Healer of the Water Monster

by Brian Young Narrated by Shaun Taylor-Corbett

Overview

Brian Young's powerful debut novel tells of a seemingly ordinary Navajo boy who must save the life of a Water Monster-and comes to realize he's a hero at heart.

When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he's in for a pretty uneventful summer, with no electricity or cell service. Still, he loves spending time with Nali and with his uncle Jet, though it's clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him.

One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds someone extraordinary: a Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story-a Water Monster-in need of help.

Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to support Uncle Jet in healing from his own pain.

The Heartdrum imprint centers a wide range of intertribal voices, visions, and stories while welcoming all young readers, with an emphasis on the present and future of Indian Country and on the strength of young Native heroes. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Editorial Reviews

FEBRUARY 2022 - AudioFile

Shaun Taylor-Corbett's narration breathes life into this Navajo fantasy. Summer with grandmother and Uncle Jet on the Navajo reservation lacks many creature comforts for Nathan. To fill his time, he wanders into the nearby desert, where he finds a sickly water monster and then goes on a quest to obtain a cure for the Holy Being and, perhaps, his Uncle Jet. Taylor-Corbett dives into this audiobook with aplomb. Each chapter opens with the chapter number spoken in Navajo and English; pronunciation of Navajo words and phrases in the story is authentic. Skillful character voicings make each easily identified. Excellent use of pacing and tension adds drama, particularly when Nathan faces “the five obstacles.” Notes from the author and editor are included. An amazing experience of Navajo culture and life. S.D.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 03/08/2021

This excellently wrought middle grade debut by Young (who is Diné/Navajo) centers 11-year-old Nathan Todacheenie, a Diné boy who, seeking to escape a vacation with his father and his father’s girlfriend, ends up in a world of tradition and magic. At book’s start, Nathan is being dropped off with his shinálí, called Nali for short; though there’s no running water or electricity, her mobile home is on his beloved Dinetah/Diné homelands. Though Nathan doesn’t look forward to a summer of chopping wood and zero phone reception, he does adore Nali, who has worked for years to keep her allotment of land and her traditions. When Nathan wanders into the desert in pursuit of the otherworldly horned toad who’s filching corn seeds from Nathan’s school experiment, he ends up on a quest to enter the Third World and save the Water Monster, a Holy Being that has been poisoned by radiation, as well as his uncle Jet, who has returned from military service in desperate need of a traditional ceremony that he doesn’t want. Gentle, complex characters and flawed, loving human relationships lend depth to Young’s worlds-spanning novel. Ages 8–12. Agent: Dan Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (May)

From the Publisher

"Gentle, complex characters and flawed, loving human relationships lend depth to Young’s worlds-spanning novel." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The deeply grounded and original perspective of this story brings readers into both the worlds of Navajo blessing songs, rain songs, and traditional healing and everyday family relationships. Hands readers a meaningful new take on family love." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Young’s narrative weaves traditional folklore, language, and mythos with modern emotion to craft a poignant tale of family, friendship, and protecting what you love most." — Booklist

"Visibility is of utmost importance, and books like this one deserve warm spotlights, everywhere." — American Indians in Children's Literature

Booklist

"Young’s narrative weaves traditional folklore, language, and mythos with modern emotion to craft a poignant tale of family, friendship, and protecting what you love most."

American Indians in Children's Literature

"Visibility is of utmost importance, and books like this one deserve warm spotlights, everywhere."

Booklist

"Young’s narrative weaves traditional folklore, language, and mythos with modern emotion to craft a poignant tale of family, friendship, and protecting what you love most."

"Visibility is of utmost importance, and books like this one deserve warm spotlights, everywhere."

FEBRUARY 2022 - AudioFile

Shaun Taylor-Corbett's narration breathes life into this Navajo fantasy. Summer with grandmother and Uncle Jet on the Navajo reservation lacks many creature comforts for Nathan. To fill his time, he wanders into the nearby desert, where he finds a sickly water monster and then goes on a quest to obtain a cure for the Holy Being and, perhaps, his Uncle Jet. Taylor-Corbett dives into this audiobook with aplomb. Each chapter opens with the chapter number spoken in Navajo and English; pronunciation of Navajo words and phrases in the story is authentic. Skillful character voicings make each easily identified. Excellent use of pacing and tension adds drama, particularly when Nathan faces “the five obstacles.” Notes from the author and editor are included. An amazing experience of Navajo culture and life. S.D.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2021-03-25
Nathan, a young Navajo boy from Phoenix, Arizona, goes on an epic hero’s journey.

On the surface, 11-year-old Nathan is like many other boys. His parents are divorced, and he’s a little upset with his father. His paternal grandmother, Nali, is supportive, and he’s eager to spend the summer with her on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, working on his science fair project. Nathan moves into her rural home, expecting a quiet summer. Instead, he has the adventure of a lifetime when he discovers something is eating Nali’s heirloom seeds. Wandering into the desert, he encounters Pond, an ailing water monster. Adults cannot see Holy Beings from the creation stories, but as a child, Nathan can; with the help of a communication stone, he enters a world of Navajo cosmology. He brings a message to his grandmother about the Enemy Way and helps his Uncle Jet, a traumatized Marine veteran skeptical about his family’s traditional ways, who is haunted by the shadow voice of an Ash Being. Healing—for the earth, the water monster, and Uncle Jet—is on the line as Nathan travels to the Third World to meet the most sacred Holy Being of all. The deeply grounded and original perspective of this story brings readers into both the worlds of Navajo blessing songs, rain songs, and traditional healing and everyday family relationships.

Hands readers a meaningful new take on family love. (glossary, author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176446067
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,105,978
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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