This is a difficult one for me to review because I really love the idea of this book. I love the themes and the activism of it. However, the writing of this book felt very form over function. I think that Kerr had a very clear idea of how he wanted this story to unfold, but I think that it isn’t going to appeal to some readers, myself being one of them. I’ve seen other reviews where they talk about it jumping all over and making it impossible to read, and I think that is just the way that the Kerr is imparting background knowledge, but it does give some literary whiplash, especially in the beginning when you’re just getting to know the characters. This book is told in dual POV between both Ezzy and Grey, but I have to admit that I found Grey to actually be the more compelling character to read about. Ezzy didn’t have particularly clear motivations to me except maybe survival and staying out of prison. Grey was more clear with motivations, but a little over the top, but her form of activism at least makes more sense than throwing soup at the Mona Lisa.

Overall, I think this mostly comes down to that the writing of this story didn't work for me. I really wish that it had, but it didn't, but it does seem to be really working for other readers and I am fine being in the minority here. I think that this is a book that will really speak to the right audience and I just really wish that audience was me. I wanted to feel more connected to the characters and I wanted more scenes related to the bison. I'm willing to try another novel by Kerr in the future, but for now I'm just going to be sad that I didn't enjoy this more.

Prairie Edge, as the cover suggests, is about the North American Bison, the "Land Back" movement in Canada, activism, and what it means to commit a crime. Ezzy and Grey, Metis young adults, concoct a plan to move bison into the cities that sprung up in their old habitats. This naturally is not viewed as legal by the Edmonton RMCP. Ezzy struggles with the law, addiction, housing and employment, while Grey is part of the indigenous crew.

Conor Kerr has written a wryly funny, critique as novel that should be required reading for all high schoolers. The apocalypse has already happened for the indians of the Americas. Their spunk and ability to adapt is phenomenal. Kerr harnesses this. Well done.

I really enjoyed the culture, roots, and demographic feel to this story. Kerr writes with clarity, beauty and the tragedy that evolves from years of a persecuted people. I loved the characters and their evolution as people throughout the story. I also loved Joe and Auntie May as such kind, warm and inviting characters. I believe them to foreshadow who Ezzy and Grey will end up like. Great story, laced with great lessons. Kerr has been added to my list of authors to watch and read more of!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me preview this book and offer my review in exchange.

Conor Kerr writes a great story in this book, it had a great overall feel for the genre. I thought the use of bison worked well overall with the plot of the book. I enjoyed the characters and thought they worked with this universe.

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. It definitely kept me reading to learn what would happen next.

It tells of some indigenous people, the main characters young, but also featuring elders, as they try to find their ways of living within a culture foreign to them and their values. The young characters are struggling, dealing with their emotions, childhood, isolation, violence, and alcohol.

The public reactions after they release a group of bison in a city park are hilarious; the act reminded me of the sort of radical environmental group protests I miss hearing about these days. The ending seemed realistic to me.

Recommended for the right types of readers, which probably doesn't include conservative suburbanites.

Thanks to University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this. I felt like the characters were well developed, and the story did well wrestling with a complex topic in a way that was sometimes funny, but in a way that didn't feel to make light of the subject, and seriously, but in a way that didn't feel too heavy - a difficult balance to strike.

The struggle for me between 3 and 4 stars is almost exclusively related to the first 25% or so of this, during which, had I not read the description of this book I would have had very literally no idea what was happening. The way the narrative jumps around so quickly and throws you into the main events of the novel with almost no context didn't work for me - particularly because it didn't feel like that was how the last 50-75% of the book was formatted at all. I struggled a LOT through the first part of this, and was pleasantly surprised when the book seemed to figure out its structure in the second half. Even after finishing and liking the book, I would agree that the first part of this needs some re-working, and I can completely see how it would negatively impact the overall reading experience for a lot of people.

Stories reflect our lives and times back to us and this one is a reckoning- powerful if you truly listen. It is also human and messy and funny…

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Prairie Edge by Connor Kerr from the University of Minnesota Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

This is a very good book, but make no mistake: It is also a very hard read emotionally.

At least for me it was.

What it was _not_ was what part of the Goodreads blurb styled it as: “a frenetic, propulsive crime thriller,” and “a gripping, darkly funny caper.” Oh, sure, there was crime in it, and there was some dark humor, and I was gripped by the story. But it’s not all that in the classic senses of the terms, so don’t go into it in that frame of mind.

Instead, think more along the lines of the recent incredible streaming series Reservation Dogs, and/or the 1998 movie Smoke Signals. Think along the lines of what was done to the land and the Indigenous Peoples who first called it home, and what that then meant for the generations to follow in terms of loss—of property, of income, of family, of culture, of sense of self.

The NetGalley description actually does a better job of summarizing what the book’s about, but it’s not accurate, either, in terms of depicting the characters and their motivations.

I think that at another time I might give this book 3 stars because it and I got off to a rather rocky start, and it really warrants 3.5 stars by my personal reaction standard. But, because it hooked me in deep after that and made me think, hard, and want to pay close attention—and because I am so interested in stories like this—I’m rounding up to 4. And putting Connor Kerr’s first novel, Avenue of Champions, on my To Read list.

DESCRIPTION
Set loose a herd of bison in downtown Edmonton: what could go wrong?

Métis cousins Isidore “Ezzy” Desjarlais and Grey Ginther have beef with their world. With the latest racist policy rolling out. With whatever new pipeline plowing through traditional territory. With the way a treaty (aka, the army) forced the Papaschase Cree off their home on the prairie. And, on the other hand, with how Grey’s friends think if they all just went back to the Rez or the settlement, life would be so much better—pretty, like an Instagram ad. Then there’s the warming planet. And their future, which they seem to be screwing up quite well on their own. Being alive can’t be all cribbage, Lucky Lager, and swiping the occasional catalytic converter.

One night, the cousins hatch a plan to capture a herd of bison from a nearby national park and release them in downtown Edmonton. They want to be seen, be heard, and to disrupt the settler routines of the city, yet they have no idea what awaits them or the fateful consequences their actions have. Balancing wit and sorrow in a work of satire, social commentary, and whip-smart storytelling, Prairie Edge follows Ezzy and Grey’s inspired misadventures as their zealous ideas about bringing about real change do indeed elicit change, just in unexpected and sometimes disastrous ways.

Conor Kerr imagines a web of Métis relationships strained by dislocation, poverty, violence, and cultural drift, but he also laces the ties that bind Ezzy and Grey—and forever bind the Métis to the land—to explore the radical possibility that a couple of inspired miscreants might actually have the power to make a difference.

Heartbreaking story about indigenous people but disjointed and difficult reading made it an almost impossible read. I hate when a book is so confusing and convoluted that the plot gets lost. Good premise but needs more editing.

This book wasn’t for me. I found that the characters made poor life decisions and had to stop during a scene of animal brutality. I was hoping for more of a coming of age story but couldn’t get through the grittiness presented in living conditions, as well as life choices. Sorry, as I was hoping for much more

Ezzy and Grey have a problem. And their own problems. With alternating chapters given to each of them, we learn what brought them together, what motivates them (or not - Ezzy is not motivated by anything, that I can tell), and how each of them has been affected by colonialism.

I wanted to love this book, and there were parts that were very alive. But for most of the book, I felt like Grey was a caricature and Ezzy was just moping his way through life, taking what came. No depth of personality.

The scenes with the bison were the most "alive", and I was disappointed that they were such small scenes.

Read the book of you want to understand Canada's indigenous peoples' struggles, but don't expect great characters.

I had difficulty finishing this book because the plot seemed to jump all over the place. It feels like the book was not edited before it was published. I am submitting a review because I get rated on the percentage of the books that I review, not whether the books are readable or not.

Early on this story felt disjointed. It may have been partially caused by the formatting of the Kindle version I was reading: Paragraphs running together and sentences parsed as separate paragraphs required me to go back and rereading part of the immediate story to determine who was saying what to whom. There is probably another reason that the story felt disjointed, and for this I apologize to Conor because it was not his fault. I just happen to come down with a miserable head cold while packing our home to move from AZ to OK. Sorry Conor, these circumstances may have cost you that coveted fifth star.

I'll start by saying this story is difficult to read because the main characters-Ezzy, Grey, Auntie May and Ol' Joe - are trapped in a world where they are culturally marginalized as "indigenous" natives. You want to pull for them to succeed but you also come to understand that they need to avoid co-opting into "normal" society or they will lose who they really are as a people group. So they accept what is ("It is what it is.") their role in life and move forward with what they can control to live a life that honors their ancestral past. Their goal is to primarily hold on to their language, traditions, history and culture so as to preserve these for future generations.

Living in AZ I have served with various service ministries on the Dine (Navaho) Nation, having had the privilege to share breakfast with the, then, President and Vice President of the Nation. I saw the constant struggle these proud people have with keeping the youth involved with their heritage. Many drift away for work or collage or become prodigals looking for the "good life" and never return.

I've also been involved for the past 13 years with mentoring a correspondence Bible study program for prisoners. I've mentored over 200 students, and many have shared their stories of abandonment by family and friends as they serve their time. More marginalization.

Nevertheless, Conor understands this world, and despite all the obstacles "polite society" has placed at their feet, he has given us real people living through real situations where they strive daily to keep their heads up and move forward. Well played. This book is real life at its heart.

Conor uses the Bison as a metaphor for a life once shared among the various Native nations that roamed across the Plains. The bison and the hunt is the metanarrative of their existence, as much as the Exodus is the metanarrative of the nations of Israel.

ugh, unfortunately this one did just not do it for me. the premise sounded sooo promising and I loved the idea of the themes explored but the execution was just... lacking for me - maybe my expectations were too high.

2.5 rounded up to 3 for the review.

Definifely dark and about the racism that has affected First Nations communities in Canada throughout the ages. Thanks for the ARC! Going up one month pre publication

This book had a fresh perspective and voice that is not often heard. While the reader may wish for a happy ending wrapped up in a bow, it was fitting that this book left one with a sense that this story cannot be complete until hundreds of years of injustice are rectified. There was such a strong sense of place that I felt like I was witnessing the story develop. The characters and touchpoints with history really immerse you into the book.

Thank you for the arc of this upcoming read. However, this just didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure what I expected but this didn’t land.

Thank you to University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for this ARC of Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr.

I very much enjoyed this novel set among the modern-day Métis people in Edmonton and surrounding area.

The cousins - driven mainly by Grey's quest to reconnect with the culturally and spiritually vital bison - capture and release a herd of the creatures in a downtown Edmonton park. There is definitely some humor to be found in the relationship between Ezzy and Grey in particular but this is a dark novel which explores the historical crimes against the First Nation people, the bison, and how that both carries on into the 21st century and has affected the lives of the generations in between and up to the present day. The book includes racism, violence, neglect, exploitation, and abuse and it's heartbreaking in that respect.