A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcy Little Badger

     The third book by author Little Badger, a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, but the first I have read by her. A Snake Falls to Earth won a Newbery Honor as well as appearing on many best books of the year lists, and getting starred reviews in Booklist (one of my favorite book review magazines, and one I trust very much). All that said, I was really excited to read this book, especially as a small way to celebrate Native American Heritage Month (November)!

    However, I also have to write what I feel about this book, now that I've finished it. I liked it, and some of the characters have stayed on my mind since I read the final page. At the same time, I found the story to be very, very confusing, until I got to about page 120. That's a lot of pages for someone to read before the story starts to make any kind of sense, right? I'm glad I stuck with it, because it was a good book. But I also found myself looking forward to finishing so I could start something new...that isn't a very good sign.

    So, I my canine advice is to trust the reviews, to some degree, but also prepare to get pretty far into the book before things start to come together. Here is something that will help (and it's not a spoiler!); the chapters alternate between a girl named Nina, who begins the book as a 9-year-old but grows older each time we hear from her, and Oli, a cottonmouth snake who can also appear as a human. Knowing that Oli was a snake who could transform into human form early in the story would have helped me understand a lot more a lot sooner! I hope it helps you, too. In fact, in the Cottonmouth chapters, Oli and his friends are all animals that can become humans when needed. It is a cool part of the story as it goes along, but it took me a long time to figure that out. Maybe it's me...I'm a pretty literal reader!

    There are not enough teen and young adult books by and about Native people, and this book is a nice addition. However, not the easiest to navigate nor is it my favorite. If you'd like some amazing books in this genre, check out anything by Peter Bruchac, Sherman Alexie (although his books are mostly for older teens and adults, or one of my favorite books from last year, The Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley (also for older teen readers, but really good). I may give one of Little Badger's books a try in the future, but I will need a break after this one for a while. 3 paws and a wag.