Moon of the Turning Leaves (2023) is a post-apocalyptic novel by Anishinaabe author Waubgeshig Rice. The book is the sequel to Rice’s acclaimed 2018 novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, which examines a northern Anishinaabe community’s experience after an unidentified apocalypse. This second novel, set more than a decade after the worldwide power outage, follows the Shki-dnakiiwin community as they face dwindling resources. To secure a future for the next generation, a small party led by Evan Whitesky and his teenage daughter, Nangohns, embarks on a dangerous journey south to find their ancestral homelands on the shores of the Great Lakes. The novel explores themes of The Lasting Violence of White Supremacy, The Reversal of Colonial Displacement, and Adapting to the Environment Rather Than Mastering It.

Moon of the Crusted Snow was a finalist for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award and the Trillium Book Award and was selected for the 2023 Canada Reads competition, which generated widespread anticipation for its sequel. Upon its release in Canada, Moon of the Turning Leaves became a national bestseller. Rice is also the author of the novel Legacy (2014) and the short story collection Midnight Sweatlodge (2011). A feature film adaptation of Moon of the Crusted Snow is in development.

This guide refers to the 2024 William Morrow first US edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of racism, graphic violence, sexual harassment, death, and death by suicide.

Plot Summary

In the Anishinaabe community of Shki-dnakiiwin (“new village”), established a decade after a worldwide power outage, life is becoming precarious. The fish stocks in their lake, Zaag’igan, are dwindling, and game is increasingly scarce. Amid this growing concern, a new child is born to Maiingan Whitesky (son of Ethan and Nicole Whitesky) and his partner, Pichi. The baby’s grandmother, Nicole, names her Waawaaskone (flower) in a birthing lodge ceremony, recalling her powerful dream of a flower and a beam of light guiding her south toward their ancestral homelands. 

The community’s elder, Walter, recognizing the unsustainability of their settlement, convenes the community’s leaders. He declares that the Anishinaabek were meant to move with the seasons, and they must send a scouting party zhaawnong (south), to find a path back to their people’s homeland on the shores of the Great Lakes. A group of six is chosen for the two-month journey: community leader Evan Whitesky; his 15-year-old daughter, Nangohns; his best friend, Tyler; an elder-in-training, J. C.; and a young, capable couple, Cal and the midwife, Amber. Their mission is to return by the moon of the turning leaves (October) with a plan for their people’s exodus.

The group’s journey begins with a stop at their old, abandoned reserve, Gaawaandagoong. There, Evan unearths a hidden cache of four handguns, relics from a violent conflict during the first winter of the blackout, and distributes them among the group for protection. As they travel south, following a swollen river, the land becomes lusher but also more unnerving. Strange noises in the night and a bear attack that results in the loss of one of their rifles and a box of ammunition put them on high alert. 

After nearly two weeks, they reach the outskirts of the abandoned city of Gibson. They walk through streets reclaimed by nature and past ransacked stores and homes riddled with bullet holes. Inside the city hall, they discover desperate messages scrawled on the walls by people searching for loved ones in the aftermath of the collapse. Nangohns finds a large map with ominous red markings over southern territories, labeling them “DEAD LAND” and “DEAD LAKE.” The utter desolation of the city tests their resolve, but a passionate speech from Nangohns about securing a future for the next generation steels their commitment to the mission.

Continuing south, the group’s journey takes a tragic turn when J. C. slips on wet rocks and suffers a gruesome leg break. Realizing he will be a burden, he asks the others to leave him behind. They refuse, but while Evan is away fetching water, J. C. uses his handgun to die by suicide. Devastated, the group observes a four-day mourning period, burying their friend before pressing onward. 

Their hope is rekindled when they discover the cellphone of Isaiah, Cal’s brother, who disappeared on a similar expedition years prior. They then see pieces of his clothing tied to trees, and they follow the trail to a clearing where they spot two Anishinaabe children playing. While watching the children, they are intercepted by armed guards and brought to a hidden community called Saswin (“nest”). Its elder, an Anishinaabe former professor named Diindiisii (“blue jay”), welcomes them, telling them that her Anglo name is Linda. 

She reveals that Isaiah and Kevin, Tyler’s brother, spent a winter there four years ago before continuing south. Linda explains the cause of the blackout—a massive solar flare that destroyed global power grids and satellites—and recounts the ensuing chaos, including the spread of deadly sickness and the radioactive contamination of land near failing nuclear plants. She invites the group to join their thriving community.

After resting and resupplying at Saswin, the walkers resume their journey. They walk along the road, although it makes them uncomfortable, and their path takes them through a small, abandoned town where they find a strange symbol—a tilted cross—painted on buildings. As they exit the town, they are ambushed by gunfire and forced to flee into the bush. They take refuge in a large, abandoned cottage on a lake, but the next morning they look out the window to see several armed white men in camouflage. 

The men, who call themselves the Disciples, force the group onto the deck at gunpoint. One of their number, a burly red-headed man, suddenly turns on his comrades, shooting the leader and two others. In the ensuing chaos, he and Tyler subdue the remaining attackers. The red-haired man reveals he is Anishinaabe, raised by his grandparents in Baawaating. His name is Zhaabdiis, and because his father was white, he passed for white when the Disciples, a white supremacist militia, captured and conscripted him. He has been waiting for a chance to escape. He warns that more Disciples are in the area and asks to join the walkers. They warily accept.

The expanded group presses east, with Zhaabdiis recounting the Disciples’ violent history and their mission to “reclaim the land” (241). After encountering and narrowly avoiding another settlement where a Disciple scout has infiltrated, their journey culminates in a harrowing firefight. They are ambushed by another Disciple patrol, which recognizes Zhaabdiis. When they ask what he is doing with the group, he says, “These are my people” (274). The leader of the group shoots and kills him. Just as the rest of the group is about to be executed, they are saved by a surprise arrow attack from two Anishinaabe men who introduce themselves as Anakwad and Giizhik. 

During the battle, Evan is shot in the abdomen. The brothers, who are from a community on the nearby island, the community that the group is actually looking for, rescue the survivors, loading the gravely wounded Evan into a rowboat. They paddle across the vast moonlit water to their town, Oodenaang. Evan is taken to a clinic run by the island’s doctor, Noodin, but his internal injuries are too severe. In his final moments, with Nangohns by his side, he describes a beautiful dream of jumping across the islands of the great lake, seeing his people thriving on the shore. He dies as the sun sets.

Eleven years later, the people of Shki-dnakiiwin have successfully migrated to the island, integrating with the Anishinaabe community there. A 12-year-old Waawaaskone picks blueberries with her grandmother, Nicole, on the rocky lookout where Evan died, preparing for her coming-of-age ceremony. The girl asks if this island will always be their home, a place to finally end their long history of displacement. Looking out over the immense, life-giving water, Nicole holds her granddaughter close and confirms that it is. She repeats it one last time, a firm promise to the future: “We’ll always be here” (301).