What do readers think of Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina? Write your own review.

I looked forward to reading a book about the issue of missing native American women/girls. This book did not disappointment.
The author took on this critical social issue and added native American folk lore (some great stories) and issues facing teenagers to include wanting to fit in and the cruelness directed at those who don't. The relationship of a family in crisis to include the two sisters was current and real.
I was a bit confused by the organization of the book when I began reading the book--use of days and time that skips around. I made a few notes of names and events and soon the story made great sense by blending events leading up to the disappearance of the girls with the actual hours and days following the disappearance. Overall, I think this format added to the depth and understanding of the story and the characters.
An excellent read about social issues that have long been ignored, told about a part of society many of us don't know and that led me to wanting to know more.

This books covers some delicate / tough content in a meaningful way. However, I found the timeline difficult to follow. I wondered how much was fiction vs. fictionalized actual events the author is familiar with. Women missing without a trace is and should be an uncomfortable topic to read. Overall, I liked the book even though it took me longer than usual to finish.

First of all, I admire anyone who can write a book, so kudos to Mr. Medina. There were some very interesting aspects, regarding reservation life and legal jurisdictions on the res, for example. And of course the main topic, the disappearance and harm inflicted on native women, is critically important and needs to be discussed, yelled about, in all forms of communication until the atrocities stop. There were occasional moments of greatness, as in Anna's correction of the sheriff's question "what was your sister doing with this man" to "you mean, what was that man doing with my sister?"' But the heavy handed and obvious writing made it difficult to finish the book. Some of the comments I recorded as I read include "unrealistic", "ridiculous", "awkward", "boring" and "ugh". The subject matter is of such importance that I can overlook the writing missteps, but with a less important subject, I would not have finished the book.

"Sisters of the Lost Nation" by Nick Medina is a novel set in the reservation and casino of the fictional tribe of the Takoda people of Louisiana. There is a blend of Native American mythology, horror, racism, bullying, misogynism and drug use as young girls go missing from the reservation.
Anna is a senior in high school and from a dysfunctional family. Anna is a pretty well developed character, as is her sister Grace. Fox and Miss Shelby are probably the other largest characters from the tribe. Miss Shelby was the Legend Keeper and a great friend of Anna's; she is missing, but she is a fairly well developed character given that we don't actually meet her in person. Fox we do meet on numerous occasions, but he is fairly shallowly described. He is an employee of the casino where Anna also works, a womanizer, a drinker and drug addict, but is he dangerous or not? He is meant to be a source of much of the danger in the book but that doesn't come across well. I didn't quite understand Anna's urgency to insert herself in Fox's life before her sister disappeared.
The reservation itself should be better developed as a character. It has formed these people and has played a role in the formation of the casino and the disappearance of these young women.
The last third of the book is much better written and is much more to my idea of what the quality of the whole book's writing should be.

I am half-way through this book, and as much as I appreciate the subject matter, and the writing skill of the author, I'm having a hard time sticking to it. It keeps jumping back and forth in time, and the fact that it is in electronic format makes it difficult to go back and piece it all together. As much as I dislike giving up on a book, particularly when I think it has merit, I will do so here.

I had a difficult time following this book. I had to keep looking backwards to check date or to reread a section because I was lost. There was not enough explanation for some of the Indian folklore. Is this truly happening, or is this part of Anna's nightmares?

Story was OK but got bored by the middle of the book. Had to push myself to finish and did skim through many sections. I found the book wordy, description intense, confusing characters and did not appreciate the vulgar language. The suspense dragged on & on, just not my preferred mystery style.

While the originality and premise of the book is good, the author looses me in the writing time line details. The chapter headings were confusing (days and times), and also made the book somewhat disjointed. I also found it difficult to try to ascertain who was alive, missing or dead in each chapter. Individual character development was spotty at best. I really wanted to know more about the characters and their places and interactions within their tribal culture.I did not finish the book as I considered it not a good use of my time.