Reviews

A novel about a native American tribe in maybe the 70s. One girl Patrice tries to find her sister vera. She gets involved in a weird lumberjack mermaid thing in the city and goes back home after finding her nephew. Her father dies from alcohol and she tries dating. Vera comes back and marries the man Patrice had been dating.

alanacca123's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious tense 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

loulou009's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-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

2.5

itsbecksmidwest's review against another edition

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emotional informative 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? No

3.75

A completing story, but could’ve been tighter without some of the weaker subplots.

highcaliberlady's review against another edition

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medium-paced

5.0

aninnocuousbunny's review against another edition

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4.0

Kinda boring but an interesting perspective to hear and a good story. Not my genre at all, but I’ve been trying to branch out to read more different voices.

palis's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Appreciate it for the importance of the topic. But there were so many things that I found didn't make sense appearing in the book (The horse's chapters, the Mormon missionaries parts). At the same time, some things such as Patrice's mom's tribal knowledge or Vera's return home could have been explored more.
I fought through the beginning, to make myself read it. Founded it more interesting in the second half. But left at the end, with like an inconclusive sort of feeling. Especially for Patrice's story, I feel like the author might have forgotten about her in a way.

Liked lines:

They both started laughing in that desperate high-pitched way people laugh when their hearts are broken.

The services that the government provides to Indians might be likened to rent. The rent for use of the entire country of the United States.

Lastly, if you should ever doubt that a series of dry words in a government document can shatter spirits and demolish lives, let this book erase that doubt. Conversely, if you should be of the conviction that we are powerless to change those dry words, let this book give you heart.

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