Pemmican Wars

March 1, 2018

Gr 6-10-Echo is a Métis teen who finds herself drawn into her ancestors' past in the middle of a history lecture. A lonely outsider in her school and a newcomer in a group home, she's transported back in time to the events surrounding the Canadian Pemmican Wars. Her world is populated by her indigenous ancestors, a queer teacher, and a housemate who is differently abled. Gorgeously rendered panels convey Echo's isolation in the real world and comfort in the past. The work is light on text, and its brevity makes it feel more like plot exposition than a fully fleshed out novel. The end matter contains a time line, a recipe for pemmican, and the lyrics of a song written by the Métis poet and songwriter Pierre Falcon. VERDICT A solid selection for introducing a historical event in an accessible format.-Jodeana Kruse, R.A. Long High School, Longview, WA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 7, 2018
Despite her low expectations for the first day of school, Echo did not think it would involve having flashbacks to Manitoba in the 19th century. But in history class, while learning about the Métis, the First Nations tribe from which she is descended, she finds herself on the Saskatchewan prairie witnessing a bison hunt. Each day, she is transported to the time of the Pemmican Wars between Europeans and the Métis, and curiosity about her own ancestry leads her to visit her mother in rehab. This brief first entry in the graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo shows much but says little, much like its protagonist: Echo barely has 20 lines of dialogue, and many of those are one-word responses. Instead, the volume begs to be revisited for its reliance on visual clues. Vermetteâs scope is admirable as the story broadens from one of teenage social isolation to that of greater disenfranchisement and the search for selfhood. Ages 14â18.

May 1, 2018
In this YA graphic novel, an alienated Métis girl learns about her people's Canadian history.Métis teenager Echo Desjardins finds herself living in a home away from her mother, attending a new school, and feeling completely lonely as a result. She daydreams in class and wanders the halls listening to a playlist of her mother's old CDs. At home, she shuts herself up in her room. But when her history teacher begins to lecture about the Pemmican Wars of early 1800s Saskatchewan, Echo finds herself swept back to that time. She sees the Métis people following the bison with their mobile hunting camp, turning the animals' meat into pemmican, which they sell to the Northwest Company in order to buy supplies for the winter. Echo meets a young girl named Marie, who introduces Echo to the rhythms of Métis life. She finally understands what her Métis heritage actually means. But the joys are short-lived, as conflicts between the Métis and their rivals in the Hudson Bay Company come to a bloody head. The tragic history of her people will help explain the difficulties of the Métis in Echo's own time, including those of her mother and the teen herself. Accompanied by dazzling art by Henderson (A Blanket of Butterflies, 2017, etc.) and colorist Yaciuk (Fire Starters, 2016, etc.), this tale is a brilliant bit of time travel. Readers are swept back to 19th-century Saskatchewan as fully as Echo herself. Vermette's (The Break, 2017, etc.) dialogue is sparse, offering a mostly visual, deeply contemplative juxtaposition of the present and the past. Echo's eventual encounter with her mother (whose fate has been kept from readers up to that point) offers a powerful moment of connection that is both unexpected and affecting. "Are you...proud to be Métis?" Echo asks her, forcing her mother to admit, sheepishly: "I don't really know much about it." With this series opener, the author provides a bit more insight into what that means.A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.

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March 15, 2018
Grades 8-12 Echo is just trying to get by in a new home and a new school when she slips through time during a class lecture and finds herself with the M�tis people?her Nation?in 1816, just before a deadly battle. Vermette and Henderson's graphic novel has flaws, but where it is strong, it shines. At only 50 pages, including the supplementary material, there isn't enough time to dive into the story or the history of the Pemmican Wars. The small timeline at the back and snippets of Echo's class lessons on the topic help, but it's not quite enough to flesh out the drama of Echo's experiences. Despite these weaknesses, Echo's story is compelling, mainly because Vermette isn't afraid to let the art do the talking. Henderson's realistic art and perfect pacing, particularly in the pages of wordless panels depicting Echo's daily routine, highlight her silent nature and hint at the source of her unspoken sadness. Solitary teens are likely to strongly identify with Echo and look forward to more of her adventures.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)