Walking in Two Worlds by Wab Kinew (Go Show the World) is a standout genre-bending YA sci-fi that movingly explores challenges faced by an Indigenous teen and a Chinese teen coming of age in Anishinaabe country.
Anishinaabe teen Bagonegiizhigok, who goes by Bugz, doubts herself in the real world. Although she proudly leads the healing dance in her jingle dress at pow-wows, she can't relate to the other dancers, who look "the way Anishinaabe women should look," not "chubby" like her. But in the virtual world of the Floraverse, she's an unstoppable warrior with millions of followers and a trim waist. She's also the top target of Clan:LESS, a ruthless group of sexist men who seek Bugz's source of power in the game. Feng, a Uyghur teen, fled Xinjiang, China, because "the party" would have "disappeared" him for his participation in Clan:LESS. Relocating to live with his aunt, the Rez's doctor, puts him in contact with Bugz. And when the teens immediately click, Clan:LESS sees it as an opportunity.
Myriad difficult storylines receive due space: embracing cultural pride while eschewing harmful tradition; loving one's country but not its rulers; how Indigenous land is fundamental to Indigenous existence; the dangers of xenophobia and body shaming; the importance of self-esteem and external support to individuality. As a powerful parallel throughout, Bugz must constantly defend the location where her real and virtual worlds are one--a symbol of her ideal self--from those who would overtake (read: colonize) it. Kinew delivers a fun, brilliantly executed blend of gamer geekdom, social issues and Indigenous culture. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer