The Barren Grounds (The Misewa Saga, #1) by David Alexander Robertson

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It was released September 8th, 2020, by Penguin Random House Canada.  

This middle grade fantasy novel, featuring two indigenous youths, is the first in David Robertson’s Misewa Saga. Morgan and Eli are living in a supportive foster home. The attic of the house contains a painted over door that turns out to be a portal into Aski and the Misewa people. 

Morgan has no memory of her family. She’s been in numerous negative homes and has trust and abandonment issues. This is Eli’s first time away from his family. The two of them are staying with a professional couple who are foster parenting for their first time. They are trying to do a good job, but make mistakes. Morgan has taken Eli under her wing and the two children have bonded.

 

Eli is a gifted artist whose artwork turns out to have paranormal qualities. When one of his paintings is combined with the attic door, the two children end up in the world of animal people. One of them, Ochek, (Fisher) rescues them from the barren ground separating the portal from the community of Misewa. The people in the community are starving because in earlier times a man came through the portal and stole the green time. This left the people in perpetual winter. Food is scarce and it is just a matter of time before they all die.

 

Morgan and Eli end up going on a quest with Ochek and Arik (Squirrel) to find the man and return the summer to the people. Morgan is at first an unwilling participant in this endeavor, but during their journey in Aski she has vision/dreams. By the end, she begins to remember her mother and heritage.

 

The book is referred to as an indigenous Narnia, and while there are some similarities, I find the comparison irritating. The Barren Grounds stands out all by itself. There is enough action and adventure to keep all kinds of readers engaged. The group has to outwit and defeat a wolf person, steal the birds of summer from the thief, and then make it back to Misewa. It's a fast paced adventure filled with thoughtful interludes that will appeal to indigenous and non indigenous readers alike. 

 

The Barren Grounds left me full of questions: questions about the characters and their families of origin, questions about the Aski community, and questions about future books. When will the next be published?

 

I can’t help but see parallels between the animal people in the world of Aski who are starving because of one man stealing their green time, and the situation of animals disappearing here in our world because of people causing habitat loss. I wonder what other readers will connect to.