Sheine Lende: A Prequel to Elatsoe

"Like Elatsoe, Sheine Lende is much more chill than your typical YA fantasy or YA mystery. The stakes are high, but it never feels stressful. There is little on-the-page violence, and even when things get heavy or dangerous, the reader always feels safe. Little Badger guides the reader through a fascinating world."
-- LOCUS

Shane works with her mother and their ghost dogs, tracking down missing persons even when their families can't afford to pay. Their own family was displaced from their traditional home years ago following a devastating flood - and the loss of Shane's father and her grandparents. They don't think they'll ever get their home back.

Then Shane's mother and a local boy go missing, after a strange interaction with a fairy ring. Shane, her brother, her friends, and her lone, surviving grandparent - who isn't to be trusted - set off on the road to find them. But they may not be anywhere in this world - or this place in time.

Nevertheless, Shane is going to find them.

Darcie Little Badger's Elatsoe launched her career and in the years since has become a beloved favorite. This prequel to Elatsoe, centered on Ellie's grandmother, deepens and expands Darcie's one-of-a-kind world and introduces us to another cast of characters that will wend their way around readers' hearts.

P R A I S E

★ "A classic fantasy adventure and a balm for any soul weary of oppression."
--Kirkus (starred)

★ "A wonderful addition to the Elatsoe universe with vital representation, worthy of any YA collection. Highly recommended."
--School Library Journal (starred)

★ "Allows readers to absorb each inventive twist, unexpected encounter, jolt of creepy menace, and dreamy illustration."
--Booklist (starred)

★ "With elements of Lipan Apache oral history, fantasy, and mysteries, the captivating novel Sheine Lende follows found and inherited family members as they persevere."
--Foreword (starred)

"Epic."
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Gritty, luminous... beguiling."
--Shelf-Awareness

"Darcie Little Badger is so good at what she does, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next."
--Locus Magazine

Author: Darcie Little Badger
Publisher: Levine Querido
Published: 04/16/2024
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.64lbs
Size: 8.52h x 5.90w x 1.27d
ISBN: 9781646143795
Audience: Young Adult


Award: Hugo Award - Winner


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2024
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 03/01/2024
Foreword 02/13/2024
Booklist 03/15/2024 pg. 64
School Library Journal 04/01/2024 pg. 138
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2024 pg. 146
Shelf Awareness 04/26/2024
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2024 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Darcie Little Badger is a Lipan Apache writer with a PhD in oceanography. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, Elatsoe, was featured in TIME as one of the best 100 fantasy books of all time. Elatsoe also won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and was a Nebula, Ignyte, and Lodestar finalist. Her second fantasy novel, A Snake Falls to Earth, received the Newbery Honor, was a LA Times Book Prize Finalist, and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Darcie is married to a veterinarian named Taran and splits time between California and Texas.