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A review by ccallan
Crazy Horse's Girlfriend by Erika T. Wurth
4.0
Idaho Springs is a small town that everyone in Colorado drives through on the way to somewhere else, since it straddles the main East-West highway in the state. Sometimes I'll stop for a bite to eat or a peek in the tourist shops, but that's about it. This book brings to life the people who live there, who are not passing through, but are fighting to live a better life and avoid the traps of addiction, early pregnancy, and hopelessness.
Yes, this is a difficult story, but not a difficult book. While a working class version of the perils of Pauline befall our 16 year old narrator, throughout there is a sense of grit and resilience that hints that through all the darkness she will prevail. Not in a Pollyanna way, but one that rings true to our current society where upward mobility has become among the lowest in the industrialized world. (Yup, look it up.)
And the addition of another Native American voice to our evolving canon (can I use that word to describe the new voices finding their way into print, even from small presses?) is a breath of fresh air, for which I'm grateful.
Surprisingly, this is the second book I've read about young Native American women in Idaho Springs. The other was Perma Red, (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237077.Perma_Red) by Debra Magpie Earling, which I also highly recommend. I don't what's in the water there that produces such magnificent female Indigenous writers, but whatever it is I hope it keeps on flowing.
Yes, this is a difficult story, but not a difficult book. While a working class version of the perils of Pauline befall our 16 year old narrator, throughout there is a sense of grit and resilience that hints that through all the darkness she will prevail. Not in a Pollyanna way, but one that rings true to our current society where upward mobility has become among the lowest in the industrialized world. (Yup, look it up.)
And the addition of another Native American voice to our evolving canon (can I use that word to describe the new voices finding their way into print, even from small presses?) is a breath of fresh air, for which I'm grateful.
Surprisingly, this is the second book I've read about young Native American women in Idaho Springs. The other was Perma Red, (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237077.Perma_Red) by Debra Magpie Earling, which I also highly recommend. I don't what's in the water there that produces such magnificent female Indigenous writers, but whatever it is I hope it keeps on flowing.