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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Nov 2021, 352 pages
Paperback:
Apr 2024, 384 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Althea Draper
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Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.
Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.
Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries.
And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.
Darcie Little Badger introduced herself to the world with Elatsoe. In A Snake Falls to Earth, she draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to weave another unforgettable tale of monsters, magic, and family. It is not to be missed.
The publisher was unable to provide an excerpt of this book.
Nina's quest to understand her heritage through Rosita's story is crucial to the plot, and the author's lyrical and whimsical writing is reminiscent of the fairy tales and folklore of childhood, bringing a sense of nostalgia to this fantastical book. The existence of two worlds in A Snake Falls to Earth — one where animal people thrive in their true forms, and one where humans live — gives the reader a chance to delve into an exciting fantasy. And because the two worlds are interconnected — for example, some animal people face extinction due to humanity's carelessness and the effects of climate change on Earth — the book offers insight into how our actions affect the world around us and gives a voice to the animals that are endangered by overconsumption and greed...continued
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(Reviewed by Althea Draper).
Darcie Little Badger's second young adult book, A Snake Falls to Earth, contains cultural elements from the Lipan Apache tribe, of which both the author and the book's main character, Nina, are members. The book references the animal people who appear in the Lipan Apache creation story, and it is inspired by traditional Indigenous storytelling. It is one of a number of contemporary young adult books by Indigenous authors that feature representation of Indigenous cultures and people in their many forms.
Of course, when looking at some of the exciting new titles with Indigenous main characters in YA, Little Badger's debut novel Elatsoe is a real standout, having been nominated for and awarded several literary prizes, including a ...
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