Oh boy, did I love this. Yes, it absolutely took a little bit to get into the mystery/thriller side of things, but that time was spent celebrating Native culture. I felt like I learned so much about the traditions of the Ojibwe, but in a way that felt natural. There was so much covered too, land rights, casinos, voting, becoming a member of a Nation, the politics of it all, that I simply had no idea of!
My minor quibbles are that I just didn't find the criminal informant part necessary? The meth crisis was strong enough on its own that I didn't think we needed that. There are small pieces too of the story that to me, felt like they were meant to go somewhere (her ex-boyfriend, her shoulder injury) and yet...didn't. These are just minor quibbles to an otherwise great book.
Great readalikes for this would probably be Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez and anything by Elizabeth Acevedo because of that deep and abiding love for culture, strong female characters, and an amazing sense of family.
My minor quibbles are that I just didn't find the criminal informant part necessary? The meth crisis was strong enough on its own that I didn't think we needed that. There are small pieces too of the story that to me, felt like they were meant to go somewhere (her ex-boyfriend, her shoulder injury) and yet...didn't. These are just minor quibbles to an otherwise great book.
Great readalikes for this would probably be Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez and anything by Elizabeth Acevedo because of that deep and abiding love for culture, strong female characters, and an amazing sense of family.