What do readers think of The Ghost of Milagro Creek by Melanie Sumner? Write your own review.

This book is reminiscent of the best Spanish American magical realism novels. the experiences of the Jicarilla Apache, Hispanic and Caucasian residents of the barrio of Taos New Mexico are recounted skillfully by Sumner, who succeeds in capturing all three voices. The novel weaves in events that took place between 1986 and 2001, with the main events occurring over Easter Weekend of 2001. That symbolism is a bit heavy handed, but not enough to distract from this fine novel.

For those who lead reading groups, a set of discussion questions is included. But even without them, the mystical, magical, folk wisdom aspects of this novel give much food for thought and discussion. the more finely drawn characters are the two women, Ignacia/"Abuela," the Jicarilla Apache raising two boys, and Rocky, the gringa they both come to love. The tragedy between the boys when they become young men, Mister and Tomas, though foreshadowed, leaves the reader a bit shell-shocked. It's been several days since I finished "The Ghost of Milago Creek," but I'm still thinking about it and asking myself questions that don't have easy answers. Melanie Sumner is a writer to watch.

This book, The Ghost of Milagro Creek, is a most unusual book, set in the Southwest, and, for me, as the title of my review states, it was hard to categorize. I couldn't compare it to anything I remember reading before. The language was perfect, however, such that I didn't want to miss a word...I would recommend it, not to regular bestseller readers, but to someone looking for an interesting, well-written, "hard to categorize" novel.

Not worth the time spent on reading this book. I found the characters very one dimensional and little plot development. Though the really looked forward to this book after reading the summary, Melanie Sumner missed the mark.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One of the reasons that I wanted to read this was that it had Native American Indian in it. I have some Native American in me so I could relate to parts of the book. It was interesting to read about the different things that were done to help someone get better.

Melanie Sumner had a good idea for a story, and I really wanted to like this book. The story is set in the Taos, New Mexico area, and sometimes her descriptions were so good that I really felt I got a good sense of not only the area, but also the culture. However, her chapters kept jumping around, not only in time but also in the character speaking. It sometimes took a paragraph or two to figure out who was speaking. This jumping around also interfered with my forming an attachment to the characters.

A sense of mysticism is developed throughout the book, but this only serves as a detraction from the story itself. The author's love of the area is evident, and she does a good job painting a beautiful picture of the Mexican/Indian cultures.

Although this book was not my usual genre I did enjoy it. The author did an excellent job of allowing the reader to witness events both past and present using different narrators...I felt this added to the insight of both the plot as it unfolded as well as to the character development. What I enjoyed most was exposure to a culture I haven't really read much on....a combination of contemporary Native American and Hispanic cultures.

Like a beautiful Indian tapestry, Melanie Sumner, gently weaves the tale of Ignacia, her turbulent sons, their families, and those searching for hope and redemption in Taos, New Mexico, with golden threads of Indian lore to create a shockingly realistic novel that is impossible to leave. The reader, like each of Sumner's unforgettable characters, will find himself enmeshed in the ghosts past and present of Milagro Creek. A must read from a promising Georgia author!

This is one of those books that at first seems confusing and difficult to follow. Then as I read on the story wove an amazing tapestry through character, culture and the mixture of languages This book grabs hold and takes you on along with it. Great story.