Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Sisters of the Lost Nation

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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samburkhouse's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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oldandnewbooksmell's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Trigger Warnings: (as per Content Warning at beginning of book) addresses issues of addiction, drug use, child sexual abuse, assault (implied, off-page), murder and death (off-page), physical assault, battery, self-harm, sex trafficking (implied, off-page), and racism

Anna Horn works at her reservation’s casino and she’s begun to notice some strange and sinister happenings occurring in and around it. When Anna’s own little sister, Grace, goes missing from the casino, she’ll stop at nothing to bring her home, even if that involves facing the nameless, disembodied entity that has been stalking her every move.

What a heart-wrenching, poignant debut from Nick Medina who is an amazing, captivating writer. Medina did a wonderful job of showing the crisis that is unfortunately much too common for Native, Indigenous, and First Nation communities. Medina was also able to write about the judicial laws and systems that tend to restrict Reservation Police rather than help them out.

I know this is marked as Horror first before Thriller, but I do feel like this is more reversed; definitely Thriller mixed with Horror aspects, especially mythological

I mean, a dead, rolling head will bring that way up to Horror

This is going to be a book I will be recommending to many now that it’s released.

I know most will read it, but please do not miss the Author’s Note at the end as it will give you some more valuable insight about the book, including more about Two Spirits individuals.

*Thank you Berkley and Edelweiss+ for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

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angelkisses's review

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challenging dark mysterious 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

3.75

I had various issues with the structure of this novel but it was an extremely emotionally satisfying experience. Perhaps it's because I blasted through this novel in less than a day but I'm having a hard time coming up with cohesive thoughts about it. I love Anna as a protagonist and her relationship with her younger sister Grace, which is also the driving force propelling the narrative forward. I appreciate the focus on building community (the idea of "it takes a village to raise a child") as opposed to the individualistic notion of the nuclear family. And I can't lie, the epilogue did make me tear up. In fact I was holding back tears while on my shift because of it.

Still, the alternating timelines are confusing, especially at the beginning when the reader hasn't yet been introduced to many of the relevant characters who are mentioned in these "flashforwards." On top of that a lot of information is repeated from chapter to chapter, which feels like a cheap way to communicate with the reader.

Even with my complaints, it's no lie that this book made me FEEL things. I felt an intense sense of discomfort, anger, frustration and deep, deep sadness knowing that even though this story is fictional, it unfortunately reflects the experiences of many Native women and girls.

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