This novel in verse is the timely story of Malian, a Wabanaki girl who must quarantine with her grandparents on their reservation when the COVID-19 virus shuts down travel and prevents her from returning home to Boston. Malian deeply misses her parents, friends and school but loves the chance to spend time with her grandparents and hear the stories of their family, including how social services forcibly removed Malian’s mother from her parents to be adopted by a white family. Frustrated by the difficulties of online schooling with unreliable internet, the young girl deals with a sense of isolation and occasional boredom. When she finds a hound hanging around outside the door, Malian names him Malsum, and he becomes her closest companion. A beautiful story of how one community cares for each other through the challenges of yesterday and today.