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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
4.5/5, rounded up; a powerful story about a Cherokee family after a white police officer shoots and kills one of them. I thought Hobson's narrative choices helped to underscore the impacts of such violence and the emotional journeys of the remaining family members while also tying in the history of the Cherokee Removal. Devastating and moving.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation
BOTM - enjoyed it in the moment, not memorable for me, family story which I always enjoy.
This is a book that I never would have normally been exposed to, nor really think I understand. The experiences shared in the environment the characters live within is all such a world I'm not used to. It was fascinating to read, and is really well written. The characters are deep and dynamic and the writing is very accessible and engaging.
This novel was fascinating and I could not stop thinking about it after I finished the final pages. Each chapter is told from a different perspective (all members of the Echota family), which I enjoyed and made me want to keep reading to get to the shift in perspective.
The novel takes place shortly before the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Ray-Ray Echota, who was a teenager when he was killed in a police shooting in Quah, Oklahoma. The family is planning a commemoration to mark the anniversary, coinciding with the Cherokee National Holiday. While this event is the unifying factor for the story, the plot centers more around family dynamics and relationships, and the impact of Ray-Ray's death on the family in the present. The shooting is referenced, but the novel is not set during that timeframe. Other difficult issues are featured in the book, but the police shooting appears off the page.
I was worried that this book would be too heavy given the catalyst, so I did not pick it up immediately after receiving it. I now wish I had read it sooner because it was fascinating -- the story telling, Cherokee myths and history, and the characters. I connected with all of the characters and wanted to find out how things would turn out for each of them. The character Wyatt introduced moments of humor and the chapters told from Tsala's perspective also helped break up the tension.
The ending is a bit open-ended and ambiguous. As such, some readers may be left wanting, but I liked how the novel ended and found this to be a satisfying read. The ending caused me to keep thinking about the novel even more and wanting to discuss it with others. I also wanted to go back and re-read it, which is not typical for me, mainly due to the parallelism between the Cherokee myths/history and the Echota family's history.
This review is based on the NetGalley copy that I received from the publisher (HarperCollins/Ecco) -- many thanks to the publisher for introducing me to this author!
I selected this as my pick for the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge prompt "a book by an Indigenous author."
The novel takes place shortly before the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Ray-Ray Echota, who was a teenager when he was killed in a police shooting in Quah, Oklahoma. The family is planning a commemoration to mark the anniversary, coinciding with the Cherokee National Holiday. While this event is the unifying factor for the story, the plot centers more around family dynamics and relationships, and the impact of Ray-Ray's death on the family in the present. The shooting is referenced, but the novel is not set during that timeframe. Other difficult issues are featured in the book, but the police shooting appears off the page.
I was worried that this book would be too heavy given the catalyst, so I did not pick it up immediately after receiving it. I now wish I had read it sooner because it was fascinating -- the story telling, Cherokee myths and history, and the characters. I connected with all of the characters and wanted to find out how things would turn out for each of them. The character Wyatt introduced moments of humor and the chapters told from Tsala's perspective also helped break up the tension.
The ending is a bit open-ended and ambiguous. As such, some readers may be left wanting, but I liked how the novel ended and found this to be a satisfying read. The ending caused me to keep thinking about the novel even more and wanting to discuss it with others. I also wanted to go back and re-read it, which is not typical for me, mainly due to the parallelism between the Cherokee myths/history and the Echota family's history.
This review is based on the NetGalley copy that I received from the publisher (HarperCollins/Ecco) -- many thanks to the publisher for introducing me to this author!
I selected this as my pick for the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge prompt "a book by an Indigenous author."
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spoiler
I was intrigued by the premise but disappointed by the execution. I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by a great cast of voice actors, which helped to move the story along. Overall I found the pacing to be slow and action to be lacking, despite the constant shifting between the different family members' narratives. I always appreciate a story of grief and its long lasting impacts, especially when it is expressed in different ways. However, the individual storylines felt disjointed from themselves and each other. The only commonality was the pain of missing Ray-Ray fifteen years later, and while the few speculative elements present could have really been turned up to highlight this, it fell flat.Maria's was the best and most coherent storyline, though the foster son Wyatt -seeming to channel Ray-Ray- aspect was left a mystery. It was also strange that Maria and Ernest enjoy cop dramas given that a cop killed their son...Sonia's strange fixation on a young father whom she stalks before briefly dating could have been chalked up to grief, especially as his son reminds her of Ray-Ray, but her pursuit ended up being fueled by the fact that he was the son of the cop who killed her brother. All of this is revealed in about a paragraph and ends then and there with no resolution besides her yelling at him about his father before he drives off, never to be seen again (after he drunkenly hits her the night before). Edgar's story had the most speculative potential, as we don't actually know where he is the whole time. He could be on the brink of death in an in between realm from an overdose, dreaming, rehab, it is never revealed. His chapters were dark and strange, and again, if more structure was provided, his storyline could have been really engaging. He interacts with the spirit who has also been narrating chapters at the end of his time in the Darkening Land where some very rushed symbolism is brought in. He walks off, presumably back into the land of the living, but we aren't sure.
Finally, the book's ending was incredibly ambiguous, with the parents and Sonia preparing to greet what could be Edgar, Ray-Ray's ghost, or a host of ancestors at their annual remembrance bonfire. It ended like there would be a sequel, but I don't think that was the idea. It sadly felt unfinished.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5 stars--I loved the concept of this novel, but the execution was not great for me. The prose was dry and repetitive, and Hobson is yet another male author that should just avoid writing female characters (especially in the first-person). The chapters with Sonja sounded just like a man writing a woman in a truly terrible way. It was so bad that I found myself laughing out of sheer horror and eye-rolling annoyance. Truthfully, I think it was these sections that pulled me so jarringly out of the experience. Overall, I feel like it lacked depth, wish is odd to say about a book focused on such important subjects.