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real ones: a novel

Katherena Vermette
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real ones: a novel

Katherena Vermette
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Overall rating: 4.3333335 / 5 from 21 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Real ones is a heartrending story about two Michif sisters navigating their mother's false Indigenous identity claims. Customers praise the compelling narrative, intricate characters, and the fast-paced, moving plot that delves into unresolved childhood trauma and the fight for Métis identity.

Summary topics

  • Narrative: 24%
  • Characters: 15%
  • Book Quality: 53%

Review topics: [gift, book, vermette, story, characters, read, work, prose, peoples, novel].

Review highlights

  • "Amazing and timely story, written with grace and wit" — Rebecca
  • "Characters were interesting and complex, as people are." — Julie
  • "Excellent book about generation trauma snd pretendians." — Sachi J.

Reviews

Real Ones

"A story about identity, the complexities of family, relationships, and the beauty of where we come from. A lot of internal dialogue makes for an easy connection with the characters."

— ASnider (4/5)

Warm, Surprising and Affecting

"There's simply no one writing better Canadian stories than katherena vermette. REAL ONES is a little less ambitious than her previous books, but it's no less affecting, a warm and surprising story of sisterhood and identity that moved me and made me laugh so hard at a yoga joke that my entire neighbourhood was wondering what I was doing. I'm an Indigo employee."

— B444 (5/5)

4. 5 - 5 Stars

"4. 5 - 5 Stars katherena vermette’s Real Ones is an excellent story about family, identity, cultural appropriation, and much more. Told from the alternating perspectives of two half Métis sisters, as they discover that their white French-Canadian artist mother has been falsely claiming to be Indigenous, and the truth has come out. This book was timely, fast-paced, and moving, following the sisters as they are pulled into the tangle of their mother’s lies, which brings forwards memories of the pain and hurt and childhood trauma they’ve lived with. Packed with stunning prose, this is an ultimately hopeful story about identity and ownership."

— Ameema (5/5)

Great Gift

"I bought this as a christmas gift for my MIL and it was perfect. Great book, keeps you engaged throughout."

— Tells (5/5)

Real Ones

"Loved this! Another great book by the amazing Katherena Vermette!"

— Lisa J. (5/5)

Real Ones by Katherena Vermette

"Katherena Vermette is outstanding ! Loves this book along with all her others about The Strangers Important Canadian Indigenous Stories, relevant, heartbreaking truth and reconciliation ♥️ loved it"

— Shari (5/5)

Real Ones- Katherina Vermette

"I feel this is her best work. Interesting to understand issue that indigenous peoples face re non-indigenous people claiming their heritage because it is suddenly popular. Characters were interesting & complex, as people are. A good read."

— Julie (4/5)

Real Ones- Katherina Vermette

"I feel this is her best work. Interesting to understand issue that indigenous peoples face re non-indigenous people claiming their heritage because it is suddenly popular. Characters were interesting & complex, as people are. A good read."

— Julie (4/5)

Read this one in a day it was so good!

"Book review: 4. 5/5 ⭐️ Genre: literary fiction Themes: race & identity, tradition, art, history, colonization 📖 Read if you like: Yellowface, The Vanishing Half, The Inconvenient Indian What was the last book you devoured in a single sitting? This book was a marvel! It managed to be thought-provoking, without being preachy. Informative, without reading like a textbook. Emotional, without being hard to digest. It is written through the lens of two adult sisters whose white mother has been pretending to be Mischif (Métis) in order to sell art. As Mischif women who have lived through their own challenges, be it from the colour of their skin to a traumatic childhood, their own identity is also called into question. What follows is an unwinding of all the things they wish they had said, the past that shaped who they are and makes this particular lie so hurtful. It broaches the topic of “pretendians” including the harms of cultural appropriation to a people and their history, identity versus self-actualization, depression and politics in the art world, and the long reaching arm of inherited trauma. It can be a heavy subject, but was written in such a way as to mirror the artistic quality of Lyn’s pottery. Hard to form, but beautiful in the end with a mirror in the natural world. The sentence structure can be odd at times, but it reinforces a sense of anxiety and anger. In that way this was a whole body of art in which not just the words, but how they were presented, were used to convey a feeling. If you are new to this topic, the point of view from June & Lyn will really help you understand the harm of false claims. Besides the informative portion and discourse on society in North America following colonization, this is just a really beautiful story of sisters and their path to forgiveness and moving on, of admitting that those we love can still hurt us. Witty at times, heart felt and moving at others with a side order of cursing. I cannot wait to read Vermette’s entire backlist now!"

— Karisbookclub (5/5)

vermette is an auto-TBR for me

"Anytime katherena vermette publishes a new novel, it goes on my TBR. I love how all of her characters are connected in one way or another, and I am tempted to reread all her books and create a map of relationships. vermette has such a great gift of crafting complex characters and immersing the reader in their experiences. This book follows two Michif sisters, June and lyn, as they navigate life following their (white) mother's exposure as a pretendian. With each alternating chapter, we see how Renee's choices have impacted both sisters in the past and the present. As in all her books, vermette is asking the reader to grapple with important questions on Canadian institutions' treatment of Indigenous peoples. This time she focuses her attention on pretendians, of which there have been many high-profile cases in recent memory. This novel would make an excellent Canada Reads selection, as all Canadians are implicated in untangling this problem. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for this e-arc!"

— Emilie B. (4/5)

Q&A

  • Published date: Sep 02, 2025
  • Language: English
  • No. of Pages: 312
  • Publisher: Penguin Canada
  • ISBN: 9780735247529
  • Dimensions: 5.13" W x 0.8" L x 7.91" H
One of:
Indigo’s Top Ten Best Books of 2024
Winnipeg Free Press’ Best Books of 2024
One of CBC’s “Best Canadian fiction of 2024”

“With the same artistry and open heart that vermette’s character lyn practices in throwing and displaying her pottery, vermette has crafted real ones to explore—in real time—the traumatic outward rippling effect of a mother’s ethnic fraud on all her relations.”
—Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians and Truth Telling

“A brilliant novel, infused with anger and rich with empathy. In real ones, katherena vermette holds a mirror up to an issue that Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities are all grappling with—the rise of false claims to Indigenous identity. Vermette tells this story like no one else can. By focusing on the relationship between sisters June and lyn (who are Métis on their father’s side) following the public discovery of their own mother’s false claims, vermette offers up an understanding of the way the phenomenon reverberates at the personal and political levels. A healing and eye-opening story, real ones is a must-read.”
—Michelle Porter, author of A Grandmother Begins the Story

“With conviction and compassion, vermette shines a light on pretendianism—motivations, tangled emotions, far-reaching consequences—and re-centres collective Métis identity and sovereignty.”
—Chantal Fiola, author of Returning to Ceremony: Spirituality in Manitoba Métis Communities

“Through lithe prose that occasionally slips into poetry, vermette’s refreshing novel shines in its biting satire of white hubris and its conclusions about the slipperiness of identity.”
—The Walrus

“[A] warm, incredibly timely and at times rather funny novel.”
—Chatelaine

“Timely. . . . vermette’s talent for exploring tough topics with passion, humour and hope helps the story unfold. Through the family’s experience, tributes are paid to the hard-fought battles of Michif (Métis) people who have regained and maintained ownership of their identity. A deep understanding of art and a love of language abounds in vermette’s careful prose. Throughout the sad story, moments of simple beauty shine. vermette is passionate about her ancestry and inserts lived experience and cultural awareness through family discussions. . . . Though real ones explores a lot of anger caused by the pretendian theme, there’s heartfelt experience from the daughters’ perspectives [and] conflicted feelings about Renee. . . . That core struggle makes real ones so very real.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
katherena vermette (she/her) is a Michif (Red River Métis) writer from Treaty 1 territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Born in Winnipeg, her Michif roots on her paternal side run deep in St. Boniface, St. Norbert and beyond. Her maternal side is Mennonite from the Altona and Rosenfeld area (Treaty 1). Her first book, North End Love Songs, won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Her most recent novel, The Circle, was the third and final companion to The Break and The Strangers, which garnered several literary awards. Her work for children and young adults includes a picture book, The Girl and the Wolf, and the graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia and an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Manitoba. katherena lives with her kids—fur and human—in a cranky old house within skipping distance of the temperamental Red River.

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