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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Guys, I have to say, I absolutely love the book club feature on Fable! I found the “Reading Indigenously” book club, and this was my first read. It was a good one. I loved being able to share thoughts after each chapter because the way Marcie Rendon wrote this one, there was a ton of buildup!
This thriller is laced with pain and trauma. The missing Indigenous women piece was the whole point (for me) of this book. The author brought awareness to the issue while also keeping it true to the fictional thriller genre and pacing.
I found myself questioning Quill’s decisions, but it also helped me realize something about myself. Quill, while she has a tendency to “run,” was also very brave and daring in ways that I would have hidden. I realized that, when faced with the drama in this book, I would be way more likely to stop going for my runs, stay in the house, and never let anyone out of my sight.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was an excellent read. The characters are all compelling, and there's a lot of suspense and tension. A very good mystery and a very important topic to learn more about missing and killed Indigenous women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
*** I received an ARC of this title from Bantam, an imprint of Penguin, for an unbiased review ***
I’m positive I’ve said it before, but there’s something deeply personal for me about reading Anishinaabe authors. Especially when they are from the same area of Anishinaabewaki as me (what’s now generally called the state of Minnesota). The very first thing I noticed was how the setting in the fictionalized Red Pine Reservation was that it was both instantly easy to call to mind the landscape, the coldness of winter, the roads traveling between reservations and to cities like Duluth. I think we all recognize that feeling of reading fiction in a place we know intimately, but this novel also packed a punch for me when it came to recognizing the characters. And the mindimooyenyag (elder women) warmed my heart.This story just felt very Ojibwe.
Following Quill, an Anishinaabekwe (Anishinaabe woman), we meet her husband, her children, her best friends Punk and Gaylyn and a host of other community members. Despite the difficult undercurrents of this novel - sexual and physical violence and trauma - the characters’ care for one another pulled me through the novel. The core of this story is the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis which is fueled by extractive industries (in this book a pipeline). It’d be impossible to write a review of this novel without acknowledging the goal of this book in raising awareness to this issue. It is a reminder that, for so many families, there are never answers. Another powerful element of this books is the way Rendon highlights how trauma manifests in ways we can’t always expect. Quill’s anxiety, Gaylyn’s anger, Punk’s shame all felt too familiar and real.
Where They Last Saw Her is beautiful and honest and painful. Rendon reminds us that Indigenous women hold tremendous power, that even though silence around trauma can beget more trauma, community is a healing force and one that can and should be relied upon. I feel like I’m going to be thinking about this one for a long time. If you’re looking for a decently paced “mystery” where the story is about so much more than who did it, I’d recommend you pick up Where They Last Saw Her.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is a terrifying and intimate perspective of Native American women and their struggle to be safe, seen, and heard. It gives the reader a place to understand the ungoing movement around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. It is beautifully written in a way to understand the topic from several angles, the generational effects, and entire communities. It also brings in the archetypes of the abusers and perpetrators. It is a diverse and spellbinding story on a topic that many more people need to be aware of and help bring down.
One of my favorite things that has been said about the abuse that women endure and the men who want to be involved in fixing it is to not avenge a rape, but prevent one. It can be done and this book shows a way toward doing so.
One of my favorite things that has been said about the abuse that women endure and the men who want to be involved in fixing it is to not avenge a rape, but prevent one. It can be done and this book shows a way toward doing so.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
What an eye opener to the current lives of Native Americans and the incredibly underreported missing and murdered indigenous women plight. This book was dripping with suspense from the first chapter to the point where I started to become physically anxious when the characters would encounter pick up trucks and generally any man. It is a fast paced book with a plot that doesn't slow down and gets right to the point so that it reads like a YA novel with the complex issues of an adult text. Part of me wishes the author would dive deeper into the plot and extended the writing. The ending was also very rushed I felt. For so much build up and anticipation and time spent exposing everything, there was a quick, sometimes confusing ending.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This book covered such a critical topic, but the writing felt flat and repetitive. A quick read but characters were written in a way where I got an idea of them but they felt a little out of reach. The peak of action felt rushed and somehow slightly anticlimactic. I enjoyed reading indigenous language and learning more about clothing, customs, and dynamics. Just wished for more depth. I would have read another 200 pages of this story.
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes