Sisters of the Lost Nation

Girls begin to go missing on the reservation. Tragedy strikes at home when Anna’s sister is the latest victim. Anna vows to find her.

SISTERS OF THE LOST NATION was a gripping read that mixed elements of mythological horror, thriller, and mystery. I loved the writing and was drawn in from page one. The timeline is nonlinear and felt a little chaotic toward the beginning of the book, though I think this worked well overall given what the characters were experiencing. Anna’s character was really well developed. The world-building was excellent, making me feel like I was there. The plot moved at a quick pace and had me eagerly turning pages. I loved how the mythological horror was wrapped in. I’m not a huge fan of horror and found show more that this book had just the right amount to give creepy vibes without leaving me afraid of having nightmares. It’s more within the thriller genre. There’s a lot of social commentary throughout and thought-provoking topics which combined with the emotional aspects leave this book destined to be in my memory for a while. The story as a piece of fiction is sad, but even more heartbreaking is that it is not far off from being true as thousands of Indigenous women and girls are reported missing with the actual number likely higher due to unreported cases. The author’s note at the end is a must read.

SISTERS OF THE LOST NATION was a gripping read that will not be easily forgotten. I would highly recommend it to fans of mythological horror, thrillers, and Indigenous stories.

Thank you to Berkley for the giveaway ARC. show less

Trigger Warnings: (as per Content Warning at beginning of book) addresses issues of addiction, drug use, child sexual abuse, assault (implied, off-page), murder and death (off-page), physical assault, battery, self-harm, sex trafficking (implied, off-page), and racism

Anna Horn works at her reservation’s casino and she’s begun to notice some strange and sinister happenings occurring in and around it. When Anna’s own little sister, Grace, goes missing from the casino, she’ll stop at nothing to bring her home, even if that involves facing the nameless, disembodied entity that has been stalking her every move.

What a heart-wrenching, poignant debut from Nick Medina who is an amazing, captivating writer. Medina did a wonderful job of show more showing the crisis that is unfortunately much too common for Native, Indigenous, and First Nation communities. Medina was also able to write about the judicial laws and systems that tend to restrict Reservation Police rather than help them out.

I know this is marked as Horror first before Thriller, but I do feel like this is more reversed; definitely Thriller mixed with Horror aspects, especially mythological I mean, a dead, rolling head will bring that way up to Horror .

This is going to be a book I will be recommending to many now that it’s released.

I know most will read it, but please do not miss the Author’s Note at the end as it will give you some more valuable insight about the book, including more about Two Spirits individuals.

*Thank you Berkley and Edelweiss+ for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review show less

First off, this book has been done a disservice by being marketed as a horror novel. Sure, it hints at horrific things done to indigenous girls and women, but there is nothing supernatural going on like the book blurb would lead you to believe.

I would say it's structured more like a thriller, with multiple timelines, only that the content warning in the beginning spoils the mystery so since I knew what was going on it wasn't very thrilling. Now, that's on me, I know. I'm not a person that needs content warnings, so I really don't know why I read it, but going forward I'll do my best to skip over any warnings a book may have in the front.

I also think that the timeline jumping around in a non-linear fashion is a detriment to the story show more being told. I found it confusing and eventually I just stopped reading the chapter headers and used context clues about whether it was before or after Grace disappeared.

I did enjoy the story and believe it's an important story to be told, I just wish the execution was neater and the format was tighter. The author shows a lot of promise, and this is a competent debut. show less

I went into this book already aware of the staggering number of missing Native American women - and so I was piecing together what was happening on the reservation pretty early on. The part of this book that captured my attention the most was Anna’s journey of self discovery and how that propelled her into standing up for her tribe/their history, and her continued efforts to find her sister. Normally I don’t necessarily want a positive ending to a book that’s classified as “horror,” but it felt needed - there needs to be hope that these crimes will stop and that these women will all come home.

Alkuperäisamerikkalaisnaisten ja -tyttöjen katoamiset ovat suurilukuisia. Tämä kertoo yhden fiktiivisen tarinan aiheesta yhdistellen dekkaria, mysteeri ja kauhuelementtejä. Tarina kuristaa kurkkua mutta niin se pitääkin. Sarjassamme "kirja joka särkee sydämen, mutta luettava on".

suspense fiction, with a carnivorous head of tribal lore possibly also on the prowl (author of indigenous heritage) CW/TW: some bloody gore, potential sex trafficking, potential rape/assault, merciless homophobic/trans bullying, meth use/addiction.

A two-spirit/NB/trans teen (mercilessly bullied at school) begins to suspect local disappearances of Rez girls are tied to the casino/hotel where she works when her little sister disappears.

Great suspense, with some of the unique political complications (and barriers to justice for crimes against Indians and Indian women) on Indian land provided through the story

See also:
Melissa Chadburn's A Tiny Upward Shove about Filipinx girls disappearing but fighting back with supernatural help in BC show more Canada.
Angeline Boulley's award-winning novel, show less

This is a kick ass novel.

It has a strong female main character who is coming of age during a difficult time. It is set on a fictional reservation that could be anywhere in the USA or Canada. It has some very current themes of missing and murdered indigenous women, addictions, difficult relations between the reservation and the neighbouring population, bulling and more.

I could not put this book down. I wanted to find out how the main character evolved. What was she going to do about the situation she was in? Where they going to find the missing girls? (This is not something that has happened in real life, but in a fictional world, even a realistic one such as this, a reader can always hope.)

This is a dark book. It was amazing. The show more author provides some information at the end for those who more information or to help with the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women. It is an important subject.

I will definitely be reading more of this authors books. show less