A review by essjay
Wranglestone by Darren Charlton

1.25

What a complete and utter clusterfuck of a book this was. I should have quit in the first chapter when the white 15y/o wanted to trade some dreamcatchers that he'd made. I should have quit a few chapters in when (after establishing in the first few pages that Wranglestone is in Montana) it's mentioned that Yellowstone is a few days north, even though that's fucking Impossible If you're in Montana. I should have quit shortly after that when a bear had sweat dripping down its face, despite the fact that bears don't have sweat glands. I should have quit at about the halfway point when a woman was apparently given a perm with fire heated tongs, despite the fact that that's not how perms work? And she somehow had mascara to apply 15 years after mascara has stopped being manufactured? Or when the book suddenly became a metaphor for the slave trade (wtf) despite the all white cast of characters. Half the time I felt like I was skimming bc shit made no sense, and then I'd go back to figure out wtf I'd missed, BUT I HAD MISSED NOTHING, IT JUST DIDN'T ACTUALLY MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE. I don't understand the ending (or when Wranglestone is finally described as being between Grand Teton and Yellowstone [which would put it firmly in Wyoming] and somehow still only 300 miles south of Glacier, when Yellowstone is further away than that). Anyway, fuck this bullshit book.