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Jonny Appleseed

Written by: Joshua Whitehead
Narrated by: Joshua Whitehead
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Publisher's Summary

Winner, Lambda Literary Award; Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction

Finalist, Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction; Amazon Canada First Novel Award; Indigenous Voices Award; Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award; Firecracker Award for Fiction

Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize

A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year

A tour-de-force debut novel about a Two-Spirit Indigiqueer young man and proud NDN glitter princess who must reckon with his past when he returns home to his reserve.

“You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine” is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling debut novel by poet Joshua Whitehead.

Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living. Self-ordained as an NDN glitter princess, Jonny has one week before he must return to the “rez” - and his former life - to attend the funeral of his stepfather. The seven days that follow are like a fevered dream: stories of love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and the heartbreaking recollection of his beloved kokum (grandmother). Jonny's life is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages - and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life.

Jonny Appleseed is a unique, shattering vision of First Nations life, full of grit, glitter, and dreams.

Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country’s greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors.

©2018 Joshua Whitehead (P)2019 Bespeak Audio Editions
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ2S+
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What the critics say

"If we're lucky, we'll find one or two books in a lifetime that change the language of story, that manage to illuminate new curves in the flat vessels of old letters and words. This is one of those books. Jonny Appleseed gifts us with clarity in the shape of sharp, and medicine in the guise of soft - and a sexy, powerful, broken, beautiful hero who has enough capacity in the dent of a clavicle to hold all the tears of his family. This book gives us back the land of curb and field, trailer and ledge, and the community - in all its rusted and complicated glory. Most importantly, this book gifts us with the opportunity to hear the innovative and the ancient in the prose of a new literary goddess, Joshua Whitehead." (Cherie Dimaline, author of The Marrow Thieves)

"Jonny Appleseed weaponizes story to bring the rez (and urban rez) to life, shrouding its characters in luminous layers so they're neither good nor bad but immersed in worlds and words. Unflinching and intimate, Joshua Whitehead takes his readers on a journey to the heart of an NDN glitter princess with generous, swooning prose. Unforgettable." (Eden Robinson, author of Son of a Trickster)

"With only seven days until he returns home for his stepfather's funeral, Appleseed spends a pyretic week attempting to reconcile the competing factions of his life: sex, friends, work, sex, family, identity, sex. Throughout, memories of his kokum (grandmother) intrude upon the chaos, and these unexpected moments of remembrance prove most striking. A radically original new voice." (Booklist)

Featured Article: 19 Award-Winning Canadian Fiction Audiobooks to Add to Your Listening List

Canada knows how to write a story, and it has the awards to prove it. These 19 incredible audiobooks are Canadian fiction at its award-winning best.

What listeners say about Jonny Appleseed

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bought without review

lol I was shocked when I got the point of the story.. but I can see how hard it might be for a gay ndn man in a straight world. it was a good story.. but it was a long wait for him to get home lol

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I liked it more than I expected!

Jonny Appleseed is poetic and sexy while it tells stories and brings awareness. A great read!

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beautiful

I fear that anything I write here is going to sound cheesy. I love this book. so much. ♥️

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Relatable to no end

Not my experience, but so well shared that I felt engaged and informed by the story of Jonny. Don't pass this one by.

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Wowza!

Joshua Whitehead has a brazen style of writing that I am here for!
Completely open and remorseless in his storytelling.
He delivered the most beautiful writing, in some of the most disturbing moments.
I cannot wait to read more of his work!

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wow!!

Everything about this audiobook and story is amazing!! Definitely some spicy moments in the story!! Just the book the world needs right now ❤️❤️

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An interesting listen for those with an open mind

I would love to recommend this book to everyone, but I am not sure who I could recommend it to except maybe one or two people that I know. This book is crying out to be read but it is written for a niche audience due to the language and subject material. I just hope that if I recommend it to you that you read it with an open mind and see past the language used to the hurt, suffering, and trauma that this book is portraying.

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Great Surprise

I finished this book really quick! As a straight indigenous women, it was such a beautifully written story that gave me insight on 2spirited beings, and the power and grief carried.. beautiful, glad I found this one.

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One of my all time favorite books

A poetically written, powerful story about an indigenous, two-spirited youth, his struggles alongside his spiritual foundation nurtured by the women in his life. I listened to it twice back to back. The author, Joshua Whitehead, is an academic as well as a slam poet. The recording is beautifully engineered and read. It's a fantastic listening experience.

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Beautifully Authentic Queerness

I want to hug Joshua. I laughed out loud and got lumps in my throat reading this book. Brilliant and poetically written with startling immediacy. Awkward and fun.

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