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There are currently 26 member reviews
for Sisters of the Lost Nation
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Lynne B. (South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Sisters of the Lost Nation
The characters of Amanda Horn and her sister Grace honor the memories of all the lost Native women over history. This is a coming-of-age story of a teen Native woman living on a fictional reservation in Louisiana. As with many reservations, there is a contrast between the life in town versus the reservation and the financial dependence on the casino to provide jobs and income for the native people. Also brought up within the story is the conflict in jurisdiction legally for law enforcement. Anna is conflicted in becoming the spokesperson for the Native culture and the passing on of the "stories" and feeling that she is unworthy as a downtrodden and demeaned Native woman as reinforced by her treatment from the townspeople and especially her off the reservation White classmates. She embodies being one of the Two Spirits, described as being neither male or female and honored for their ability to take on and carry out the traditional roles of their tribes. This is all explained in the Author's Note at the end of the book and explains a lot of the theme of the story. This book is an excellent addition to the literature collection of those who choose to gain more understanding of the history of mistreatment of Native Americans in this country. I caution that the story moves back and forth in time throughout the first half of the book so it is important to keep track of the day reminders at the head of each chapter. Though confusing at first you will find that sticking with the story will be rewarding,
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Jennie R. (Highland, CA)
Good read, but unsatisfying….
My first gripe about this book is that I couldn't figure out why Anna attended a school where she seemed to be one of very few Native American students. I don't believe this was explained. She suffered cruel treatment at the hands of her fellow students, even her own sister. Her parents were so wrapped up in their own unhappiness, they seldom paid much attention to their three children. When Anna's younger sister, Grace, goes missing (the most recent of a number of missing girls) Anna is doggedly determined to find out what happened to her. She suspects her manager at the casino is involved somehow and investigates on her own. Reservation law enforcement's power is limited and local law enforcement doesn't seem to want to put much effort into tribal problems.
Overall, I liked the book. I wondered as I read, how much research the author had done on the topic of Native American and First Nation women who go missing…much of it sounded likely.. I wasn't happy with the ending, finding it too easy an answer.
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Paul M. (Saratoga, CA)
This is a test - please ignore.
Visitor reviews have so far been good - but as BookBrowse is testing the functionality of its user interfaces, this review should be ignored.
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Judy P
Worth the Read
I looked forward to reading a book about the issue of missing native American women/girls. This book did not disappointment.
The author took on this critical social issue and added native American folk lore (some great stories) and issues facing teenagers to include wanting to fit in and the cruelness directed at those who don't. The relationship of a family in crisis to include the two sisters was current and real.
I was a bit confused by the organization of the book when I began reading the book--use of days and time that skips around. I made a few notes of names and events and soon the story made great sense by blending events leading up to the disappearance of the girls with the actual hours and days following the disappearance. Overall, I think this format added to the depth and understanding of the story and the characters.
An excellent read about social issues that have long been ignored, told about a part of society many of us don't know and that led me to wanting to know more.
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Molly B. (Longmont, CO)
Extremes - good and bad
First of all, I admire anyone who can write a book, so kudos to Mr. Medina. There were some very interesting aspects, regarding reservation life and legal jurisdictions on the res, for example. And of course the main topic, the disappearance and harm inflicted on native women, is critically important and needs to be discussed, yelled about, in all forms of communication until the atrocities stop. There were occasional moments of greatness, as in Anna's correction of the sheriff's question "what was your sister doing with this man" to "you mean, what was that man doing with my sister?"' But the heavy handed and obvious writing made it difficult to finish the book. Some of the comments I recorded as I read include "unrealistic", "ridiculous", "awkward", "boring" and "ugh". The subject matter is of such importance that I can overlook the writing missteps, but with a less important subject, I would not have finished the book.
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Paula J. (Bath, ME)
Sisters of the Lost Nation
"Sisters of the Lost Nation" by Nick Medina is a novel set in the reservation and casino of the fictional tribe of the Takoda people of Louisiana. There is a blend of Native American mythology, horror, racism, bullying, misogynism and drug use as young girls go missing from the reservation.
Anna is a senior in high school and from a dysfunctional family. Anna is a pretty well developed character, as is her sister Grace. Fox and Miss Shelby are probably the other largest characters from the tribe. Miss Shelby was the Legend Keeper and a great friend of Anna's; she is missing, but she is a fairly well developed character given that we don't actually meet her in person. Fox we do meet on numerous occasions, but he is fairly shallowly described. He is an employee of the casino where Anna also works, a womanizer, a drinker and drug addict, but is he dangerous or not? He is meant to be a source of much of the danger in the book but that doesn't come across well. I didn't quite understand Anna's urgency to insert herself in Fox's life before her sister disappeared.
The reservation itself should be better developed as a character. It has formed these people and has played a role in the formation of the casino and the disappearance of these young women.
The last third of the book is much better written and is much more to my idea of what the quality of the whole book's writing should be.
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Arden A. (Longboat Key, FL)
The downside of a then and now format
I am half-way through this book, and as much as I appreciate the subject matter, and the writing skill of the author, I'm having a hard time sticking to it. It keeps jumping back and forth in time, and the fact that it is in electronic format makes it difficult to go back and piece it all together. As much as I dislike giving up on a book, particularly when I think it has merit, I will do so here.
