Moon of the Turning Leaves – Waubgeshig Rice

Expectation: A true continuation of the first novel, picking up where things left off for the Anishinaabe as they enter the next phase of survival in the Canadian north.

Reality: Less intimate and more standard dystopian tale, the slow pacing and underdeveloped characters may deter some readers, but the emotional ending provides a satisfying conclusion to the story.

My Take: 

After devouring “Moon of the Crusted Snow” in a few sittings, I was excited to dive into the sequel to see how the Anishinaabe have continued to survive the technological end-of-times. 

Picking up ten years after the events of the first book, “Moon of the Turning Leaves” sees the Anishinaabe at a crossroads. Life in the bush after abandoning the reservation has been stable, but resources are dwindling and there’s a desire to move to the shores of Lake Huron, the tribe's ancestral land.

Evan Whitesky is tasked with leading the expedition south. Joined by his 15-year-old daughter, Nangohns, and four others, as they enter an unknown world. While not seeking answers to what happened, they encounter various people and settlements that fill in knowledge gaps and provide warnings on the roving militias of hungry and desperate men.

For the most part, Waubgeshig Rice stuck to the slowburn formula that worked well in the first novel, slowly parsing out details and emphasizing naturalistic survival and tribal politics…until he didn’t. 

Readers will either love or loathe how he expanded his world. While I appreciated learning details about what initially transpired, this was more of a standard dystopian survival tale. As the story goes on there are more action sequences and high-concept setups, replete with the type of stock villains you’d find in any season of “The Walking Dead.” 

While entertaining and certainly more mainstream, it also felt like Rice lost the heart of the series a bit. 

The strongest element in “Snow” was the parallels between settler colonialism when outsiders arrived on the Anishinaabe reservation. While relocation is the plot driver of “Leaves,” it’s viewed as a necessity and not a mandatory, which essentially strips the series of its allegorical intrigue.

With that element of subtle tension that hummed underneath the surface of the first novel gone, Rice’s natural and unrushed style meant things unfold a little too slowly — and repetitively. While I was never bored, I certainly wanted the story to move along. 

While some characters lack development, Evan and Nangohns shine. Nangohns, a teenager raised entirely after the power outage, experiences the world for the first time and provides a fresh perspective to the goings on. 

I was disappointed that the rest of the traveling crew was given little time in the spotlight, especially Tyler, the queer character. There was also a mess of new characters introduced that were only used as plot devices rather than fully-fleshed individuals.

Rice had me wiping away tears with the simplistic and beautiful ending, and the epilogue wraps up the series nicely. The exploration of cultural identity and adaptation in a post-apocalyptic setting is intriguing, but the series might have reached its full potential with this book.

Still, I wouldn’t hate to experience how Nangohns continues to come into her own. If Rice decides there’s another story to tell, I’ll be first in line.

Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): N/A

Format: eBook (library loan)

Dates read: April 17 – May 3, 2024

Multi-tasking: N/A