Small Ceremonies: A Novel
Kyle Edwards
Apr 2025 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Chris Mejaki, Yolanda Bonnell, Dillan Meghan Chiblow, James Dallas Smith, Jay Northcott, John Wamsley, Marion Newman, Monique Mojica, Shane Ghostkeeper, T'Áncháy Redvers, Tara Sky, and Steve Dangle
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14 hr 22 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
A poignant and heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that follows the friendships, hopes, fears, and struggles of a group of Native high school students from Winnipeg, Manitoba’s North End, illuminating what it's like to grow up in the heart of an Indigenous city
WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD
Word on the street is that this is the Tigers hockey team's last season. For Tomahawk “Tommy” Shields, an Indigenous, image-obsessed high school student, the potential loss of his team serves as a stark reminder of his uncertain future. He can't help but feel that each of his peers has some skill or gift that he lacks, yet each of their perceived virtues hides darker truths, too. Clinton is beloved by teachers, but his "good kid" disposition is a desperate attempt not to fall prey to the gang violence in which his older brother has become enmeshed. Floyd has incredible talent on the ice, yet behind that talent lies deep insecurity about his multiracial background. And the adults that populate Tommy's life—his mother, who struggles with schizophrenia; Pete, the team's wayward Zamboni driver; and elders Maggie and Olga—offer a mixture of well-intentioned but often misguided support and serve as a portent of what the future could hold.
Set in Winnipeg's North End, at the border of Canada's eastern woodlands and central prairies, Small Ceremonies follows a community both at the edge of the world and at the center of something much larger than itself. As its richly drawn characters navigate the thrilling independence of adulthood and the loss of innocence that accompanies adolescence, one can't help but root for Tommy and his community, even as Tommy wrestles with his place in it.
WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD
Word on the street is that this is the Tigers hockey team's last season. For Tomahawk “Tommy” Shields, an Indigenous, image-obsessed high school student, the potential loss of his team serves as a stark reminder of his uncertain future. He can't help but feel that each of his peers has some skill or gift that he lacks, yet each of their perceived virtues hides darker truths, too. Clinton is beloved by teachers, but his "good kid" disposition is a desperate attempt not to fall prey to the gang violence in which his older brother has become enmeshed. Floyd has incredible talent on the ice, yet behind that talent lies deep insecurity about his multiracial background. And the adults that populate Tommy's life—his mother, who struggles with schizophrenia; Pete, the team's wayward Zamboni driver; and elders Maggie and Olga—offer a mixture of well-intentioned but often misguided support and serve as a portent of what the future could hold.
Set in Winnipeg's North End, at the border of Canada's eastern woodlands and central prairies, Small Ceremonies follows a community both at the edge of the world and at the center of something much larger than itself. As its richly drawn characters navigate the thrilling independence of adulthood and the loss of innocence that accompanies adolescence, one can't help but root for Tommy and his community, even as Tommy wrestles with his place in it.
A poignant and heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that follows the friendships, hopes, fears, and struggles of a group of Native high school students from Winnipeg, Manitoba’s North End, illuminating what it's like to grow up in the heart of an Indigenous city
WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S L...
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About the author
Kyle Edwards grew up on the Lake Manitoba First Nation and is a member of the Ebb and Flow First Nation. A graduate of Ryerson University, he has worked as a journalist for Native News Online, ProPublica, and Maclean’s, and has held fellowships at Harvard and Stanford Universities. He has won two National Magazine Awards for his reporting and was named Emerging Indigenous Journalist by the Canadian Association of Journalists in 2019. He is currently a Provost Fellow at the University of Southern California.
Kyle Edwards grew up on the Lake Manitoba First Nation and is a member of the Ebb and Flow First Nation. A graduate of Ryerson University, he has worked as a journalist for Native News Online, ProPublica, and Maclean’s, and has held fellowships at Harvard and Stanford Universities. He has won two...
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