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

A very slow read. The messaging was incredibly important as many don't know the sexual violence and general violence against indigenous women, but the book itself didn't hold my attention like I wished it would.

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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dorynickel's review

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dark medium-paced

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

3.0

Overall this book was really good, but the plot, despite being suspenseful enough to keep me engaged throughout my read, resolves in a disappointing fizzle.

That being said, the protagonist is an engaging character and the book's respect for native culture is unique and impactful. The storytelling and prose are wonderful and I'd gladly read another book by this author.

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katharina90's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

This novel highlights the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2-spirits as well as other issues faced by Native communities and as such I think it's an important contribution to the genre.

Sadly I just couldn't get into the story. It had so much potential but the plot and characters were underdeveloped and the many time jumps in the beginning made it hard to follow. I also listened on audio and didn't like the narration.

Rather than setting this story in his own tribe and culture, the author chose to create a fictional tribe and incorporated stories from various other nations. I have mixed feelings about this. But at least there's an author's note at the end where the origins of certain elements are credited.

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a_crow_in_the_sky's review

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

This book was absolutely wonderful with its commentary on a lot of issues. The only thing I felt It lacked was closure. We never get to see if justice is given to the victims and perpetrators which is historically a huge issue in native American crime and violence, but the story that was actually put on the page was absolutely fantastic, thrilling, and complex.

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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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starrysteph's review

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Sisters of the Lost Nation is a heart-wrenching mystery following an outcast fighting for her identity and the life of her little sister. A haunting, enraging, captivating debut.

Anna is a young Native girl struggling to find a place where she belongs. She’s haunted by childhood campfire stories and teenage girls who have never come home, her vicious peers turn high school into torture, and she has growing suspicions about her boss at the casino.

When her little sister Grace goes missing, Anna has to channel all her strength to bring her home. But between the boundaries of rez police, the sneering & haughty town cops, and the piles of missing person flyers that have never been resolved - it feels like an impossible job.

Medina beautifully incorporates storytelling, memory, and myth. Anna is fascinated by legends and traditions of the past, and fights to keep them alive while using them to make sense of her current reality. This is a mystery/thriller novel with a small splash of horror: Anna believes she is being stalked by a supernatural entity.

I found Anna to be an immensely likable main character – she’s both fierce and forlorn as she matures throughout the pages. Her family dynamics were equally compelling: smoldering parents who can’t quite communicate, her overlooked and invisible disabled Gran, her eager younger siblings, and Anna always there to reliably clean up their messes.

The back-and-forth timeline was very confusing at first to follow, and I didn’t really fall into flow with the book until close to halfway through. I almost wish it had been told entirely chronologically. But once it clicks … it clicks. It was impossible to turn away from the pages.

This is a story about monstrous legends … and the real, all-too-human villains that haunt Native communities.

It’s an emotional piece - and while the characters and events were fictional, the trauma of missing & murdered indigenous women is incredibly real. It will enrage you and devastate you.

CW: death, murder, racism, bullying, violence, physical abuse, self harm, sexual assault, suicidal thoughts, trafficking, gore, animal death, addiction, drug use, child abuse, pedophilia, transphobia

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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