Reviews

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

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dcobos225's review

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emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

3.5

melisbooked's review

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

What a beautiful story!

Following the interconnected lives of three young girls throughout three generations, A Council of Dolls chronicles their interconnected trauma and terror as they face: Indian boarding schools, massacres, death, and abuse. Each part of the book is divided as a chapter to tell the most important part of their story.

Sissy (1960s): Sissy/ Lillian lives with her volatile mother and gentle father. Even as a young child, she has the gift to see the emotions of others, and learns to protect herself while simultaneously caring for them in company with her doll, Ethel.

Lillian (1930s): Lillian is born with a hole in her heart that impedes her from socializing with the other children. As her story progresses, we meet Mae, her Shirley Temple doll that was gifted to her by her father.

Cora (1900s): In an effort to hold on to home, Cora takes with her her precious doll Winona. There, she meets Jack.

Jesse (2010): Reeling from the past, Jesse communes with the council of Dolls to reconcile her trauma.

jower's review

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

This book captured intergenerational trauma in a way that was poignant and empathetic. Despite their flaws, I loved each of the main characters, which was down to the masterful writing and excellent development of the characters from Mona Susan Power. This story will definitely stay with me for a long time.

madcrazymoviereviews's review

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

It's a really great concept that gets steadily worse as it goes along. Heavy-handed preaching by the end.

quackthump's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

dogoodwithbooks's review

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A Council of Dolls is an eye-opening read of three generations of Native American women and their connection to their dolls. With a POV split between the three women, each POV tells a haunting story of the abuse Native Americans have been subjected to for years and how they turn to their dolls for comfort and guidance. Adding touches of magical realism, Power’s historical fiction novel captures the generational trauma passed down from each woman and how to ultimately heal from it. If you’re a fan of the multi-generational sagas found in books like Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow, you might like this book.

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