The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
My name is Buck and I am in 6th grade. I enjoy soccer, time with my friends, and playing with my pug, Peppa.
The Marrow Thieves is a fictional novel written by an Indigenous Canadian author. The book tells the story of Frenchie, a teen who loses his family members and is on his own, trying to escape the Recruiters. The setting is the 2050s and the world has been badly affected by global warming. Many people become stressed by the environmental changes and start to emotionally suffer as their lives change. Most people lose the ability to dream, but not the Indigenous people. The Recruiters are government agents sent to round up Indigenous children to take them to special school where they hold them captive. They also extract their bone marrow there because it holds the key to being able to dream. The people who have their bone marrow taken die in the process. Frenchie is running and is found by a group of indigenous people who are also on the run. They become his family.
Most of the story is about the relationships between the individuals of the group as they travel searching for more Indigenous people while trying to escape the Recruiters. The story is also about preserving their native culture, which has been lost over time. Remembering their native language and culture is important for their survival. This is based on historical events, as a reflection of residential schools were opened in Canada for Indigenous children in 1876. The schools were made to promote learning English and white culture. However, this also meant separating the children from their own people, languages and traditions. The last school was closed in Canada in 1996.
In the end, this story is really about doing whatever it takes to preserve the things that are important as individuals and as a community. I enjoyed this book because there was action, the characters were described very well, and the book had an important message. There was some objectionable language in the book, as well as a couple of graphic scenes. I would recommend this book for ages 13 and up.
