Scan barcode
teddie_valetine98's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Grief, Mental illness, Child death, Animal death, Gore, Murder, Addiction, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This wasn’t half-bad, in all honesty. This is the first novel of the author’s that I’ve read, and I kind of wonder if this is set in the same reservation and involves some of the same characters as their first novel, Sisters of the Lost Nation, since both appear to involve the same tribe - which is, apparently, not a “real” tribe, but one that’s heavily based on the author’s own tribe, with other elements pulled from other tribes as well. That last bit is kind of a head-scratcher since I found it kind of strange that they had to do that given their own background, but I guess it means the author’s less restricted in the things they can and can’t use as elements for the story.
My main gripe with this story is the pacing. I thought it was was strange: the constant shifts in POV between the two narrators, which also came along with a switch in time period, did not work wonders for the buildup. Things would get REALLY interesting in one storyline, only for the narrative to haul me back into the other storyline, losing the momentum of the plot I’d originally been engaged with. I personally think that if Louie’s story had been told in one straight block of narrative, instead of being interspersed with Noemi’s throughout the book (maybe Noemi’s story could have been the bookends to Louie’s narrative?), the story would have been more propulsive, but that’s just me.
Despite that gripe though, this was still a fantastic read, especially once things REALLY get going in the novel’s latter third. The author’s use of indigenous folklore and traditions as frames for very modern concerns (specifically: the high rates of suicide and alcoholism among Native Americans) was quite well done, highlighting how the history of colonialism, imperialism, racism, and poverty all come together to form the nightmarish background noise that persists in the lives and psyches of many Native Americans today. The author shows how, for many Native Americans, even if one manages to “make it” and leave to live a “better” life, one’s past always finds a way to come back. Either one finds a healthy way of dealing with it by seeking some kind of help, or one is consumed by it, and dragged down by the dark undertow. And even if one CAN get help (and it must be noted that many, MANY Native Americans aren’t always able to get that), the past will always haunt one, no matter what.
Overall, this was a pretty good horror novel, blending elements of Native American folklore with the real-world horrors of suicide and alcoholism that plague Native Americans up to the present day. However, the way in which the story is told means that the novel tends to break up the overall plot’s forward momentum, which is a pity in my opinion because I think the story would have been spookier and even more tense had the plot been arranged just slightly differently.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Child death, Animal death, Alcohol, and Murder
lettuce_read's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Child death, Ableism, and Animal death
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
shay43geek's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Death, Alcoholism, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide, Gore, Grief, and Self harm
Minor: Death of parent
More...