Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to mark your completion of the November challenge to fulfill prompt #16 A book by an indigenous author. In celebration of Native American Heritage month in the US!

Please include the following:

Title:
Author:
Would you recommend this book?

I read Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badgar. I liked it, the YA POV skewed a bit young for me but I enjoyed it.

I just finished Firekeeper's Daughter, the November read, and would recommend it over Elatsoe if you are only picking one of them to read. I thought Firekeeper's Daughter was excellent!

Title: There There
Author: Tommy Orange

No, I wouldn't recommend. It was too negative for my taste. Like every native American is an alcoholic or depressed.

Harmke wrote: "Title: There There
Author: Tommy Orange

No, I wouldn't recommend. It was too negative for my taste. Like every native American is an alcoholic or depressed."

I didn't like that one either.

Harmke wrote: "Title: There There
Author: Tommy Orange

No, I wouldn't recommend. It was too negative for my taste. Like every native American is an alcoholic or depressed."

I also read There There and not only liked it, and the way the different narratives wound together, but also thought it a powerful read.

I read The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. I would recommend it, but I don't think it'll stay with me.

Title: Burning In This Midnight Dream
Author: Louise Bernice Halfe

This is a poetry collection and I gave it three stars. I enjoyed reading it but nothing really stood out to me. If you like poetry then yes I would recommend it. I'm currently reading An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo and I'm liking it a lot more.

Title: Far from the Tree
Author: Robin Benway
Yes, I recommend this book and I enjoyed it. I don't think it was perfect for Native American Heritage.

I read Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

I liked it, but didn't love it. I felt that the author threw way too much at the wall to see what stuck and it felt a little wrought on purpose in a way that I didn't appreciate. Will look for more by this author in the future. I still think about the main characters and all that transpired in this world Boulley created.

Jacqie wrote: "I read Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badgar. I liked it, the YA POV skewed a bit young for me but I enjoyed it.

I just finished Firekeeper's Daughter, the November read, and would recommend it over Ela..."


I agree. I was so disappointed in Elatsoe, it reads like a tween book, or even a children's book. There's nothing wrong with children's books, of course, but if you go in expecting something for an older audience, it can be jarring. I think this author's style just isn't for me.

I'm reading Firekeeper's Daughter right now and I am loving it! It is a solid YA, and it basically starts with a teen fantasy (what if the sexy new guy liked me? what if he needed my help?) but it's not all fluffy. I'm one of those people who thinks that a romance enhances any plot :-)



The book I read by an indigenous author:
Title: The Last Final Girl
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
Would you recommend this book? Well, yeah! I would recommend any of Jones' books!! This one is perfect for fans of teen slasher films (note: I am NOT a fan of teen slasher films, or ANY slasher films, and I liked this book anyway). It also reminded me a lot of the movie Jennifer's Body, in the sense that it's got some gory parts, and it's mostly a sarcastic twist on the classic horror movie. I don't remember any of the characters being Native, so while this book certainly works for "book by an indigenous author" it would not be a great choice for Native American Heritage reading.

Patricia wrote: "Title: Far from the Tree
Author: Robin Benway
Yes, I recommend this book and I enjoyed it. I don't think it was perfect for Native American Heritage."


I can't find any information that says Robin Benway is Indigenous. Sometimes it can be hard to know who is Indigenous. An Indigenous person is descended from the original people who lived on that land, and often has close ties to the land. Here is the UN definition:

Indigenous communities, peoples, and nations are those that, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.

In countries that were colonized by Europeans, the Indigenous people are the Native Americans, First Nations, Inuit, Aleut, Maori, Aboriginal peoples, etc. In other countries, the definitions can be more cloudy.

This wikipedia page is helpful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigen...
And this wikipedia page has a more comprehensive list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...


I don't want to be the "challenge police" and everyone of course can read what they wish. But Indigenous people have been pushed aside and ignored so many times in history, so I feel it's important to point this out, and seek out Indigenous authors.

I slotted in Stephen Graham Jones's Night of the Mannequins for this prompt, however I've also recently finished Tanya Tagaq's Split Tooth, which would work.

I recommend both, depending on your tastes. Mannequins feels like if Stephen King and Caroline Kepnes had a book baby, and Split Tooth is a slightly abstract narrative told in verse - definitely look up the audio if you're interested in this one. Tagaq is a celebrated throat singer and performs the piece herself.

Title: The Removed
Author: Brandon Hobson
Would you recommend this book? Yes -- I couldn't put this down once I got to a certain point. I loved how much it made me think and how myths and reality were interwoven throughout the story.

Title: Winter Counts
Author: David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Would you recommend this book? I have mixed feelings on this book. There were parts I liked, there were parts I didn't, and there were parts that were just plain boring. I felt like I learned a lot about the Lakota culture and life on a reservation but it still felt like a debut novel.

I read so many, all the time, but I think my favorite this year was:

Title: What the Chickadee Knows

Author:Margaret Noodin

Would you recommend this book? Absolutely! 100 times yes! Half in Anihinaabemowin and half translated into English, it's as own voices as you will get.
If you like Mary Oliver, you will love Margaret Noodin. Very accessible even to non-Indigenous readers.

Lilith wrote: "I read so many, all the time, but I think my favorite this year was:

Title: What the Chickadee Knows

Author:[author:Margaret Noodin|72..."


sounds like a fantastic choice for next year's "two languages" category!!!