Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Sisters of the Lost Nation

You ever recommend a book for your bookclub’s pick of the month and then you… don’t like it much at all? I was very excited by the premise of this story, and I didn’t necessarily dislike it, but I just don’t think everything came together. In my opinion, the writing was not great, the sheer amount of stilted similes drove me up the wall and it felt very juvenile. I don’t think the structure totally worked, I understand why he did the time jumps but it mostly caused confusion and interrupted the tension of the plot for me. I also didn’t really believe in Anna’s character, there was something both too old and too young about her, she was weirdly good at everything. I did love her Two Spirit self discovery, though I think that could have been explored more. The story telling aspect was really interesting, I think more could have been done with the supernatural horror (because this was marketed as a horror I expected a bit more). The ending also just didn’t feel quite right, it was rushed and felt slightly unresolved. I think there is something great here, but I think I’d recommend Firekeeper’s Daughter for a rez mystery about missing and murdered Indigenous women before this one.

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alicelalicon's review against another edition

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challenging emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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cass_lit's review against another edition

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4.25

This was such a well done YA about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic. Anna is a high school senior who has always believed some monster to be responsible for all of the women who have gone missing on the reservation since she was young. As girls her age begin to be the ones disappearing, culminating in her younger sister’s disappearance, Anna begins to realize the true extent of the violence and the racism that keeps this issue so prevalent. I also loved the brief discussion that touched on two-spirits.

This is not an easy read, but it’s real. There’s a little bit of a twist at the end, as you (or at least I) believe the story to be over before something is revealed. I was happy it turned out the way it did, but I would’ve completely understood the alternate ending as well. Nick Medina’s author’s note at the end encapsulated everything I was thinking about it and I think it’s a really important takeaway — so many people out there are still grieving and searching for loved ones.

The alternating timelines were a tad difficult for me to follow because they ended up so close, not that they even started out very far apart.

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zakura317's review against another edition

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inspiring mysterious sad 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

4.5

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toriwatson's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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vicwaltz's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-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

4.25

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author2223's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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pollysioux's review

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

On one level, a mysterious suspense novel. On another level, an exploration of the oral history of First Nation tribes. On another level, a condemnation of the powerful urges to adapt one's self in order to be accepted. Overall, an exploration of the thousands of missing and murdered indigenous women across this continent.

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