build and thrive as a community. But when French wakes up in a pitch-black room, locked in and alone for the first time in years, he knows immediately where he is — and what it will take to escape. Meanwhile, out in the world, French’s found family searches for him and dodges new dangers: school Recruiters, a blood cult, even the land itself. When their paths finally collide, French must decide how far he is willing to go — and how many loved ones he is willing to betray — in order to survive.

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Wab Kinew (Onigaming First Nation)

In the real world, Bugz is a shy and self-conscious Indigenous teen who faces the stresses of teenage angst and life on the Rez; but in the virtual world, her alter ego is not just confident but dominant in a multiplayer video game universe. Feng is a teen boy who has been sent from China to live with his aunt, a doctor on the Rez, after his online activity suggests he may be developing extremist sympathies. Meeting in real life and the virtual world, Bugz and Feng immediately relate to each other as outsiders and as avid gamers. As their connection is strengthened through their virtual adventures, they find that they have much in common in the real world, too: both must decide what to do in the face of temptations and pitfalls, and both must grapple with the impacts of family challenges and community trauma. But betrayal soon threatens everything Bugz has built in the virtual world, as well as her relationships in the real world, and it will take all her newfound strength to restore her friendship with Feng and reconcile the parallel aspects of her life: the traditional and the mainstream, the east and the west, the real and the virtual.

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Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache)

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there, and still believes in the old stories. Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Cast out from his home, he has found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake. Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists, but a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries. But there are some who will kill to keep them apart.

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Gary Robinson (Choctaw/Cherokee)

Discover the unique lives and career paths of twelve Indigenous people who are actively working in the complex entertainment industry, either in front of or behind the camera. In addition to acting, their work includes motion picture, television, and digital production in such roles as director, producer, writer, cinematographer and editor. Included in these biographies are real-world descriptions of what each member of a production team does, as well as advice on what it takes to get started in the entertainment industry.

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Laurie Halse Anderson

Women change the world — they’ve been doing it for centuries. This anthology introduces readers to real-world heroes who exemplify the best of Wonder Woman herself: her strength, compassion, and commitment to truth, equality, and justice. Read the stories of women like Beyoncé, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Judith Heumann, Marsha P. Johnson, Francisca Nneka Okeke, Greta Thunberg, Serena Williams, Malala Yousafzai, and Teara Fraser (written by Traci Sorell [Cherokee] and Natasha Donovan [Métis]).

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Anton Treuer (White Earth Nation)

This book provides questions and answers for Native and non-Native young readers alike. Ranging from “Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?” to “Why is it called a ‘traditional Indian fry bread taco’?“ and beyond, Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask does exactly what its title says for young readers. Tough, difficult, and nuanced questions are addressed with a gentle hand.

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