First published 2024
Summer looks forward to her family's annual trip to the Alberta reservation where her mother's relatives live. This summer starts differently when vivid dreams plague her sleep. She finds herself running from residential schools, the institutions that separated Native children from their families and destroyed their cultural identities. The dreams become more troubling when news breaks about unmarked graves found at the school her grandfather attended. The discovery opens floodgates of testimony from survivors who finally share their stories about these places. Her grandfather begins speaking about his own experiences there. Summer learns what her grandfather lost and what he never got to experience because of his forced removal from his family. When the community organizes a rally to confront this history, Summer participates to honor the past and voice her vision for what lies ahead. She also searches for answers about why these disturbing dreams visit her nights.
Genres: historical-fiction, coming-of-age, native-american, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, generational-trauma
Setting: Alberta, Residential Schools
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
128 pages · Hardcover · Nancy Paulsen Books
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse, racism