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thenovelmaura's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
This was a highly anticipated read for me because I loved Elatsoe, and Little Badger did not disappoint with this one! The world she described the world (two worlds, to be more precise) was so captivating that you can almost believe we all live there. As always, the Lipan Apache mythology was so fascinating to me and I loved the asexual representation in the main character. Just like in Elatsoe, family played a central role here, but there's an additional theme of climate change and coping with the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Both Nina and Oli were such engaging characters on their own that I couldn't wait for them to meet later on in the story. And when the full cast started working towards a common cause, it was so fun to experience their journey. I would love to read another book of their adventures; I'm envisioning a set of fables about Oli finding his family and the coyote sisters living their best lives. I don't know if Little Badger is envisioning a spin-off to this book but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Both Nina and Oli were such engaging characters on their own that I couldn't wait for them to meet later on in the story. And when the full cast started working towards a common cause, it was so fun to experience their journey. I would love to read another book of their adventures; I'm envisioning a set of fables about Oli finding his family and the coyote sisters living their best lives. I don't know if Little Badger is envisioning a spin-off to this book but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Gun violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
jessthanthree's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Blood
Minor: Death, Animal death, and Violence
booksthatburn's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
The worldbuilding is wonderful, explaining a lot of things without feeling like it’s infodumping. Oli has a lot of fascinating anecdotes and animal facts, while Nina tends to provide more of the details about environmental concerns on Earth, though that rough division blurs later on. It did throw me a little that Oli’s sections are narrated in first person and Nina’s are narrated in third, since they’re both crucial for the story.
I like the audiobook narrators, they did a good job overall. The story starts slowly, spending a long time with both main characters before they meet late in the book. Oli leaves home and meets the people who become his friends, then goes through a lot to help them. Nina is worried about her home on both a local and global level, and is growing in her awareness of how she can take action to protect it in big and small ways. The pacing feels deliberate, treating their meeting as an important thing that happens, but not a goal. They have lives before and after their brief intersection.
I like the audiobook narrators, they did a good job overall. The story starts slowly, spending a long time with both main characters before they meet late in the book. Oli leaves home and meets the people who become his friends, then goes through a lot to help them. Nina is worried about her home on both a local and global level, and is growing in her awareness of how she can take action to protect it in big and small ways. The pacing feels deliberate, treating their meeting as an important thing that happens, but not a goal. They have lives before and after their brief intersection.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Bullying
Minor: Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Genocide
amberinpieces's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence
purplelake's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.75
Another triumph from Darcie Little Badger. Delightful characters, ace rep, Lipan stories, found family. A must-read for anyone from 13 to 153.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Violence, Death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, War, Vomit, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Genocide
racheloddment's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
rorikae's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
'A Snake Falls to Earth' by Darcie Little Badger is a heartfelt story about a Lipan Apache girl and a Cottonmouth boy whose paths cross after a disaster on Earth brings tragedy to the Cottonmouth boy's world.
Nina has been listening to her grandmother's stories for years, hoping to one day encounter the animal people that populate her family tales. Oli, a cottonmouth boy, enjoys making new friends and adventuring through his world. But one day, one of his friends becomes sick and it appears that the only way to save him is to travel to Earth to save his species. But Earth has creatures that are out to get those from Oli's world and when he encounters Nina, he brings her into a wider plot that could impact them both.
Darcie Little Badger hits it out of the park with her sophomore novel. Just like with her debut, Elatsoe, this novel has so much heart and touts the importance of family and community. Oli's relationship with his friends was one of my favorite parts of this story. There is such clear care for one another and they go out of their way to support each other.
The story structure works incredibly well. By shifting between the two narratives and providing some of each character's every day life, we come to care deeply for Nina and Oli before they ever meet. This was aided by two great voice acting performances in the audiobook.
Darcie Little Badger is an auto-read author for me and this cemented that. If you enjoyed Elatsoe, you need to read this book and if you haven't had the opportunity to read her work yet, 'A Snake Falls to Earth' is a great introduction to the heart, great characters, and engaging plot that fill her worlds.
Nina has been listening to her grandmother's stories for years, hoping to one day encounter the animal people that populate her family tales. Oli, a cottonmouth boy, enjoys making new friends and adventuring through his world. But one day, one of his friends becomes sick and it appears that the only way to save him is to travel to Earth to save his species. But Earth has creatures that are out to get those from Oli's world and when he encounters Nina, he brings her into a wider plot that could impact them both.
Darcie Little Badger hits it out of the park with her sophomore novel. Just like with her debut, Elatsoe, this novel has so much heart and touts the importance of family and community. Oli's relationship with his friends was one of my favorite parts of this story. There is such clear care for one another and they go out of their way to support each other.
The story structure works incredibly well. By shifting between the two narratives and providing some of each character's every day life, we come to care deeply for Nina and Oli before they ever meet. This was aided by two great voice acting performances in the audiobook.
Darcie Little Badger is an auto-read author for me and this cemented that. If you enjoyed Elatsoe, you need to read this book and if you haven't had the opportunity to read her work yet, 'A Snake Falls to Earth' is a great introduction to the heart, great characters, and engaging plot that fill her worlds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty
b_robinson's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"A Snake Falls to Earth" is a super wholesome story with not much plot until the last part and some amazing characters. I absolutely adored the fact that I got to learn about the cultures, experiences and stories of Native American/Indigenous peoples.
The representation was SOLID in this one. We had an ace Indigenous person as our main character, another character who was also briefly mentioned to be ace, and one of the animal people's pronouns were they/them.
The representation was SOLID in this one. We had an ace Indigenous person as our main character, another character who was also briefly mentioned to be ace, and one of the animal people's pronouns were they/them.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders
bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Medical content
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
- A SNAKE FALLS TO EARTH is a bit meandering, taking awhile to put all the pieces together and get where its going, but Nina and Oli are lovely, classic Little Badger characters, full of love and respect for family, culture, and friends.
- As with ELATSOE, I loved that Nina was so casually asexual - it's a fact just dropped into the story, and no one has a problem with it and it has no bearing on the plot. She simply is, and that's all that matters.
- I wanted more of Nina's world in this book - more about her grandmother, more about her storytelling. That said, I didn't want to lose any of Oli's story to that. His life and friends in the Reflected World were just as wonderful. I think this book might have been able to be more fully rounded if it was more solidly YA, rather than somewhere between YA and middle grade.
- As with ELATSOE, I loved that Nina was so casually asexual - it's a fact just dropped into the story, and no one has a problem with it and it has no bearing on the plot. She simply is, and that's all that matters.
- I wanted more of Nina's world in this book - more about her grandmother, more about her storytelling. That said, I didn't want to lose any of Oli's story to that. His life and friends in the Reflected World were just as wonderful. I think this book might have been able to be more fully rounded if it was more solidly YA, rather than somewhere between YA and middle grade.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail