Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Wandering Stars

Author Tommy Orange of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people has written a prequel and sequel in one to his breakout novel, There There. Wandering Stars begins in 1864 at the Sand Creek Massacre and follows a character through several generations to the present day. Many of us know about the institutionalization of Indigenous Peoples in schools but Orange also shares in his story about a prison castle in Florida that was a seed for the future schools. He writes about intergenerational trauma, familial love and addiction. In the present day, we see how Orvil is doing after the events at the powwow in There There.

Readers will find Wandering Stars an easier read in that it was easier to keep track of the characters. There is a lineage chart at the beginning of the book and we stay with a small group of characters at a time.

I found myself deeply engaged throughout the novel and want an Opal in my life. My only reason for not giving this book five stars was for a possible dropped opportunity from one scene. A hint to those who have read it is what lies next to a typewriter many years ago. That said I have just learned that Orange is already signed to write his next book. I don’t know if it will be connected to these books but will read it nonetheless.

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ecn's review against another edition

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4.5

So so good, excellent mesh of prequel and sequel, and an absolute KNOCK out ending

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serena_storybook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

I liked Wandering Stars more than There There and appreciated the

closure and healing

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kimmykelly's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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lettuce_read's review against another edition

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4.0

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womanwill's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

A multigenerational look at belonging, identity, and family through the lens of colonization, addiction, and generational trauma on the Indigenous communities in the U.S. Set mostly in modern-day Oakland, the land of the Ohlone tribe and a follow up to Orange's There There, his writing is as rich and all-encompassing as ever. I highlighted elite paragraphs of prose dripping with beauty and pain.

I most loved being back with the characters, particularly Opal Bearshield as she fiercely loves her family and 3 grandkids: Orvil, Lony, and Loother Redfeather. As well as their true grandma and Opal's sister, Jacque Redfeather as she worked through alcoholism. This book, also, at parts spans centuries in their family line of Cheyenne ancestors: a family that survives the Sand Creek Massacre, boarding schools, alcoholism and addiction.

This is not a light read but it is well worth its emotional depth and a must read for anyone who wants to read about the harsh survival of "Native Americans".

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

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mandaant1's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is about generations of trauma starting from natives forced into boarding schools. It describes how that trauma affected them which began their addictions. Every generation was built on past and present traumas.

They were losing their identities on how to be a native and what is a native. They were being adopted into white homes and did not know where they came from. Some were half white/half native and did not know what to identify as. I believe this to be a true struggle.

The last generation was affected the most by the opium epidemic. Orvil being shot at the pow wow (Read There, There for the back story).

Everyone in this story was going through their own trauma and were trying to cope with it on their own.

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audreylee's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Whereas “There There” was rapid bursts of characters which eventually connected, “Wandering Stars” is a slow, concentric, unending ebb and flow of relationships and secrets. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an arc.

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