Johns creates a modern Gothic story full of characters that don't just pop off the pages, they shiver. I've never read a main character like Mackenzie. She feels like she's both a friend, and also maybe your younger sister. Her point of view will speak to anyone who's ever run from their problems or left their hometown simply to hurt their own feelings.  It's hard to talk about this book without giving away exactly what made it such a suprising, and deeply moving read, so I won't talk very much about the plot.

Instead I want to talk about the place. Johns paints a picture of High Prairie so vivid that you can feel the land under your feet. This story is about grief. It's profoundly tied to oil culture in Alberta, and the places and people that we leave behind once we've drained every ounce of their economic potential. It's a story that takes place in the smoke of bush parties, in the smell of lake water, and the deep snow of northern Alberta winters. Johns takes readers from the impersonal bustle of a big city, to the warm, crowded, vibrant and loud reality of a family kitchen.

I wouldn't say that this book was scary. More spooky. The cast of characters are truly what make it, especially the relationships between the women in Mackenzie's family. Johns shares her, and Mackenzie's, Cree culture largely through the actions and stories told by Mackenzie's endlessly bad ass aunties and older relations. Bad Cree is, in the end, an ode to Indigenous women, their strength,  the things they lose, and the people they love. 

Readers who look like me (white people)  should be careful to read responsibly and respectfully. This book tells the truth about hard topics like generational trauma, missing and murdered Indigenous women, disenfranchisment, and grief. It does this while keeping the story rooted firmly in the experience of a complex family, while developing it's own IndigiGothic flavor. Mandatory reading for anyone living on Turtle Island, and especially on Treaty 6, 7, and 8 lands (known as Alberta.) 

I can't recommend Bad Cree enough. 

Gorgeous and spooky. I fell in love with every single character. 

Gros coup de coeur pour ce livre, tant pour le sujet que la plume de l'autrice.  

**anxious in a good way!!**
an incredible read! a gripping story on grief thru the lens of indigenous folk horror and it’s amazing from start to finish. if i had a physical copy of this book, and you asked me to highlight/underline all of the banger lines it would be filled to the brim with my fave bright purple highlighter, believe that!
also, this story has such a beautiful conclusion it had me tearing up. this author truly has a way with words and their writing style adds so much! had a great time reading bad cree!

I really enjoyed this book. Been in a bit of a reading slump but this was so intriguing I had to push through, and I’m glad I did. Very mysterious and tense story. I will say the ending felt a little rushed. I feel like the

fight with the wheetigo

could have been longer and more detailed. But otherwise very exciting story. 

This book was great on audio, the characters really came alive. This is a chilling story that revolves around sisterhood, complicated family dynamics, and self forgiveness. I thought Johns did a fantastic job taking a practical, relatable situation and spinning it in the direction of horror and folktales that many of us have heard. Several scenes in this made me feel like I needed to catch my breath, but I really fell in love with our main character and her family. Totally a story of strong women supporting each other intergenerationally. Cannot wait to see what this author does next!