An ambitious premise.  A Cherokee family’s evolution following the wrongful murder of one of their own partnered with Cherokee mythology steeped in the tragedy of the Trail of Tears.  

The one thing this author clearly conveys in this book: grief has the potential to shift a foundation.  The Echotas have been gravely impacted by Ray-Ray’s death.  Each member of the family is devastatingly stunted at the moment of the tragedy.  The manner in which grief is differently manifested in each person felt real and heartbreaking.  

What worked best to me was the story of Tsala and the Cherokee folklore.  I enjoyed the lessons of their history mixed with superstition and mythology.  

Regrettably, the potential for the Cherokee allegory to positively impact the story, especially through Maria and Ernest, becomes muddled in Edgar’s drug use.  There were parts of the story when the Cherokee mythology gave a magical component to their lives. But then Edgar’s addiction and drug use created a weird fantasy world where you constantly questioned if what was happening was real or if he was high.  I felt like his situation detracted from the overall potential in the folklore.  At one point as the story transitioned between Edgar’s unstable situation to Cherokee mythology, I had the feel that I had just stepped into the Twilight Zone.  While the synopsis claims to seemlessly blend real and spiritual, I found the two to be very garbled and incoherent.   

I went into this book with high hopes.  It has received much acclaim, and I truly enjoy reading ownvoices literature.  But this one missed the mark for me.  Ultimately, this book suffered from too many disjoined plot lines and a muddled mix of the real and spiritual.  

Many thanks to Brandon Hobson, Ecco, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.