I chose to DNF this book at about 52%.

The constant fatphobic remarks about other characters was a lot for me, and comparing one to Hitler really did not sit well with me.

I wanted to give this book a fair shot with the indigenous rep and OCD rep(also the main character seemed to be Autistic as well which I thought was very cool), but the above negatives mixed with poor pacing and a story that just had a hard time finding itself led me to DNF.

At 52%, I'm still not sure where the story is heading. I would advise sensitivity readers and someone to edit this books for plot holes and clean it up.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

Ok so first off, I REALLY wasn't comfortable with how much fatphobia there is in this book. This should not be happening in 2023. Especially since it is not central to the plot, nor is it used as a means for character growth. Second, this was a bit of a slog to get through... at under 300 pages, the reading experience feels like it's taking the same amount of time as reading a 500 page novel does. I'm a huge fan of Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves series (which is also YA), and both of those novels hooked me from the start and were filled with characters that I still remember years later. But that didn't happen here, Winifred was not someone I found myself wanting to invest my time and emotions in, and almost all of the other characters fade into the background.

The concept was interesting, but in the end, this book never hit its stride and I don't think it ever decided on what kind of tone it wanted to have... sometimes it was horror, sometimes it was humor, other times it was just a long monologue. I keep waiting for the storytelling magic from the Marrow Thieves books to happen again and keep getting disappointed.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Tundra Books in exchange for an honest review.

Atmospheric and a little claustrophobic, this new YA novel by Cherie Dimaline was a compelling read, but not among my favourites of hers.

FUNERAL SONGS FOR DYING GIRLS is told from the perspective of teenaged Winifred, who lives at the edge of a cemetery in downtown Toronto with her father who looks after the land. Her mother died in childbirth and grief and loss have been constants in her short life.

We are with Winifred as she negotiates relationships at school, with family, and with a, well, with a ghost who haunts the cemetery. In some ways the ghost - who is Ojibwe (Winifred's mother was Metis but Win doesn't know what that makes her) - is a powerful stand-in for the hundreds of missing and murdererd Indigenous women and girls. In other ways, she's a catalyst for Winifred's grief and longing, searching for identity, and finding home.

Unfortunately, there's a surprising amount of fatphobia throughout. Also, like much of Dimaline's writing, she injects humour throughout, but here it creates it bit of an inconsistent tone - it's too funny to be serious sometimes and too heavy to be light at others.

What she does do here that is incredible, is give voice to the experience of adolescence and all its shame, embarrassment, overconfidence, rage, and confusion. If writing like this existed when I was 14, I would have felt very witnessed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

Winifred is definitely different from other girls. She rolls her dog, Mrs. Dingleberry, around in a scooter. She uses tea cups to catch rain outside of her house because she likes the sounds they make. But most importantly, she lives in a cemetery with her father, who operates the crematorium and takes care of the recently deceased. Her life seems pretty normal for her until she begins to grow into a teenager and the cemetery is soon hit with rumors of it being haunted at night. Determined to find out for herself, Winifred soon discovers the secret of a lifetime.

As someone who wasn't exposed to much Indigenous literature as a child, I found myself fortunate when I requested to read this book. I sped through it and it took me on an emotional journey. I was sixteen again, discovering my first kiss, dealing with the loss of childhood through Fred's eyes, and learning how to deal with people who aren't as nice or as kind as they should be. There's also a lot of Indigenous politics and culture that I felt privileged to read about, even though this is a work of fiction. Dimaline endeared all of her characters to me and I felt often submerged by the depth of her story, only managing to scramble gasping to the surface once I managed to close the book for the night.

Despite my love of the story, I did feel that the pacing was sometimes off and that the author often didn't know whether they wanted the story to be a horror story with humorous elements or a humourous stor with horror elements and I think the book suffered a bit from that. I also thought that there could have been a little fleshing out of some of the background characters.
Despite that, I feel that this is a book that everyone, not just Indigenous girls, should read. This book has a lot of heart that should be felt.

I wanted to love this so much. The premises of this book is so good. The writing was solid, the story at its core all wonderful. I just can't get past the fat shaming in this book. Not only did it make me super uncomfortable it took me totally out of the story and being able to connect with the characters. I found it almost cruel how the author seemed to make digs about weight when it absolutely had no impact on the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

Winifred is definitely different from other girls. She rolls her dog, Mrs. Dingleberry, around in a scooter. She uses tea cups to catch rain outside of her house because she likes the sounds they make. But most importantly, she lives in a cemetery with her father, who operates the crematorium and takes care of the recently deceased. Her life seems pretty normal for her until she begins to grow into a teenager and the cemetery is soon hit with rumors of it being haunted at night. Determined to find out for herself, Winifred soon discovers the secret of a lifetime.

As someone who wasn't exposed to much Indigenous literature as a child, I found myself fortunate when I requested to read this book. I sped through it and it took me on an emotional journey. I was sixteen again, discovering my first kiss, dealing with the loss of childhood through Fred's eyes, and learning how to deal with people who aren't as nice or as kind as they should be. There's also a lot of Indigenous politics and culture that I felt privileged to read about, even though this is a work of fiction. Dimaline endeared all of her characters to me and I felt often submerged by the depth of her story, only managing to scramble gasping to the surface once I managed to close the book for the night.

Despite my love of the story, I did feel that the pacing was sometimes off and that the author often didn't know whether they wanted the story to be a horror story with humorous elements or a humourous story with horror elements and I think the book suffered a bit from that. I also thought that there could have been a little fleshing out of some of the background characters. Despite that, I feel that this is a book that everyone, not just Indigenous girls, should read. This book has a lot of heart that should be felt.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Punlishing for this opportunity to read rate and review this book which is out April 4,2023.

I think I might be too old for this book. I found myself annoyed the entire time by the immaturity of the characters which of course turned me off from the story.

This book follows Winifred as she fights to save the cemetery where she lives with her father. Win has lived her entire life here and can't stand the thought of leaving the only place that feels safe for her. While trying to figure out how to stay, Win actually does summon a ghost and so a friendship begins. We follow Win through multiple stages of her life through this book through a series of flashbacks and stories, but most importantly - we see Win try to navigate being a 16 year old girl in a world that's not so kind.

The writing in this book was beautiful and the descriptions of the places and people made me feel as though I was lost within the pages. Every phrase was elegant and thought out. I cannot wait to purchase this book once it gets published.

I want to thank NetGalley and Cherie Dimaline for allowing me to read this ARC before publication in exchange for an honest review.

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls is a difficult book to read. Not because the writing is hard, but because the concept is hard.

Winfred lives in a cemetery, because that is where her father works. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her white father keeps her ashes in a suitcase under his bed. Sometimes Win goes out wandering in the cemetary at night, and a few times she has been mistaken for a ghost. The local ghost tour wants to make the cemetery part of his stops, but Windfred has met a real ghost, while wondering, and doesn’t want her to be exploited, even though this would bring in needed money to the cemetery.

And through this all, the ghost tells her stories of her life, and asks what she is. She has no idea. She doesn’t feel she can call herself white, but she knows nothing about her mother’s side of family other than one aunt who was kind to her.

There is a lot of soul searching, and other hard bits going on. Through it all, it makes you think. Recommended for the thinking part. But if you don’t want to think what life and love is, you might not want to dive into this book.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Sadly i wasnt in love with this book. But its was interesting to say the least. I will read more from this author but this book wasnt for me at all.

When I read the summary I was hooked. When I started to read the novel I found myself easily distracted. There is a lot of inner dialogue, and while it's written very well it slows down the story, a lot. I will struggle to find readers for this novel because my students want something at a quicker pace. My advanced readers might enjoy this novel. It's a shame because the story is interesting, and I loved the characters, but the novel was weighted down by its slow pace.

Winifred lives at a cemetery with her father who runs the crematorium. They receive some news that the crematorium may be closed and outsourced. Hearing this Winnie runs off upset and is mistaken for a ghost. So begins a quest to save her home but in the process she brings forth an actual ghost named Phil that awakens every party of her. Phil is full of spunk but lots of anger too. She over time tells Winnie her story as a seemingly impossible romance begins to bud between them.


I enjoyed reading this however show of the writing was a little confusing. It was hard to tell when we were being taken into the past, present or to another perspective. Overall though I enjoyed the book.

Thank you #Netgalley for the chance to read this eArc.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

Winifred lives at Winterson Cemetery. Her father runs the crematorium and her mother's ashes are close by near their home. When Winifred was younger, her friend James decided he wanted to try ghost hunting and they did not find one. Given Winifred's habit of roaming the cemetery, some people have claimed to see ghosts at Winterson. Fast forward five years and Winifred does find a ghost. At first, Winifred is finds her experience unsettling, but soon starts to find comfort in her ghost friend. When the cemetery's management starts to make plans to close and outsource Winifred's father's job, she gets the idea to try to get the cemetery on a ghost tour. She reaches out to her con-artist cousin to try to save her home and then things start to fall apart. Winifred must come to terms with the fact that sometimes, ghosts are more than what they seem. A beautifully crafted novel of love, loss, and moving forward.

If it weren't for the atrocious fatphobia, this would be a good novel about grief and identity and desire and greed. But the fatphobia is rampant, and I can't ignore it. Why aren't writers and editors more sensitive to this? Your villainous characters don't need to be fat, or disabled, or mentally ill, or anything else. This could have been a 5-star book for me, but no, not the way it is.

Like Dimaline’s last novel, I found this one difficult to get into. It wasn’t until the halfway point that I really started to get into the story. The halfway mark coincided with the moment we began to learn about the ghost, Phil’s, backstory. It was fascinating and tragic and I felt it really gives readers a window into the crisis of MMIWG.

I also really loved how Dimaline wove in Métis knowledge. I loved the relationship between Winnifred and her Auntie. That was a beautiful and supportive relationship.

So, if readers can make it past the first half, I think they will love the payoff of this tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the eARC in exchange for the honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

As a queer Indigenous reader and reviewer, this book excited me. In some aspects it delivered and in others I was a bit disappointed. Starting with the writing, if that was what my rating was solely based on, I would have gave this book 5 stars. Cherie Dimaline can tell a story that is vivid and imaginative. The sentences are beautifully constructed and have a simple beauty to them. They aren't super flowery but each line builds a clear image in your head. Having this book set primarily in a cemetery gave it an atmospheric edge. In terms of Indigenous literature, this is a stand out novel. This meshed Indigenous culture seamlessly into a wider story. That allowed for it to be present and relevant to the story without it being the sole focal point. Which, once more, speaks volumes for this book and the way the author constructs stories.

For the plot, I thought it was quite solid. Through Winifred's eyes we see a wider story, focusing beyond the main plot of a lonely girl being in a cemetery and befriending Phil, a ghost who she sees as badass and cool. That remains a central part of the story but there are layers, like grief and neglect, and what that does to people. And what is even more exciting about this story is the way Phil tells us stories of her life within the actual story. And from her eyes we see even more of a plot, like the struggles of finding your place in the world when you're different from others, and how others may interact with you because of those differences. I could feel the connection between Winifred and Phil but wish we could have seen them do more stuff together. Having them work together on a common goal would have tied it all together in a perfect package. Instead it did feel at times like they were working alongside the plot rather than in line with it.

Overall my feelings about the story itself are positive, but there are aspects in the book that I found troubling and dampened my experience, as well as overall thoughts on it. There is tons of fat shaming in this book which made me uncomfortable. It took the pride and joy I felt as a queer Indigenous reader and had me wondering if the author would even tolerate someone like me who is fat. At first it was aimed primarily at Winifred's obese chihuahua. Although uncomfortable, and some thoughts can be drawn if those feelings would be reflected onto people, I could look past a lot of it because of how I was enjoying the story. However, there came a point where Winifred was thinking back on a teacher she had who is described as big and her best friend Jack ended up drawing that teacher as a "fat pig" that the class laughed at. It was the moment that started up their friendship. Even if it is set from the perspective of a kid, and kids can be cruel, it just felt unnecessary. There was also a moment where the same teacher was likened to Hitler, which felt out of place in this book and a bit insensitive to any Jewish readers who might pick it up.

I'm not someone who thinks characters can't be flawed and have arcs, but it makes hesitate on reading again from this author. Who I absolutely still want to read from as a fan of their writing. If that was not in here this book would easily be a 4 star read for me.

Overall, a good book that could use some tweaking and reconsideration for the readers.

It took me a couple of days after reading this narrow down exactly why I didn’t like it. On the surface, everything was fine. The characters are fun to read, the plot is compelling, and the stakes are high. Then I realized it almost feels like it should be an adult book, but the author made it YA by just aging down the characters and dumping in pop culture references.

The story is incredibly slow for YA, and there is way too much inner monologue. I think perhaps some advanced older readers might appreciate this, but even then, I’d probably hand them something that has more substance. I do appreciate the attempt to bring more literariness to YA, that has been lacking for a while. But the audience is still younger readers, and the themes and concepts still have to be presented in a way that readers will not only understand them, but be excited enough to keep reading. That is where Funeral Songs for Dying Girls ultimately failed.

Somewhere out there, an angsty teenager will pick this up and think to themselves "is that what adults think we sound like?"

I am a little bit surprised at this book by the likes of Dimaline who wrote one of my favorite novels "The Marrow Thieves". I did not enjoy the prose at all and it felt like it was trying extremely hard to be edgy. I love that they used traditional Indigenous pieces and added in the ghost factor but the writing was very juvenile, even for its intended age range. The pop culture references were a bit stale even by todays standards and I personally won't be spending anymore time with this book.

Was it a nail biter? No, I think this needs to be reworked.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this ARC to me in exchange for an honest review.