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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Anna Horn is mercilessly bullied by her classmates, and no longer rely on the support of her younger sister Grace, whose relentless quest for popularity at school has her pulling away from Anna and her family. Their father and mother argue constantly, their differences exacerbated by the presence of Anna's paternal grandmother, who moved in with them after her stroke.
Anna takes comfort in stories of her people, the Takoda (created for the novel), told to her by a kind teacher, who was murdered years earlier. Anna has convinced herself that some of the beings she has learned of in the stories dog her footsteps, with possible malevolent intent.
When young women begin disappearing from the rez, Anna suspects something strange is going on at the casino and associated hotel, where the girls worked. Getting a job there as a maid allows Anna to observe and become familiar with the goings-on of the men frequenting a particular hotel room.
Then Grace disappears, and Anna, already digging into what's going on, becomes obsessed with finding her sister and exposing what she sees going on.
This was a dark story, unsurprisingly, but so wonderfully written. Anna is a fantastic character, and despite the near constant bullying, the threats and increasing danger she finds herself in with each new question she asks, Anna persists.
Author Nick Medina goes back and forth in time to slowly build the story, showing
-the corruption and negligence at work in the rez
-the complications besetting tribal police because of the restrictions placed on them and their jurisdictions by the US government
-the rise of drug addictions and crime because of the sudden wealth brought to the rez by the casino
-the damage to traditional knowledge and practices in the rush to adopt non-indigenous ways
Along the way, Anna, while constantly emotionally beaten down, begins to find her bravery, strength, identity, and purpose, and it's a tremendously satisfying part of this story that deals with the societal lack of interest in the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women.
Anna takes comfort in stories of her people, the Takoda (created for the novel), told to her by a kind teacher, who was murdered years earlier. Anna has convinced herself that some of the beings she has learned of in the stories dog her footsteps, with possible malevolent intent.
When young women begin disappearing from the rez, Anna suspects something strange is going on at the casino and associated hotel, where the girls worked. Getting a job there as a maid allows Anna to observe and become familiar with the goings-on of the men frequenting a particular hotel room.
Then Grace disappears, and Anna, already digging into what's going on, becomes obsessed with finding her sister and exposing what she sees going on.
This was a dark story, unsurprisingly, but so wonderfully written. Anna is a fantastic character, and despite the near constant bullying, the threats and increasing danger she finds herself in with each new question she asks, Anna persists.
Author Nick Medina goes back and forth in time to slowly build the story, showing
-the corruption and negligence at work in the rez
-the complications besetting tribal police because of the restrictions placed on them and their jurisdictions by the US government
-the rise of drug addictions and crime because of the sudden wealth brought to the rez by the casino
-the damage to traditional knowledge and practices in the rush to adopt non-indigenous ways
Along the way, Anna, while constantly emotionally beaten down, begins to find her bravery, strength, identity, and purpose, and it's a tremendously satisfying part of this story that deals with the societal lack of interest in the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Anna Horn is a teenager living on a reservation, going to high school, and working as a housekeeper at the local casino. She’s haunted by a spooky legend told to her as a child and by the women and girls in her community who disappear one by one until it’s her younger sister that’s missing. What or who is robbing Anna’s community of its girls?
Haunting and sad, I found myself on the edge of my seat. Will Anna solve the mystery in time? This is a must read.
Haunting and sad, I found myself on the edge of my seat. Will Anna solve the mystery in time? This is a must read.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Go read it. Today. It is a remarkable portrayal of the loss and horror of the epidemic of murdered and missing indigenous girls while using Native lore and stories stretched over reality to discuss the themes so pervasive in life. It was a masterful weaving of Native cultures into this fictitious tribe that is an amalgamation of the many ways tribes are impacted by this issue and its interconnections with gaps in US and tribal law that allows this tragedy to happen with minimal consequences for the perpetrators, substance abuse, bullying, two-spirits, and the tenuous bonds of family. Part of its hopeful ending lies in the ways in which healing happens. I wasn’t sure I would like this book and for those worried - there are no graphic descriptions about what happened sexually, but there are scenes about how some bodies are found but not overly graphic in any way. It’s a critical piece that gets to the meat of the problem while giving space for your own ideas. I think it may top my list this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Kidnapping
Minor: Self harm, Transphobia, Violence
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
Great mystery about the sadly too-common horrors of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
”Never feel guilty for being where you belong.”
this debt novel was heartbreakingly thought provoking and just so, so powerful. i still have chills. all i have to really say is that even though this particular book was a fictional story, the horrors in it are very real and we must bring every Indigenous girl and woman home.