Book Review: Healer of the Water Monster
Book Title: Healer of the Water Monster
Author: Brian (Lee) Young
Genre: Fantasy
Age: Middle School
Basics:
Healer of the Water Monster is written in first person from the point of view of the main character Nathan. I read this 384 page book in it’s physical form.
What’s it about?
Nathan is an 11 year old boy who lives in Arizona. At an attempt to avoid his father, well his father’s girlfriend really, while his mom travels for work, Nathan convinces his parents to let him stay with him grandmother in her mobil home where she lives during the summer breaks from teaching the Navajo language in college. Nathan’s in touch with his Native American heritage but he knows he could be more emersed.
During his time at the drought ridden farm with his grandmother, he learns that creatures he’s heard in stories for as long as he can remember are more than just fun characters in a story, but real life beings refered to as “Holy beings”.
As he finds himself more and more entrenched in the world of the Holey beings, which can only be seen by children, Nathan learns that Pond, the water monster he’s become close to, is sick and needs Nathan’s help.
My Favorites:
My favorite characters: Nali,Nathan’s grandmother. She’s the best adult in the book,honestly. She's knowledgeable, strong, kind, caring and she believes and supports her grandson in ways that most adults don’t. Maybe that was because she was about the only adult that was around for the majority of the book.
My least favorite character: Jet. I wanted to like. I did. And I think part of it is just when we met him. He’s going through some struggles. He’s an alcoholic who makes infuriating choices while struggling with his addiction. He puts Nathan in danger with little to no care, worried more about himself and any consequences coming back to him specifically. And then, he puts a lot of responsibility on Nathan’s shoulders, responsibility that has no right being on Nathan’s shoulder. He’s 11.
My favorite Part: When Pond shares his home with Nathan. I liked Pond and I liked getting to know him better.
My Least favorite Part: When Nathan’s mom was driving him to Nali’s house. I hated the way his parents put Nathan in the middle. It infuriated me! I know that things were painful for them but it shouldn’t have been on Nathan to basically do the adult communication between the two of them.
My Other Thoughts:
Mr. Brian Young is a member of the Navajo Nation who wrote the book and characters he wanted to see. Determined to put appropriate Native American representation. I appreciated knowing that the representation came from someone who was a part of the community, someone who know what's important and why. And you should have seen how much I fell in love when I realized that the chapters had both numerical numbers as well as the numbers in Dine. I love that the Dine language was used throughout the book.
Honestly, it took me a while to like Nathan. At first, I felt like he was a little bratty. But, then again, I’m and adult and he’s 11. An 11 year old may not feel the same way.
I appreciated the representation of Jet, though I didn’t like him. I liked that they talked about how there is no easy fix, that the person you’re trying to help has to want it. I liked that they talked about and showed how hard it can be love someone who is struggling with addiction. It’s a hard topic to talk about and it’s even harder to be in the position to deal and cope with relationships like that. It’s real and we tend to try to shield our kids from it which can make it hard for kiddos to talk about it.
I also really liked the shadow monster and how it addressed menal health struggles. Again, it’s a difficult topic.
I’m not sure I’ll reread this book, or it’s sequel but I would read other books he wrote. It was a fun read and I enjoyed learning more about other cultures and the experience those who are a part of that community experience.
My rating:
I give this book a
5.5
Out of 10 shadow monsters
But that’s just what I thought. What did you think? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Do you want to befriend a water monster? Let us know in the comments.
