First published 2022
Nutaaq lives happily in her Iñupiaq village in 1917 Alaska until her beloved older sister Aaluk marries across the sea in Siberia. Before leaving, Aaluk gives Nutaaq two precious cobalt blue beads from her husband's people. As tragedy strikes the village in the following months, the beads become Nutaaq's lifeline to hope and family connection. Seventy years later, Blessing struggles with life in the city alongside her unreliable mother. When her mom can no longer care for her, Blessing gets sent to live with a grandmother she barely knows in a remote Arctic village. The other girls speak a language Blessing doesn't understand and treat her like an outsider despite sharing her heritage. Everything changes when Blessing discovers a single cobalt blue bead in her grandmother's sewing tin. This small object opens a path for Blessing to understand her family history and find her place within her community. The novel weaves together four generations of one Iñupiaq family, exploring how cultural knowledge and family stories can heal wounds across time.
Genres: family, historical-fiction, 20th-century, young-adult, 21st-century, native-american
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, generational-saga
Setting: Alaska, Arctic, Siberia
Period: 1917, 1980s
240 pages · Paperback · Tu Books