The Marrow Thieves
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 First edition cover art | |
| Author | Cherie Dimaline |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction; Dystopian |
| Publisher | Cormorant Books Incorporated[1] |
Publication date | September 1, 2017 |
| Publication place | Canada |
| Pages | 231 |
| ISBN | 978-1-77086-486-3 |
| Followed by | Hunting by Stars |
The Marrow Thieves is a young adult dystopian novel by Métis Canadian writer Cherie Dimaline, published on September 1, 2017, by Cormorant Books through its Dancing Cat Books imprint.[2]
After climate change decimates the existing social order, most people lose the ability to dream. This produces catastrophic psychological results. Indigenous people, who can still dream, are hunted for their bone marrow, which is used to create a serum to treat dreamlessness. Francis, nicknamed Frenchie, loses both of his parents to “Recruiters” from the Canadian government. Recruiters kidnap Indigenous people and take them to schools where they are eventually murdered. Frenchie’s brother Mitch allows himself to be captured by Recruiters so that Frenchie can escape.
Frenchie falls in with a group of Indigenous survivors. Miigwans, the group’s de facto leader, was unable to save his husband Isaac from the schools, but he cares for the other members of the group and teaches them survival skills. Frenchie falls in love with Rose, another teenage survivor; they grow closer to each other throughout their journey.
The group journeys north towards James Bay, seeking solitude and safety. They meet another pair of Indigenous people, Travis and Linc. These two betray Frenchie’s group, selling them out to Recruiters. Frenchie’s youngest companion, seven-year-old RiRi, is brutally killed in the struggle. Enraged, Frenchie shoots and kills Travis. The group’s oldest member, Minerva, sacrifices herself to pursuing Recruiters so the others can survive. Frenchie convinces the others to try to rescue Minerva. They meet with another group of survivors, which include Frenchie’s father.
At a school, Minerva finds a way to use the power of her own dreams to counteract the Recruiters’ machinery. She burns the school down and kills many Recruiters. The government plans to bring Minerva to the Capital for research. Frenchie and his companions ambush the convoy carrying Minerva. Recruiters shoot and kill Minerva rather than allow her to be rescued.
They discover one further group of survivors, including Miig’s husband Isaac. Miigwans and Isaac are finally reunited. Frenchie and the others learn that dreaming in an Indigenous language such as Cree is the key to fighting against the Recruiters and their machinery.
Development
According to the Toronto Star, working with Indigenous youth inspired Dimaline to write a novel in which those youth could envision themselves as protagonists, as people with a future. She chose a teenage boy as the narrator because of the emotional intensity she could envision the character feeling and expressing in his actions.[3] She wanted to reach both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth at an age when they could understand these themes.[4]
Dimaline treats the difficult topic of genocide as she wanted readers to know that such events happened to Indigenous people in the past. Dimaline said that she wants readers to come away saying “I would never let that happen again.”[5] The author incorporates issues of climate disaster and political turmoil into the novel,[6] which takes place approximately 40 years into the future.[7] Dimaline has also said that she wrote the book in order to help teach people and the next generation to respect different people's stories.[4]