megbellinger 's review for:

Big Chief by Jon Hickey

3.25

emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This was okay. I felt like the plot was disjointed which made what should have been a more tense rising action and climax feel like it came out of nowhere and then didn’t deliver on an emotional payout. The characters had some interesting traits but I had a bit of a hard time connecting to them. This book is being compared to There, There and I think beyond just some surface level similarities this doesn’t have that same propulsion and intricate web of relationships that Tommy Orange really knows how to do. 

I did like the general structure of this book and thought the setting was interesting and gave some nice context for the way tribal elections work, and I liked that the story was about Anishinaabe characters. In general I don’t think I would go out of my way to recommend this to people but I also think there will be people who really enjoy it. 

I received a free arc from the publisher.