It was recommended that I read this book by one of my book sites, so I listened to it on audio. I am sorry, but I just didn't connect with Mackenzie and her family. There is a lot of folklore about the First Nations people referred to continually in this book, and that includes a lot of their beliefs and superstitions, but I couldn't relate. The book is very well-written, and the characters are realistic. If you like fantasy and things that go bump in the night, this book might be for you. It is written by a Canadian First Nations author, and I liked the Canadiana scenery both in Vancouver and in Northern Alberta. I also enjoyed the family closeness displayed by this one Cree family located in High Prairie, Alberta. ( )

This is the story of Mackenzie and her family, who are being haunted by a wheetigo who has taken the form of Mackenzie's deceased sister, Sabrina. The horror parts of this novel left me somewhat confused...I'm still not sure why some of the things happened or what they may mean going forward. But this is also a story of a family whose members have experienced grief and who support each other. I enjoyed that aspect of the book very much. I thought the lingering aspects of grief were really well portrayed.

The men were virtually absent throughout the story. It was a story of women supporting each other, which is probably a common scenario but I felt a missed opportunity to show men supporting -- not rescuing -- and admiring the strength of their female kin. They seemed like that kind of family. ( )

The blurb for this book on the Canada Reads website did not cause me to think I would enjoy it: "a horror-infused novel that centres around a young woman named Mackenzie, who is haunted by terrifying nightmares and wracked with guilt about her sister Sabrina's untimely death." I have never enjoyed horror fiction and I usually pass on them. However, since it was going to be part of the Canada Reads debate I put a hold on it at my library. Maybe other people were turned off by the blurb because I got it quite quickly. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed the book and I hope Jessica Johns will write more.

Mackenzie grew up in Alberta but left her home and family to go to Vancouver. She is in regular communication with her mom and aunties and cousins but she hasn't been back home in three years. She didn't even go home when her sister Sabrina died suddenly. Now she is having terrifying dreams about her sister. In one she saw her sister lying on the ground in a forested area with crows all over her, tearing at her flesh. In the dream Mackenzie killed one of the crows and as she woke up in her bed she could feel the crow's head in her hands and blood covering her. Yet there was nothing there when she tore back the covers. She is finding it difficult to cope with her job at Whole Foods. Finally, she asks her manager for time off so she can go back home. Unfortunately, she keeps having the dreams even back in her parents' house. She finally tells her family about the dreams and they start to see if they can help her. Her Mom and aunties talk to all the elders around and they come to the conclusion that the Sabrina in the dream is a whetigo, a spirit that shows up when bad things start happening and, like a vampire, takes over humans. The elders think that the whetigo started showing up when the oil companies came to the area and disturbed the earth. Once the oil boom was done and the oil workers left the area it started to attack the indigenous people. Sabrina was one of the whetigo's victims and the whetigo is now using her likeness to attract the rest of the family.

While the book centres on Mackenzie, it is her whole extended family that captivated me. No-one was ever abandoned by this family.They loved and hugged and fed and helped everyone. It seemed like some one was always in the kitchen cooking up a meal or baking or playing cards or telling stories. So,for me, this wasn't horror, this was a story about family and love. ( )

This was like a very tame episode of supernatural but with a boring main character.
I didn’t like the writing style but I persevered because I wanted to know what happened to the sister.
This felt like more of a creepy mystery than a horror novel.
I liked learning about their Cree heritage and the folktales but I didn’t connect to any of the characters and it just felt unsatisfying overall. ( )

Although this novel could have been more skillfully constructed (there's a "first this happened, then this" feeling sometimes rather than an organic unfolding, and sometimes the passage of time feels off), I enjoy how it explores family, both the one we're born into and the one we create, collective and personal wisdom, the ways in which a community is interwoven, for better or worse, and the challenge of being drawn to that which will hurt us. ( )