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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
Damn
Okay I feel like a major theme of this book that presented itself is that so many of the characters put their family above others, even if their family was bad. The characters continuously shoved each other under buses and through hoops just to protect their own blood. Blood is thicker than water. This isn’t a very common theme I feel like it’s more commonly a found family theme, which is what I was expecting. But it wasn’t and it was a nice change of pace. I appreciated it and it was done well. Lowkey was kinda irked at characters at times tho for completely betraying their life long friends for their scum bag families.
I lowkey loved that the murder wasn’t that simple. Like it was multiple people. Jason killed the two. Fucking loved that the grandma killed Jason tho. Like this sweet old lady murders a murderer to protect the women and girls of her tribe. Queen shit
Another thing done well was the grief aspect of it. Like I feel like the book was more focused on the trauma and the grief of the teenagers and how they grappled with the losses and the paranoia and the guilt. And it was honestly very interesting to read and done very well. It was a nice change of pace too. Really helped the rating lol bc I just read the naturals which were really well done mysteries and I would’ve unfairly compared them and been ultimately disappointed. So yay I guess
What else… oh!Eli First Kill is my husband I love him so much omg he’s so fine in my brain would smash morning noon night and omg when he protected her against sterling, and then gave her his hoodie, and then gave her his number and was like “text me when you’re home so I know you’re safe” stop he’s so nice and OMG THE WAY HE TREATS CHERIE LORD TGATS SUCH A GREEN FLAG OMG BRO THATS ANOTHER THING WHEN CHERIE WAS TAKEN BY CPS BRO THAT WAS SO SAD AUTHOR PLS WEITE THEIR REUNION SO I CAN HEAL. i can imagine so well Eli being 18 and getting a steady job and raising Cherie and Mara at uni and then coming back after her school day and hanging out with them STOP ITS SO CUTE
Also lowkey got me there for a second with Mara’s dad. Like the “unknown” talking about the thumb ring and the earbuds. And then having just little lines slipped in about her dad and how he “grabbed his earbuds” or “twisted the jade ring on his thumb”. I was thinking either this is the biggest red herring effort and it’s not him bc it’s way too obvious or it’s like, so obvious it’s the answer - reverse psychology kinda thing. Essentially I had no clue.
Normally I would think the ending is kinda sudden but like…it lowkey wasn’t. Like don’t get me wrong it was sudden and just kinda stopped but in a way that’s like “damn….”. Normally when it just stops there not much cleared up and I have lots of questions but I genuinely can’t find anything that wasn’t wrapped up or that I have questions about. Actually wait - more of a clarification but stillso Loren knew that her grandma was there and she knows that she killed Jason? Like either way makes sense lowley. I’m here for it.
I would just like to say I never likedBrody Clark from the fucking beginning. Also I lowkey guessed it was Jason killing reyanne or Sam and Brody trying to help him. I just didn’t think that he would’ve fucking suffocated reyanne. Also enjoyed how he has convinced himself that he was helping her and putting her out of her misery with the little rabbit bit. Lowkey just read Twelve - naturals 4.5 and the killer did like assisted suicide and convinced victims to jump and convinced himself he was helping them. So I enjoyed this.
Basically, I enjoyed this. It was a nice change of pace from a regular murder mystery. The psychological-emotional side of it was very well done.
3.75 just seems right. Like it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I enjoyed it tho. I would recommend it, but I wouldn’t reread it.
Btw the reason I mut the last names was so people couldn’t see the length of the blank and guess
Okay I feel like a major theme of this book that presented itself is that so many of the characters put their family above others, even if their family was bad. The characters continuously shoved each other under buses and through hoops just to protect their own blood. Blood is thicker than water. This isn’t a very common theme I feel like it’s more commonly a found family theme, which is what I was expecting. But it wasn’t and it was a nice change of pace. I appreciated it and it was done well. Lowkey was kinda irked at characters at times tho for completely betraying their life long friends for their scum bag families.
Another thing done well was the grief aspect of it. Like I feel like the book was more focused on the trauma and the grief of the teenagers and how they grappled with the losses and the paranoia and the guilt. And it was honestly very interesting to read and done very well. It was a nice change of pace too. Really helped the rating lol bc I just read the naturals which were really well done mysteries and I would’ve unfairly compared them and been ultimately disappointed. So yay I guess
What else… oh!
Normally I would think the ending is kinda sudden but like…it lowkey wasn’t. Like don’t get me wrong it was sudden and just kinda stopped but in a way that’s like “damn….”. Normally when it just stops there not much cleared up and I have lots of questions but I genuinely can’t find anything that wasn’t wrapped up or that I have questions about. Actually wait - more of a clarification but still
I would just like to say I never liked
Basically, I enjoyed this. It was a nice change of pace from a regular murder mystery. The psychological-emotional side of it was very well done.
3.75 just seems right. Like it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I enjoyed it tho. I would recommend it, but I wouldn’t reread it.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A tense thriller centering Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, with complex characters that you’re both rooting for a worrying about the safety of. It felt like a fast read, and it was a challenging read, but the storytelling and the plot of it all kept me guessing until the end. While it wrapped up most of the mystery, there was still one unsolved puzzle piece which gets you thinking about the complicity of the police within these stories, and there definitely isn’t trust in that relationship. It is a pretty violent story, so not for faint of heart readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
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
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
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:
No
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This is a YA thriller by a Blackfeet author about the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) crisis. It was a very solid book about an important topic, with mixed media elements that I feel would work well in an audiobook, but I did guess what had happened before it was revealed. I would recommend this even if you don’t like YA generally.
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.75 ⭐️
a very solid debut novel about a very real, very serious issue. one of the most standout parts of this novel was just how grounded the setting and town was, and the harsh realities on many reservations. i'm also deeply fascinated with novels that are concerned with modern society, and i think it's handled really well here, in ways that we don't often see it. it's not glamorous, almost everyone uses an old shitty phone, or drives a shitty, old car.
the main cast was definitely a highlight, particularly loren and especially eli. you can tell k.a. cobell has a very soft spot for eli. i usually do not enjoy it when a romance plotline is rushed into books, but i didn't mind it here, although i think it would have felt more natural had mara already fancied eli beforehand, and then they only get closer towards the end of the book.
the ending almost tanked the entire experience for me, and i still feel pretty conflicted about it, i don't know why the narrative spent so long trying to make it seem implausible only for it to pivot in that direction within a matter of pages anyways. for that it brings the overall enjoyment down just a little bit
a very solid debut novel about a very real, very serious issue. one of the most standout parts of this novel was just how grounded the setting and town was, and the harsh realities on many reservations. i'm also deeply fascinated with novels that are concerned with modern society, and i think it's handled really well here, in ways that we don't often see it. it's not glamorous, almost everyone uses an old shitty phone, or drives a shitty, old car.
the main cast was definitely a highlight, particularly loren and especially eli. you can tell k.a. cobell has a very soft spot for eli. i usually do not enjoy it when a romance plotline is rushed into books, but i didn't mind it here, although i think it would have felt more natural had mara already fancied eli beforehand, and then they only get closer towards the end of the book.
the ending almost tanked the entire experience for me, and i still feel pretty conflicted about it, i don't know why the narrative spent so long trying to make it seem implausible only for it to pivot in that direction within a matter of pages anyways. for that it brings the overall enjoyment down just a little bit
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
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:
Complicated