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Fiction Native American & Aboriginal

Tilly and the Crazy Eights

by (author) Monique Gray Smith

narrator Michelle Thrush

Publisher
ECW Press
Initial publish date
Mar 2020
Category
Native American & Aboriginal, Humorous, Friendship
  • Downloadable audio file

    ISBN
    9781773055589
    Publish Date
    Mar 2020
    List Price
    $29.99

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Description

Winner of the 2019–20 First Nation Communities READ Indigenous Literature Award

An unexpected journey can be powerful medicine.

When Tilly receives an invitation to help drive eight elders on their ultimate bucket list road trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, she impulsively says yes. Before she knows it, Tilly has said goodbye to her family and is behind the wheel—ready to embark on an adventure that will transform her in ways she could not predict, just as it will for each and every one of the seniors on the trip, who soon dub themselves “the Crazy Eights.”

Tilly and the Crazy Eights each choose a stop to make along the way—somewhere they’ve always wanted to go or something they’ve wanted to experience. This takes them on a route to Las Vegas and Sedona, with a final goal of reaching the Redwood Forest. Each stop becomes the inspiration for secrets and stories to be revealed. The trip proves to be powerful medicine as they laugh, heal, argue, and reveal hopes and dreams along the way. With friendships forged, love found, hearts broken and mended, Tilly and the Crazy Eights feel ready for anything by the time their bus rolls to a stop in New Mexico. But are they?

Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country’s greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors.

About the authors

Monique Gray Smith is a mixed–heritage woman of Cree, Lakota, and Scottish ancestry and a proud mom of twins. Monique is an accomplished consultant, writer and international speaker. Her first novel, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, won the 2014 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature. Monique and her family are blessed to live on Lkwungen territory in Victoria, British Columbia. 

Monique Gray Smith's profile page

Michelle Thrush's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, First Nation Communities READ Indigenous Literature Award

Editorial Reviews

“Though this book, like most of Smith’s work, celebrates Indigenous lives and resilience, non-Indigenous folks will learn from the sharing of these stories. I am grateful for the rollicking journey and encourage everyone to board this bus.” — Herizons Magazine

“Go on a road trip of a lifetime with Monique Gray Smith’s new novel Tilly and the Crazy Eights … Road trips, by design, tend to ratchet up all sorts of feelings. The charming characters in Tilly and the Crazy Eights squabble and make up, they laugh and forgive.… But the book also carries an undercurrent of pain and loss, in particular, the story of Sarah and her sister, Annie, both of whom still hold secrets from their time at residential school.” — The Toronto Star

“Most powerfully, Smith infuses her novel with joy, love, and laughter and suggests that these could be what determine the future after all.” — Quill & Quire

“Cree actress Michelle Thrush's warm cadence puts listeners at ease … Bringing an evocative authenticity to her reading of the book's Cree phrases, she also gamely modulates her voice for a variety of character accents … Listeners eager for Indigenous perspectives will want to check out this emotionally affecting pairing of prose and narrator.” — Booklist

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