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brewdy_reader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
๐๐ช๐ต๐๐ช๐ค โข ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ณ๐บ โข ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ โข โฃ๐๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ
๐ฆ๐๐๐ โข ๐๐ถ๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ 27 ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ 2024
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
"๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐."
At the end of There There, the story felt incomplete, raw, unfinished, unresolved, without closure. You could argue that that was the point.
However, for those who wanted more, you will find that here. Both going backwards in time multi generations and forward in time from the Big Oakland Powwow, blending historical and contemporary fiction into one book, we trace the families and lives of characters from There There from past into present day.
Wandering Stars highlights the impacts of addiction, grief, loneliness, & belonging. The writing style flows between poetic prose to stream of consciousness as we jump POVs between minds of characters numbing their pain via toxic coping mechanisms as one bad event leads to one bad decision to another and another to where there seems no way out but deeper into the abyss.
If I had a complaint, it would be the sheer volume of characters, which to effectively track requires family tree diagramming with arrows and cross references. There were many memorable moments. I must have highlighted over half of the book.
This one will stay with me for a long time, so I am rounding my rating up from 4.5 to 5.
โจ Releases Feb 27 โจ
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, and Vintage & Anchor for allowing me to review this book. All opinions are my own.
TW: Addiction, Drug Use/Abuse, Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Abuse, Genocide, Trauma.
๐ฆ๐๐๐ โข ๐๐ถ๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ 27 ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ 2024
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
"๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐."
At the end of There There, the story felt incomplete, raw, unfinished, unresolved, without closure. You could argue that that was the point.
However, for those who wanted more, you will find that here. Both going backwards in time multi generations and forward in time from the Big Oakland Powwow, blending historical and contemporary fiction into one book, we trace the families and lives of characters from There There from past into present day.
Wandering Stars highlights the impacts of addiction, grief, loneliness, & belonging. The writing style flows between poetic prose to stream of consciousness as we jump POVs between minds of characters numbing their pain via toxic coping mechanisms as one bad event leads to one bad decision to another and another to where there seems no way out but deeper into the abyss.
If I had a complaint, it would be the sheer volume of characters, which to effectively track requires family tree diagramming with arrows and cross references. There were many memorable moments. I must have highlighted over half of the book.
This one will stay with me for a long time, so I am rounding my rating up from 4.5 to 5.
โจ Releases Feb 27 โจ
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, and Vintage & Anchor for allowing me to review this book. All opinions are my own.
TW: Addiction, Drug Use/Abuse, Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Abuse, Genocide, Trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Gun violence and Mass/school shootings
heyreadingpants's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
Book review: Wandering Stars
by Tommy Orange
4โญ๏ธ
I was so happy to see a follow up to There, There - a book that shocked me by the suddenness of the ending. Wandering Stars both picks up where we left off - with Opal, Jacquie, Orvil, Loother and Lony after the events of the powwow - and takes us back to trace their family through generations.
The historical sections - which were about a third of the book - quickly traced the family from the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado through prisons and residential schools that forced Native folks to assimilate. I wish this section of the book had lasted longer and had more detail - it was a story Iโve never seen told before and told really well.
Once we return to the modern contingent of the family, we see the effect of trauma play out in as many ways as there are characters. We see the choices and impacts of addiction, and how addiction can feel like not a choice at all. Characters throughout both sections make choices that make you want to jump into the story to stop them, theyโre that bad. And usually you can see their why, see what made them choose their path. Itโs a tough read and a good read.
I loved Opal. I think she will stick with me the most.
Wandering Stars mixes awful, realistic, depressing events and character development with just the smallest bit of hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Abandonment
princessfabulous's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Tommy Orange is a treasure. His writing has a way of making you feel exactly what his characters are going through while opening your eyes to the true plight of Native Americans. While Wandering Stars is technically a sequel to his outrageous debut There There, this second novel attempts so much more than the first's direct narrative did (ever so well, in my opinion.
Wandering Stars is an epic family saga that takes our well-known characters Orvil Red Feather and Opal Bear Shield and pushes back several generations to see where their inherited trauma may have been born. We spend a bit of time with Orvil's great-great grandfather Jude Star, who escapes the Sand Creek Massacre only to wander America until he's captured and sent to Indian school in Florida. His son, Charles Star, is left alone at a young age and also goes to Indian school before escaping west to Oakland. Then we meet to the two generations before Orvil's before catching up with him in the aftermath of the pow-wow shooting.
The lion's share of the story is how Orvil is coping as he heals from his wound, which is to say, he isn't, really. I don't want to go into any further detail on the story, but here is where we can see all the damage outlined in the prior generations play out alongside Orvil's very real current traumas. Overall, I really loved this take on the family and how the treatment of Native Americans throughout history is very much affecting those living today. It's heartbreaking yet inspiring to watch individuals struggle and persist despite all they are up against day to day.
Thank you to Tommy Orange for this beautiful story, and to Alfred A Knopf and Net Galley for the ARC. I can't recommend enough that we continue to read and support stories of this caliber to continue to better understand each other.
Wandering Stars is an epic family saga that takes our well-known characters Orvil Red Feather and Opal Bear Shield and pushes back several generations to see where their inherited trauma may have been born. We spend a bit of time with Orvil's great-great grandfather Jude Star, who escapes the Sand Creek Massacre only to wander America until he's captured and sent to Indian school in Florida. His son, Charles Star, is left alone at a young age and also goes to Indian school before escaping west to Oakland. Then we meet to the two generations before Orvil's before catching up with him in the aftermath of the pow-wow shooting.
The lion's share of the story is how Orvil is coping as he heals from his wound, which is to say, he isn't, really. I don't want to go into any further detail on the story, but here is where we can see all the damage outlined in the prior generations play out alongside Orvil's very real current traumas. Overall, I really loved this take on the family and how the treatment of Native Americans throughout history is very much affecting those living today. It's heartbreaking yet inspiring to watch individuals struggle and persist despite all they are up against day to day.
Thank you to Tommy Orange for this beautiful story, and to Alfred A Knopf and Net Galley for the ARC. I can't recommend enough that we continue to read and support stories of this caliber to continue to better understand each other.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Drug use
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