Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Snake Falls to Earth: Newbery Honor Award Winner

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A Snake Falls to Earth: Newbery Honor Award Winner by Darcie Little Badger

6 reviews

leafilys's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous hopeful 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: Complicated

Content Warnings

shardsofstars24's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense 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: Complicated

This story began slowly for me, and I struggled to sink my teeth into it, but I loved the characters so much, and by page 100 I was hooked, and read the rest over the course of just 6 hours. I remain in awe at Darcie Little Badger's ability to craft such a plethora of delightful characters.

I truly feel as though every word of this sprawling adventure was necessary to convey the story. I feel I need to rest after the whirlwind pace of action in the last half of the novel. I'm so pleased that the author's science background is obvious in her works of fantasy and legend. She has made me a fan for life!

Content Warnings

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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: Complicated

Rosita Stone.

I only have one critique.

I couldn't tell if the king and his knights were a metaphor for colonization. Is that a spoiler?

Otherwise, a perfect book! At first I was reading it thinking it was set in the near future, as in around 2030/2040s, however climate change os accelerating so fast this book could've been set last year. And that made me sad. I loved every moment! I should've read this sooner!

Content Warnings

emily_mh's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional slow-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

On Earth, Nina is translating a story her great-grandmother told her, hoping it will contain the secret to keeping her grandmother in good health, while also dealing with a neighbour encroaching on her grandmother’s land. Oli is coming of age in the Reflecting World when his friend’s life is imperilled and he must round up his other friends to save him. Gradually you see where their stories overlap. The narrative was definitely more character driven in the first half, but the plot becomes active in the second half too. I personally clicked with the slower pace as it allowed me to settle in with Nina and Oli as characters and understand their situations, making the second half of the novel feel like a natural coming-together.

I loved the ecological theme, specifically how it addressed extinction and how this tied into the plot and world-building, but also how it showed that flora and fauna flourish under indigenous stewardship.

The world-building of the Reflecting World was fantastic. I was particularly interested in how Earth objects lasted, how animal people aged, and how the status of Earth species affected corresponding animal people. The abilities of the animal people were also intriguing.

There was incredible character development in the two MCs. Nina gets to discover her family history, and her faith in her family’s stories is restored. I loved that she was able to connect with this part of herself as well as find a type of storytelling that fit her. Ollie starts off as a timid snake but evolves into one willing to lose his life if it’ll help his friend. He becomes so courageous, and we also see him begin to choose things for himself rather than going with what other people tell him to do.

Darcie Little Badger is an auto-buy author for me for good reason!

Rep: asexual Lipan-Apache MC

Content Warnings