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spicycronereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The narrative is made up of many different points of view of “urban Indians,” mostly in and around Oakland, CA. With the multiple POVs you see the vast interconnectedness of the characters that leads toward the climactic event but you do lose out on a sense of depth with any given character. Nor do they have time to develop. So it is more like sketches of the various actors who all meet at the powwow event in the climax.
Each of the characters is dealing with their indigenous identity as well as various class-based and family traumas, that are undoubtedly connected to the historic violence against Native Americans. I do wish that with one or two characters we could have focused more on community, or their successes, or joy. The focus was almost entirely anchored in trauma and deficit, exploring the “there there” that is gone. I suspect that contemporary indigenous identity is more multi-dimensional than that.
There are many moments of poetry throughout the book. One of my favorite lines is “To cry is to waste the feeling. He needs to dance with it. Crying is for when there’s nothing left to do.”
The ending is ambiguous and I didn’t mind that though there were a couple of loose ends I would have liked to have seen tied up.
Overall a gorgeous read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Graphic: Gun violence and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Animal death
kimmykelly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Genocide, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Racism, Death, and Domestic abuse
cassiealexandra's review against another edition
4.75
Total Stars: 4.75
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, and Drug use
leahrosereads's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
While I normally don't mind open endings, I really want to see more from these characters and the aftermath of what happened at the powwow.
Orange's poetic storytelling did so much for this book, bringing a lot of really necessary and hard hitting conversations to light in digestible moments.
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, and Gun violence
pferdina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Colonisation, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Cancer, Racism, Drug use, Mental illness, Car accident, and Domestic abuse
snabb1's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Addiction, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual assault and Drug use
orijuris's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism and Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use
imartine's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Alcohol, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Drug use, and Gore
morgankailackerman's review against another edition
- 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
Although I really liked it, my own personal history puts me off to it. It is so violent, not my normal kind of book (I read this for one of my grad classes). I would not teach this book to high schoolers, like my professor suggested, because it is way too violent. It has a beauitful message, but the Native on Native violence is nuanced, and I would worry it is too nuanced (and triggering and intense) for a high schooler to understand.
Graphic: Violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Drug use, Murder, Hate crime, and Sexual harassment
booksillremember's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
At times his metaphors were a bit on the nose and too moralising, and his attempt to write in the voice of each character works brilliantly for some and not that well for others. But I did appreciate the symbolism of lenses, seeing, and shooting.
Weaving all the different characters' storylines together must have been a huge challenge and it doesn't quite work out, but it's still a solid ending.
Looking forward to his next novel, to be released next month.
Graphic: Gun violence, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Genocide
Moderate: Rape