Elatsoe
#4373.98 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2020–present Reading commitment Low Darcie Little Badger Last reviewed 2026-08-13
Overview
Elatsoe is a contemporary fantasy grounded in Lipan Apache oral tradition, set in a version of the United States where ghosts, vampires, and fair folk are openly known to exist. Ellie Elatsoe can raise and command the spirits of the dead, including her ghost dog Kirby, an inherited skill passed down her family line, and she uses it to investigate her cousin's death after his ghost reveals he was murdered. Darcie Little Badger's 2020 debut novel, published by Levine Querido, won the 2021 Locus Award for Best First Novel and the 2022 Whippoorwill Book Award, and was a finalist for the Ignyte Award for Young Adult Novel, the Lodestar Award, and ALA's Best Fiction for Young Adults, later appearing on Time's list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. Sheine Lende (2024) is a direct prequel following her grandmother two generations earlier.
Urban fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Elatsoe Darcie Little Badger
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sheine Lende | 2024 | 1 | core | 4.19 (1,663 ratings) |
 | Elatsoe | 2020 | 2 | core | 3.97 (24,123 ratings) |
A contemporary-set fantasy in which ghosts, vampires, and fair folk are publicly known to exist, grounded in Lipan Apache oral tradition; the title character can raise and command ghosts, including her ghost dog Kirby. Sheine Lende (2024) is a direct prequel to Elatsoe (2020), set two generations earlier around the title character's grandmother; registered by internal chronology rather than publication order. No further book has been announced; the universe is registered 'ongoing' since the author's own site frames it as an open-ended world rather than a closed 2-book set.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Elatsoe? Elatsoe's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Elatsoe? Publication order, starting with Sheine Lende. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Elatsoe finished? Ongoing (2020–present).
- How much reading does Elatsoe take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~362 pages).
- How is Elatsoe ranked? #437 in this site's official ranking, based on 25,786 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #437?
Ranked #437 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.98 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (25,786 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.46 behind #436, Os Dragões Originais.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 26k ratings · Ranks #437 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Elatsoe (2020)
- Sheine Lende (2024)
Documented internal/story order
- Sheine Lende (2024)
- Elatsoe (2020)
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2021: won: Elatsoe; Confirmed directly via the author's own blog post: "This summer, 2021, I accepted the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Elatsoe won."
- Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, 2025: won: Sheine Lende; Confirmed directly via LAcon V's (Worldcon 2025) own winners announcement page.
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Suggestions computed from what Elatsoe and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- A Song of Wraiths and Ruin Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.96
- The Red Abbey Chronicles Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.90
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.98 across 25,786 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Elatsoe admitted; Core Canon = the 2-book sequence to date accepted 2026-08-13
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Elatsoe Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-13
Rule: Core Canon = the 2-book sequence to date, registered by internal chronology: Sheine Lende (2024, set earliest) and Elatsoe (2020, published first). A genuinely separate universe from the author's other novel A Snake Falls to Earth, which is set in its own distinct world.