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The Barren Grounds (2020)

by David A. Robertson

Series: The Misewa Saga (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3111984,971 (3.81)14
Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Mythology. HTML:Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson.
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home â?? until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, AskĂ­, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything â?? includi… (more)
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» See also 14 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
This book is part of a series. So far all three books are well written and gives an interesting story. ( )
  Fabuliz | May 28, 2024 |
I have seen this called 'an Indigenous Narnia' and I was surprised how very accurate that felt to it . . . and yet how very different the seemingly-similar threads of story truly are.

The adventures and dangers the children go through feel very real for being part of a fantastical world, and somehow intertwined not too jarringly with the very disparate arc of Morgan learning so much more about herself and her past, though there are still large missing pieces to that. . . ( )
  Kalira | May 13, 2024 |
Two middle-school aged Indigenous children in foster care, both removed from their parents, find family in each other on a fantasy quest. I enjoyed the fantasy/mythological quest part of the story and the developing relationship between the two foster siblings, Morgan and Eli. A wide variety of social issues were tackled in a non-threatening way, especially the practice of ripping Indigenous children from their families and putting them in foster care and the hoarding and wasting of wealth/resources. I think my sons would have really enjoyed this book in middle school. Nicely written. ( )
  bschweiger | Feb 4, 2024 |
i really loved the messaging here and the point of this. i especially loved everything that was happening and the emotionality of the early part of the book. it got harder for me when it became more of a fantasy, but i know that's just me. ( )
  overlycriticalelisa | Aug 19, 2023 |
2.25 stars

Morgan and Eli are indigenous kids, foster kids in a white home. Morgan is a sulky teenager, always in a bad mood, and Eli is younger. When they hide in the attic one day, Eli has a drawing he puts up on the wall that comes to life and pulls them through to another world of talking animals and learning of their indigenous culture.

Fantasy, talking animals – definitely not my thing. At first, I really did not like Morgan (sulky, complaining teenagers), but I would have been happier with a story in the real world. I listened to the audio and tuned out much of the other world stuff. I had a gist of some of what was going on, but it just wasn’t that interesting to me. And… talking animals. No. ( )
  LibraryCin | Feb 22, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
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For Emily, Cole, Anna, Lauren, and James
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Morgan's head was pressed against her pillow.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Mythology. HTML:Narnia meets traditional Indigenous stories of the sky and constellations in an epic middle grade fantasy series from award-winning author David Robertson.
Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home â?? until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, AskĂ­, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything â?? includi

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