David A. Robertson's favourite book of 2017 was The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Happy holidays! CBC Books asked authors to share their favourite Canadian books of 2017. We will be publishing these recommendations throughout December. 

• How David A. Robertson wrote a picture book about the history of Canada's residential schools

David A. Robertson chose The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline.

"My favourite book in 2017 by a Canadian author, who also happens to be Indigenous, is The Marrow Thieves, by Cherie Dimaline. In The Marrow Thieves, you have this beautiful, complex and timely dystopian tale of a world suffering through the effects of global warming, and how this suffering has lead to survivors' inability to dream. In fact, the only people still able to do so are Indigenous Peoples. Naturally, these dreamers are mined for their reveries, in a not-so-subtle allusion to Canada's residential school history. It is engaging, it is devastating and it is gorgeous. And we can all learn something from it."

• The message YA novelist Cherie Dimaline has for young Indigenous readers

David A. Robertson won the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — illustrated books for When We Were Alone, illustrated by Julie Flett. His latest book, Strangers, launches a new series for YA readers.