Healer of the Water Monster
- Downloads：9205
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-14 01:30:58
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Brian Young
- ISBN：0062990403
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
sarah
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Thank you to HarperCollins for the arc in exchange for review！Healer of the Water Monster is a fun-filled， heartwarming middle grade debut with a great cast of characters surrounding Navajo stories and teachings。 There’s just something about middle grade adventure stories that suck me in and keep me reading into the night， and Healer of the Water Monster was no different！ I loved every moment I got to spend watching Nathan grow as a character and in his relationships to those around him。 The sto Thank you to HarperCollins for the arc in exchange for review！Healer of the Water Monster is a fun-filled， heartwarming middle grade debut with a great cast of characters surrounding Navajo stories and teachings。 There’s just something about middle grade adventure stories that suck me in and keep me reading into the night， and Healer of the Water Monster was no different！ I loved every moment I got to spend watching Nathan grow as a character and in his relationships to those around him。 The story discusses the lengths we will go to help both blood and found family， spiritual and emotional healing， and the importance of believing in yourself。 The writing will make you laugh and pull at your heartstrings （you may want to have tissues next to you when you read the ending） and is full of beautiful descriptions and thoughtful lessons。 Nathan is a great main character and his story will stick with readers of all ages long after they put the book down。 I can't wait to see what Brian Young writes next！Trigger warnings for divorced parents/discussion of strained parental relationships， ptsd， alcoholism， depression， loss of a loved one， death， fatphobic remarks， drunk driving/intention to drive impaired （stopped on page） 。。。more
Haley Boden
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This was a beautiful middle-grade novel about a boy named Nathan who decides to visit his grandmother on the Navajo reservation where she lives to avoid spending time with his dad's new girlfriend， only to find that he is the only one who can save a Holy Being who has fallen ill。 This story had so much wonderful and complicated familial love， and the protagonist's bravery and compassion touched my heart。 It was lovely to see Nathan find his sense of self-worth as he went on his adventure。 A grea This was a beautiful middle-grade novel about a boy named Nathan who decides to visit his grandmother on the Navajo reservation where she lives to avoid spending time with his dad's new girlfriend， only to find that he is the only one who can save a Holy Being who has fallen ill。 This story had so much wonderful and complicated familial love， and the protagonist's bravery and compassion touched my heart。 It was lovely to see Nathan find his sense of self-worth as he went on his adventure。 A great read for all ages！ 。。。more
Elina Rodriguez
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Beautiful story by a brilliant writer。 I received an ARC。 So happy to see representation from one of the thousands of Native tribes in the US。 Unfortunately this is not enough。 We need millions more representation and acknowledgment about the horrors perpetuated against the Native peoples of this land。
Laura
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I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。Nathan knew what he was signing up for when he chose to spend his summer at his Nali's mobile home in the middle of the desert on the Navajo Reservation。 No running water。 No electricity。 No internet。 No cell service。 But， more importantly， no dad's new girlfriend。 No divorced parents who fight and bicker all the time。 Sure， it's not what he's used to， and a bit lonely， and Nathan can't deny that he misses the comfor I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。Nathan knew what he was signing up for when he chose to spend his summer at his Nali's mobile home in the middle of the desert on the Navajo Reservation。 No running water。 No electricity。 No internet。 No cell service。 But， more importantly， no dad's new girlfriend。 No divorced parents who fight and bicker all the time。 Sure， it's not what he's used to， and a bit lonely， and Nathan can't deny that he misses the comforts of home in Phoenix， but at least he's spending time with Nali， learning more about his family's history and culture， and has a really cool science project going that is sure to help him defend his first place title at next year's State Science Fair。 And when Uncle Jet shows up， it gets even better！Except things are not okay with Uncle Jet， and he and Nali fight。 And something keeps stealing Nathan's heirloom corn seeds， hindering his project。 Late one night， Nathan happens to come across the creature that is stealing his seed， a mysterious horned toad。 When Nathan follows the toad， he ends up finding a Water Monster， a Holy Being， that is in need of healing。 The Water Monster's pond has dried up， and he can't summon more water; worse， he is almost out of medicine that was gifted to him by Mother Water Monster， who resides in the Third World。 Nathan agrees to help his new friend get well， though he finds that it is harder than he expects， facing challenges of the heart， mind， body， and spirit。A fantastic， beautiful， and heart-felt debut from Brian Young， "Healer of the Water Monster" is a story of culture， faith， and different types of strength， including the greatest strength of all: love。 Young expertly writes about sensitive topics for a young audience， particularly PTSD， alcoholism， depression， and racism past and present， but also beautifully shares Navajo culture and beliefs。 Young's love for his culture is practically palpable in these pages， and he equally shares it freely and protects it fiercely。I adored Nathan， and his journey throughout the book。 He doesn't try to be a hero， he just tries to do the right thing。 He learns that sometimes the right thing is the hard thing， and that it takes a lot of courage to do the hard thing; sometimes， he lacks that courage， but in the end knowing that it's the right thing is what sees him through， even when he's scared， even when he feels like he can't go on， even when things look bleak。 There were so many times I just wanted to give Nathan a hug， and cheer him on。 He's such a sweetheart， and I know that he'll go on to do even greater things。 But， more importantly， Nathan felt so real。 He reminded me a lot of my brother at that age。 That realness just added a further level of greatness to this book， which further elevates Young as a voice to watch as his debut enters the world， with readers eagerly anticipating what will follow。 。。。more
Soup
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Original and interesting #OwnVoices YA adventure novel about a young Navajo boy， Nathan， who is tasked by the Holy Beings of his people's traditions and lore to try and save a dying water monster。 Over the course of the sometimes wandering narrative meets traditional figures like First Turkey， various pairs of the stone Boy and Girl figures， Darkness， and Changing Woman among others。 Familiarity with Diné Bahaneʼ （the Navajo creation story） is not necessary， but can be helpful for keeping track Original and interesting #OwnVoices YA adventure novel about a young Navajo boy， Nathan， who is tasked by the Holy Beings of his people's traditions and lore to try and save a dying water monster。 Over the course of the sometimes wandering narrative meets traditional figures like First Turkey， various pairs of the stone Boy and Girl figures， Darkness， and Changing Woman among others。 Familiarity with Diné Bahaneʼ （the Navajo creation story） is not necessary， but can be helpful for keeping track of the figures Nathan interacts with。 The novel has a unique narrative style that should lend itself to reading aloud in classrooms。 According to the extremely well written closing notes， a second volume is expected in the future to continue Nathan's adventure。 。。。more
Kate Waggoner
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Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books and #NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of The Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young。 This middle grade book will be published in May 2021。 All opinions are my own。Nathan opts to spend the summer visiting his Nali （grandma） at her mobile home on the Navajo Reservation rather than going to Vegas with his father and his girlfriend。 Nathan anticipates a boring summer as Nali's trailer has no running water， no electricity， Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books and #NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of The Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young。 This middle grade book will be published in May 2021。 All opinions are my own。Nathan opts to spend the summer visiting his Nali （grandma） at her mobile home on the Navajo Reservation rather than going to Vegas with his father and his girlfriend。 Nathan anticipates a boring summer as Nali's trailer has no running water， no electricity， and an outhouse filled with flies。 His plan is to watch corn grow， literally， and measure it for his science project。 Even without all the comforts of home， Nathan loves spending time with Nali。 When his uncle Jet shows up， he seems troubled and to bring problems with him。 One night， Nathan gets turned around in the desert and stumbles upon a Holy Being， a water monster。 He befriends the water monster， named Pond， who is very sick and vows to help him。 The task turns out to be bigger than Nathan anticipated and will send him to the Third World to face Mother Water Monster。 Nathan is determined to help both Pond and his Uncle Jet get better， but the journey will be a difficult one。The Healer of the Water Monster covers so much。 It is an introduction to Navajo mythology and folklore。 I loved learning about the Holy Beings and the different worlds。 The book also focuses on themes related to addiction， depression， and global warming。 Nathan's uncle Jet is a major character in the book and his PTSD， drinking， and depression are a major part of the conflict。 The book includes positive messages about seeking help and being there in whatever capacity you can for your loved ones who are struggling。 The novel did move a little more slowly than I anticipated， but it's themes were also far deeper and more complex than I anticipated as well。 I thought this would be a light， fun， mythology-inspired book， but what I got was so much more than that。 There is so much to learn and take away from this book that I feel I cannot fully address it all and do it justice in this short review。 This book is beautifully written， emotional， and eye-opening。 There is so much to take in that it creates a completely immersive reading experience that I can't wait to share with my students。 。。。more
Ms。 Yingling
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E ARC provided by Edelweiss PlusNathan must spend the summer with his grandmother in her mobile home in the countryside， since his mother is busy documenting a pipeline protest and his father has a new girlfriend whom Nathan wishes to avoid。 He loves being with Nali， even though she doesn't have wifi or indoor facilities。 He plans to work on a science project involving different types of seeds。 This quickly becomes complicated when he thinks he sees a talking horned toad in the garden， stealing E ARC provided by Edelweiss PlusNathan must spend the summer with his grandmother in her mobile home in the countryside， since his mother is busy documenting a pipeline protest and his father has a new girlfriend whom Nathan wishes to avoid。 He loves being with Nali， even though she doesn't have wifi or indoor facilities。 He plans to work on a science project involving different types of seeds。 This quickly becomes complicated when he thinks he sees a talking horned toad in the garden， stealing the seeds。 The toad turns out to be a Holy Being from the Navajo folk lore， and Nathan is able to talk to him because of a communication stone。 When he also comes across an ailing Water Monster who saves his life， he promises to help heal him from a sickness that has afflicted him for over thirty years。 Nathan's Uncle Jet shows up at the grandmother's house， having lost his latest job and his apartment。 Nali agrees to let him live in her hogan if he helps around the property。 Uncle Jet has come back from the military， and Nali feels that his depression can be partly relieved by a traditional ceremony， the N'dáá or Enemy Way ceremony。 This takes a lot of preparation in conjunction with the local hataalii， and Uncle Jet isn't that cooperative。 the hataałii also lets the family know that the ceremony is not the end of the healing process-- it's important to also include therapy。 Nathan is very concerned about his uncle， especially as his behavior becomes more and more erratic， but he also has his promise to the water monster， whom he calls Pond， to keep。 Keeping this involves a journey into the world of the Holy Beings to try to find a cure for Pond。 Nathan learns a lot about his family and about Navajo culture while working to save both Uncle Jet and Pond。Strengths: The author refers to this story as "modern folklore"， and explains that while some Navajo stories are not meant to be told in all contexts， he has reworked some of the folklore into the tradtional middle grade fantasy format。 The religion and culture is not fantasy， but the book is。 This is an important distinction， and one to keep in mind as we see more books that include cultural connections in what would be considered fantasy stories。 Nathan's parallel journeys to save both Pond and his Uncle Jet draw on his background and his kind nature， and pay homage to the lessons his grandmother has tried to teach him。 At the same time， the healing that needs to be done reflects the modern problems that Native populations face， both with mental health and addiction challenges and with pollution and other problems with human devastation of the environment。 Putting all of these into a formula similar to Rick Riordan's books （Nathan's quest does involve some underground adventures， something I have been noticing in a lot of books！）， complete with beings that help him， is a good way to showcase Navajo culture and stories in a way that readers unfamiliar with them will be able to process。 Nathan's family， while steeped in their own culture， have problems that are very similar to the problems many families across cultures face in the US。 Weaknesses: There are a lot of mentions that Nathan is fat， made fun of for being fat， or uncomfortable with the size of his stomach。 This seems to go against the current thoughts about body positivity， and seemed out of place with the story in general。 What I really think: I know that there is some concern about including notes and glossaries about cultural connections， but I am always glad when these are included in the book。 While， as the author points out， it might reflect a colonized mindset， it is very helpful for my students who might not have the resources to look up unfamiliar terms on the internet。 。。。more
Lorie Barber
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Healer of the Water Monster felt more like an absorption than a read。 Young’s details awakened the narrative so much that I felt surrounded by images and beauty and the very beginning of new understandings。 I laughed。 I cried。 I finished with dried tears on my face。 Nathan is the every day hero I hope all young people aspire to be: kind， brave， insightful。 He is both bound by love and by duty to that love。 He is both protector and needs to be protected。 He both teaches and learns。 He is at once Healer of the Water Monster felt more like an absorption than a read。 Young’s details awakened the narrative so much that I felt surrounded by images and beauty and the very beginning of new understandings。 I laughed。 I cried。 I finished with dried tears on my face。 Nathan is the every day hero I hope all young people aspire to be: kind， brave， insightful。 He is both bound by love and by duty to that love。 He is both protector and needs to be protected。 He both teaches and learns。 He is at once empathic and scientific。 Secondary characters， both human and from Navajo traditional tales， are sharp， at times riotously funny， and compassionate。 The metaphors are stunningly beautiful and heartbreaking。 The privilege of reading this tale is mine alone。 I have yet to have the opportunity to teach students of an Indigenous culture。 Yet， I know that opportunity will come and， when it does， this is the book I will gently place in their hands in the hope that they’ll connect a bit more to their history if they haven’t already。 Moreover， this book is a window （Sims Bishop） into a culture that， for so many more of my students， is misunderstood。 Finally， the author’s note and glossary should be required reading for anyone who reads Healer of the Water Monster。 I appreciated Young’s statement regarding cultural appropriation and hope it is heeded by white people and other non-Native races。 I look forward to adding Healer of the Water Monster when it comes out this spring， and I’m excited to read more from this #ownvoices author。 。。。more
Andrew
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