Moon of the Turning Leaves is a post-apocalyptic, futuristic, novel. It is the sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow. I haven't read the first book but this book stood alone for me.

When survivors of the apocalypse form a community, how do they live and care for each other.

Complete with villains this look into the future is a page turner.

A decade after the end of Moon of the Crusted Snow, what's left of Evan Whitesky's rez community has established a new village, Shki-dnakiiwin, in the bush, returning to their roots. The community has just welcomed a new child, Evan's first grandchild, but they know that their resources are dwindling and their community may as well. Their world is out of balance, and though scouts have headed out to learn what happened to the rest of the world after the power went out, none have returned to share the story. So Evan and a group of five leave on a month-long trek to their ancestral homeland along the great lake, hoping to learn if there are others like them -- and if there is a place for them in this new land.

I picked this up after re-reading the first book and refamiliarizing myself with the world Rice has created, and the scenarios he writes feel more possible than before, making this novella hauntingly realistic and ultimately hopeful. Evan, one of the main characters from the first novella, appears here as a leader of his community, growing in wisdom and able to face hard decisions, like having his 15-year-old daughter Nangohns join him on the journey. His example has clearly helped Nangohns become the sensible and skilled young hunter she is, and their relationship with each other and with their friends was one of the many highlights of the story.

I really appreciated how life in the new community was described, not romanticized but also not drawn with longing for what had been lost, and the solid grounding the walkers had in that new way of living made their journey less challenging in some ways while more challenging in others. All is not perfect or idyllic in this new world, especially since there are other pockets of survivors with a much less cooperative attitude, but despite the losses, the future of their community contains a rich well of hope. As we face more serious ramifications of climate change and more emergency situations in our world, a novella like this reminds us that we are stronger in community and in creating a life-giving and life-nurturing future. 4 stars.

Thank you, William Morrow and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.