Book Review: The Marrow Thieves, by Cherie Dimaline (2017)

Cover of The Marrow Thieves, by Cherie Dimaline, 2017.

Author Cherie Dimaline, with several stacks of The Marrow Thieves.

It’s either the best possible time or the worst possible time to read a dystopian novel. Cherie Dimaline’s 2017 young adult novel The Marrow Thieves was the main selection for the city of Saint Paul’s 2020 Read Brave program. The theme of Read Brave this year was climate change—the other selection was Climate Justice, by Mary Robinson, which I reviewed here. 

The Marrow Thieves is set in Canada in a future that has been ravaged by climate change. For some reason, white people have stopped dreaming, while Native Americans still retain the ability to dream. As you can imagine, this had led to the Native Americans being hunted down and captured. The novel, written in the first person, follows 16-year-old Francis, nicknamed “Frenchie,” as he runs from the authorities and encounters a rag-tag collection of Natives who are traveling north, always on the run.

The Marrow Thieves is a quick, engaging read, and Dimaline does an excellent job of giving the uncertainty of the character’s lives a visceral impact. Dimaline is a member of the Georgian Bay Metis Community, and The Marrow Thieves is her fifth book and first young adult novel. According to Dimaline’s website, she is working on the sequel to The Marrow Thieves.