Thread by @hoshontomba

Lesson 1: Bring tissues.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There's no way for me to write the perfect review I envisioned because this book left me needing to take a lengthy break after. Now, every thought I had has settled and I'm left with "It's perfect" and "Movie now!"

425 highlights, 60+ notes.

Angeline Boulley does it again, bringing characters to life off the page as you read along. I was already crying pretty well immediately and connecting with characters just a fast, feeling all of the emotions on their behalf and wanting to reach out physically for them.

This is a read that can be relatable to any age group despite the Children's publishing imprint – the idea that 17 and 18 year olds could feel the way I felt at 26 was noteworthy for me.

Watching our main character, Lucy, build bonds with other characters and her heritage was beautiful from page to page. We see her lack of trust in those around her through every step of the way as those feelings change into something else.

Angeline builds suspense chapter to chapter with flashes of the past explaining the future in a way that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. "Is it this, is is that? Okay I think it's this" but then it isn't anything I had theorized (or it was).

As any Native read, there are good points of comedy throughout the book as well. It's hard to leave a thorough review without spoilers because even saying something like "This book offers a good picture of Bipolar Disorder without making it a focal point", just for example,

I feel would give pertinent details away that the readers should find organically. (To be clear, what I felt was well-represented without saying so is not Bipolar Disorder.)

"Sisters in the Wind" offers a good commentary on identity issues for tribal members and those disconnected alike. There is so much to be learned despite this being a work of fiction.

The use of Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) is written so thoughtfully, allowing readers to learn new words naturally as well as the pronunciation of them as we follow our main character's journey. Readers even learn about Indian Law and policy through the use of real excerpts.

One of the major themes in "Sisters in the Wind" is adoption and foster care. My pokni (grandmother) participated in one of the first waves of Indian Child Welfare Act aka ICWA adoptions – if not THE first – when she adopted my Uncle Richard and Aunt Cheryl.

The initial plan was to foster or adopt one child before finding out that child had a sibling they would be separated from otherwise: a reality for many Native children in the system.

The controversy surrounding the premise of ICWA makes a book like this all the more important because it blends that living documentation and actuality with an imaginary world to makes it feel like you're escaping reality if you haven't been through it or been witness to it.

For a work of fiction to depict this reality in a way that feels so raw and real is rare.

By the last page, you'll surely be reaching for a tissue just pages after yelling as if your voice could change the course of life for these characters that has already been written.

While this is part of the "Firekeeper's Daughter" storyline and world, it can be read as a standalone. (Though I would absolutely recommend reading "Firekeeper’s Daughter" and "Warrior Girl Unearthed" too!)

Yakoke (thank you) to @FineAngeline, @NetGalley, @MacmillanUSA | @HenryHolt for providing an e-ARC. All opinions are my own and given freely.

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#bookrecommendations #booklover #nativeamerican #NativeAuthors #BIPOCAuthorsgoodreads.com/review/show/77…

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