Heroes of the water monster

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Title :

Heroes of the water monster / Brian Young.

Title:

Heroes of the water monster

Author:

Young, Brian (Brian Lee)

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

378 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780062990433

9780062990440

Production / Publication Information:

New York : Heartdrum, [2023]

Summary:

Edward and Nathan, two Navajo stepbrothers, work with a young water monster named Dew to confront their past and save the world from a monstrous, enormous Enemy that is stealing water from all of the Navajo Nation.

Target audience note:

Ages 8-12.

Language:

English

Genre:

Novels.

Subject Term:

Monsters -- Juvenile fiction.

Stepbrothers -- Juvenile fiction.

Navajo mythology -- Juvenile fiction.

Navajo Indians -- Juvenile fiction.

Indigenous peoples -- Southwest, New -- Juvenile fiction.

Monsters -- Fiction.

Stepbrothers -- Fiction.

Navajo mythology -- Fiction.

Navajo Indians -- Fiction.

Indians of North America -- Southwest, New -- Fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Amesbury Public Library	J FIC YOUNG	32114002803998	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	J YOUNG	31330009319348	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	J/YOUNG	33934004665874	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	J/YOUNG	33934004758307	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	J YOUNG	32116003994361	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	J/FIC/YOUNG	31480011671879	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	J YOU	30470002140662	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	J/FIC/YOUNG	31479007641367	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	J YOUNG	32122003025313	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library	J YOUNG	32126001913743	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newbury Town Library	J YOU	32127001365967	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	J FICTION YOUNG	32132003442384	Searching... Unknown

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On Order

Summary

An unmissable companion to Healer of the Water Monster, which won the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, this novel by Navajo author Brian Young tells the story of two contemporary young Navajo heroes--and one water monster--who must learn to work together to save their present world from the lasting hurts of their people's past.

Edward feels ready to move in with his dad's girlfriend and her son, Nathan. He might miss having his dad all to himself, but even if things in their new home are a little awkward, living with Nathan isn't so bad. And Nathan is glad to have found a new guardian for Dew, the young water monster who has been Nathan's responsibility for two years. Now that Nathan is starting to lose his childhood connection to the Holy Beings, Edward will be the one to take over as Dew's next guardian.

But Edward has a lot to learn about taking care of a water monster. And fast. Because Dew's big sister, the powerful Yitoo Bii'aanii, is coming up to Fourth World to instruct Dew after recovering in the Third World for 160 years. She suspects a monstrous and enormous Enemy from the Hero Twins stories has returned and is stealing water from all of the Navajo Nation.

In their search for the Modern Enemy, Nathan, Edward, Dew, and Yitoo must confront their past and their inner selves if they are to save the Fourth World from a devastating disaster.

A riveting, emotionally affecting adventure--and an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Book!

Reviews (2)

Horn Book Review

In this sequel to Healer of the Water Monster (rev. 7/21), Nathan and his mother and Edward and his father have moved in together. Both boys can see Holy Beings from traditional Dine stories, such as playful Dew and powerful Yitoo, water monsters from the first book. Now that Nathan is entering puberty, he will soon lose his ability to see them, and before that happens, he needs to travel to the Third World to ask Yitoo to mentor Dew. She agrees, but upon her return to the Fourth World (this world), Yitoo finds that her water is being diverted from sacred Navajo lland to be used for private swimming pools and water parks. She vows to take her water back and return it to its rightful owners, but her methods would destroy many cities and communities. Navajo author Young interweaves the atrocities of the Long Walk, Navajo traditional beliefs, and modern issues of climate change and water consumption in an action-filled adventure featuring two appealing Indigenous protagonists. Young readers are faced with big questions about identity, justice, and inherited trauma. An author's note and glossary add further context. (c) Copyright 2024. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Before he ages out of seeing Holy Beings, Nathan must find water monster Dew a mentor. A couple of years after the events of Healer of the Water Monster (2021), Nathan's life in Phoenix, Arizona, is changing--he and his mother, Janet, are moving in with Janet's boyfriend and his son, the book's co-protagonist, Edward. More than that, Nathan's going through puberty and knows his time with Dew is limited--her new guardian will be Edward. But to ensure that Dew learns the water monster songs, she needs a mentor. Nathan wants it to be powerful water monster Yitoo Bi'aanii, who eagerly returns to the Fourth World. Upon seeing how her river has dwindled, Yitoo declares that an Enemy is stealing the water. The quest to thwart the Enemy is quickly complicated as the stakes rise and the heroes face conflicting loyalties. The environmentalist narrative embraces nuance and complications, avoiding easy answers without undermining the possibility of a hopeful future. Edward, newly informed of his Diné family's brutal relocation era story, also struggles with inherited trauma, while Yitoo, who was witness to the violence, carries the atrocities with her. Additionally, Edward grapples with the fact that his late mother was White and with being the only household member who is not fully Diné. The bittersweet ending is as beautiful as the prose describing the fantastical journey to get there. Thought-provoking and full of heart; a genuinely pleasurable read. (author's note, glossary, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.