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list price: $19.95
edition:Paperback
also available: eBook
category: Young Adult Fiction
published: Oct 2020
ISBN:9781553798989
publisher: Portage & Main Press
imprint: HighWater Press

From the Roots Up

by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan

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aboriginal & indigenous, prejudice & racism, lgbt, girls & women, friendship, assimilation, coming of age, death & dying, dating & sex
0 of 5
0 ratings
rated!
rated!
list price: $19.95
edition:Paperback
also available: eBook
category: Young Adult Fiction
published: Oct 2020
ISBN:9781553798989
publisher: Portage & Main Press
imprint: HighWater Press
Description

Dez and Miikwan’s stories continue in this sequel to Surviving the City. 

Dez’s grandmother has passed away. Grieving, and with nowhere else to go, she’s living in a group home. On top of everything else, Dez is navigating a new relationship and coming into her identity as a Two-Spirit person. 

Miikwan is crushing on the school’s new kid Riel, but doesn’t really understand what Dez is going through. Will she learn how to be a supportive ally to her best friend?

Elder Geraldine is doing her best to be supportive, but she doesn’t know how to respond when the gendered protocols she’s grown up with that are being thrown into question.

Will Dez be comfortable expressing her full identity? And will her community relearn the teachings and overcome prejudice to celebrate her for who she is?

About the Authors

Tasha Spillett (she/her/hers) draws her strength from both her Nehiyaw and Trinidadian bloodlines. She is a celebrated educator, poet, and emerging scholar. Tasha is most heart-tied to contributing to community-led work that centres on land and water defence, and the protection of Indigenous women and girls. Tasha is currently working on her PhD in Education through the University of Saskatchewan, where she holds a Vanier Canada Award.

@TashaSpillett



 

Author profile page >

Natasha Donovan (she/her/hers) is a Métis illustrator originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her sequential work has been published in This Place: 150 Years Retold, and the Wonderful Women of History anthology. She is the illustrator of the award-winning graphic novel series Surviving the City, as well as the award-winning Mothers of Xsan children's book series, and the forthcoming picture book biography Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer. She lives by the Nooksack River in Washington State. @natashamdonovan

Author profile page >
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
Age:
12 to 18
Grade:
7 to 12
Awards
  • Winner, Among 21 middle-grade and YA books to read in 2020
Editorial Reviews

Every single thing about these volumes is important. They are beautifully written, fantastically illustrated, at times heartbreaking, humourous, and rooted in Indigenous strength.

— Dani @thunderbirdwomanreads

Moving and heartfelt, readers definitely will want to know what happens next.

— The Globe and Mail

Selected for 21 middle-grade and YA books to read in spring 2020

— CBC Books

This story is so important. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, and add so much depth to the story. This book is an essential addition to classroom and libraries.

— Bit About Books

Surviving the City and From the Roots Up are beautiful, poignant, and emotional. I highly recommend you read these graphic novels.

— The Tiny Activist

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