“What about us?…The young ones. The next generation. The future…we trusted you to care for us. To love us. To make the right decisions for us. And you did. We’re alive today because of you…But for a long time, you didn’t tell us everything about what happened when we were little kids…We asked you, over and over. But you ignored us,” (Rice 110).
Twelve years after the lights went out and the world ended, Evan Whitesky and his community have settled into the northern Ontario bush. He has just become a grandfather and Anishinaabe traditions have been reestablished. But resources are getting scarce, and Evan and the elders know it’s time to leave this land they’ve made home and venture to the home of their ancestors where the white birch grow. Evan, his fifteen-year-old daughter Nangohns, and a few others form a group to find that place, learning stories of what happened when the world ended and the threats that exist outside the bush.
Moon of the Turning Leaves is the much-anticipated sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow, which I appropriately read in 2020. I loved the first book and the open ending of the novel, but I couldn’t help wondering what would happen next and was thrilled to learn that Rice was writing a sequel. Finally, we’d get some answers to the questions he had left readers with Moon of the Crusted Snow. Leading up to the book only lead to more mystery, the original synopsis was vague and gave nothing away except that the sequel would be set ten years (actually twelve) after the ending of the first book. In the interest of mystery, I’ll keep my review just as vague while also sharing my thoughts.
Moon of the Turning Leaves, like its predecessor, is a story of survival. It’s never been about dwelling on the bad that happened but moving forward and continuing on with surviving after the changes that have occurred. A big theme in this one though is acknowledging the past. As the above quoted passage indicates, while the Anishinaabemowin community has done an excellent job feeding, rekindling traditions, and keeping the younger generation safe, the elders rarely talk about the time before. While this is understandable, as it can be difficult to explain trauma to younger generations and want to protect them from difficult to understand and learning about an upsetting history, can cause damage to future generations. The younger generation of the Anishnaabemowin are unaware of the happenings in Moon of the Crusted Snow despite asking what happened, and when we don’t learn about the past we can’t prepare for the future or prevent something similar from happening again. It’s a good look at why sharing history, the good and the bad, is important to each generation and how each generation can learn from the other.
It’s a tender story, with a lot of heart and a lot of horror. Rice shares a little bit about what happened the day the lights went out, and while there’s still a lot of mystery what is revealed is horrifying and honestly all too real. It made me think of my own survival in a scenario like this and if such a thing would be possible considering where I live geographically. At times the revelations of what happened made me feel sick, and the ghost of the world the Anishnaabemowin travel through was haunting.
Moon of the Turning Leaves is an excellent sequel that was a wonderful surprise and well worth the wait. I can’t wait to read more from Rice!
Publication: October 10 2023
Publisher: Random House Canada
Pages: 320 pages (Paperback)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Indigenous, Dystopia, Horror, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
It’s been over a decade since a mysterious cataclysm caused a permanent blackout that toppled infrastructure and thrust the world into anarchy. Evan Whitesky led his community in remote northern Ontario off the rez and into the bush, where they’ve been living off the land, rekindling their Anishinaabe traditions in total isolation from the outside world. As new generations are born, and others come of age in the world after everything, Evan’s people are in some ways stronger than ever. But resources in and around their new settlement are beginning to dry up, and the elders warn that they cannot afford to stay indefinitely.
Evan and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Nangohns, are elected to lead a small scouting party on a months-long trip to their traditional home on the north shore of Lake Huron–to seek new beginnings, and discover what kind of life–and what dangers–still exist in the lands to the south.
Sarah O'Connor 