Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

38 reviews

bookishcori's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Murder

haley_mil_reads's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Trafficking, and Classism

katharina90's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Transphobia, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Minor: Addiction

deanlockiradall's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

At seventeen years old, Anna Horn wants nothing more than to fly under the radar. Graduate high school, clean casino hotel rooms (her part-time job), and maybe eventually be brave enough to start a cultural preservation society for the Takoda Tribe on the rez. She'd also ideally like to reconnect with her younger sister, Grace. However, change is coming to the rez, and Anna--like it or not--is drawn into the heart of things when Grace goes missing. Stuck in a tangled knot of jurisdictional arguments and complicated race relations, Anna is the only person who can find answers...if the disembodied rolling head of her nightmares doesn't get to her first.

Sisters of the Lost Nation is local author Nick Medina's debut novel, which blends Indigenous folklore with real, ongoing social issues in this mystery/suspense/thriller. Although the Takoda Tribe is fictitious, Medina is a member of the Louisiana Tunica-Biloxi Tribe; much of the rez setting is inspired by his heritage. Medina's writing raises awareness of the "silent crisis" of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, while uplifting Native communities through the richness and revitalization of their cultural heritage. Just as Anna learns how her people's stories can empower her, so, too, can we be reminded how the past can inform and influence the future.

Readers interested in stories about Indigenous heritage, identities, and/or life on the rez may enjoy A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power, Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah, Reclaiming Two-Spirits by Gregory D. Smithers, and Rez Metal. Other Indigenous authors of interest may include Stephen Graham Jones and Rebecca Roanhorse. Those interested in history may like Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, and An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, while those interested in Indigenous folktales may enjoy American Indian Myths and Legends edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Transphobia

pathologicalreader's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Transphobia, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

imstephtacular's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Trafficking

alexisgarcia's review

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

clairehe's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

Heartbreaking but beautiful. Be sure to read the author’s notes! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder

bookshelf_al's review

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Murder

a_crow_in_the_sky's review

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment