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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
good and well written but very on the nose
This right here is a book that will stick with you. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this one. This story is haunting, sad and so beautifully written. I’m sure I didn’t catch all the symbolism but the stuff I did catch is so powerful.
Grief is hard and reading about this family’s loss while also learning about their history was a perfect storm of heartache. This book is so intimate, spiritual and deeply thought provoking. I highly recommend it!
I can’t wait to talk about this one! There are so many passages I want to reread and dissect.
Grief is hard and reading about this family’s loss while also learning about their history was a perfect storm of heartache. This book is so intimate, spiritual and deeply thought provoking. I highly recommend it!
I can’t wait to talk about this one! There are so many passages I want to reread and dissect.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-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
A beautifully woven narrative of grief, intergenerational trauma, and indigenous storytelling.
Before you read this, consider how Native American narratives, storytelling styles, and common story themes are different from your mainstream expectations! I think the reason that this book is pretty lowly rated is that people are going into it with assumptions about how this story is going to be told, and feel let down when it doesn't fit the mold.
This is and isn't a book about a fifteen-year-old Native American boy in Oklahoma named Ray-Ray who is shot and killed by a racist police officer at a shopping mall. This is the event that sets the tone for the rest of the novel, but in actuality, we are following multiple perspectives of different members of Ray-Ray's family fifteen years after the event throughout the five days leading up to the anniversary of his death.
I found this book to be compulsively readable. It sings about grief and the things we do to cope, heal, and feel in control of our uncontrollable lives. Themes of Native American families, suffering, and intergenerational trauma are present, and there was even a speculative/surrealist element that I was not expecting but found really bolstered the story. If you want a more comprehensive/accurate review, search out reviews from Native American readers. There are probably a lot of nuances and relevant details that I was incapable of fully comprehending.
4/5
Well-written, exacting, and moving.
This is and isn't a book about a fifteen-year-old Native American boy in Oklahoma named Ray-Ray who is shot and killed by a racist police officer at a shopping mall. This is the event that sets the tone for the rest of the novel, but in actuality, we are following multiple perspectives of different members of Ray-Ray's family fifteen years after the event throughout the five days leading up to the anniversary of his death.
I found this book to be compulsively readable. It sings about grief and the things we do to cope, heal, and feel in control of our uncontrollable lives. Themes of Native American families, suffering, and intergenerational trauma are present, and there was even a speculative/surrealist element that I was not expecting but found really bolstered the story. If you want a more comprehensive/accurate review, search out reviews from Native American readers. There are probably a lot of nuances and relevant details that I was incapable of fully comprehending.
4/5
Well-written, exacting, and moving.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this book was pretty good. it switched povs every chapter which i’m usually not a fan of but it was tolerable in this one. i loved the things i got to learn about native, specifically cherokee, culture. and i liked all the different themes that were able to establish the story of this broken family trying to pick up the pieces.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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:
Yes
emotional
sad
medium-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
An often ethereal novel about one Cherokee family's struggle to deal with the murder of a family member, interwoven with Cherokee myths and stories of the Trail of Tears. There's a lot of ambition packed in here, but the expected payoff doesn't quite materialize. 3.5 stars.