Book cover of Healer of the Water Monster

Book description

American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner: Best Middle Grade Book! 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…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Healer of the Water Monster as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This contemporary middle-grade novel is infused with Navajo culture. Protagonist Nathan is spending the summer out in the desert on his grandmother’s ancestral land.

It’s hot, dusty, and there is no running water. He’s miserable until he meets a Water Monster, whose mysterious illness is causing a decades-long drought.

This is a great quest/adventure story blended with contemporary themes about family dynamics. The storytelling is so rich that I was totally caught up in Nathan’s quest to save the Water Monster.

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