Cover Image: Sisters of the Lost Nation

Sisters of the Lost Nation

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Member Reviews

Sisters of the Lost Nation is an important story that deals with missing and murdered indigenous women. Anna Horn is a 17 year old native teen living during the 1990s on a fictional Lakota Tribe reservation in Louisiana. They have a casino on the land and not only do many from the tribe work there, but they all get payments from it. Anna works cleaning rooms and has seen some strange and possibly illegal happenings. Anna is also of two spirits and is bullied at school because of that, her culture and her clothing. She wants to help preserve her tribe's history, myths and legends since their storyteller passed on, and is trying to be accepted by tribal council in that role. Anna also believes that she is being stalked by a disembodied entity that is a part of her tribe’s lore. As women from the tribe disappear, she becomes concerned and when her sister Grace goes missing, Anna desperately wants to find answers for herself, her family and her people.

This story encompasses many themes surrounding Indigenous People. I enjoyed learning about the various myths and legends which added interest to the story. The theme of missing and murdered indigenous women is timely and heartbreaking. The laws surrounding missing women on and off the reservation are archaic and present more stumbling blocks than anything else. Seeing Anna trying to navigate school with non-indigenous classmates who did not share the reverence of a two spirit person, as they bullied and sexually harassed her was heart breaking. Seeing her sister try to distance herself was also so sad. The writing so descriptive that it pulled me into Anna's world. The pace was perfect for this story, slow at times, but moving quickly as the mystery began to unfold. This story is at times heartbreaking and uplifting. I learned about myths and legends as well as the importance of them to the indigenous people. Most importantly, this work of fiction, Sisters of the Lost Nation shines a light on the many missing indigenous women and girls. Indigenous women face a murder rate that's more than ten times the national average and Nick Medina gives faces and names to these women through his fictional story.

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Sisters of the Lost Nation is a gripping read that blends horror with inspiration from real world events that is ongoing. In 2020 alone, according to the National Crime Information Center there were 5,295 reports of missing indigenous women and girls. This is a powerful read, I highly recommend for all readers.

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Thank you to @berkleypub @netgalley @letstalkbookspromo for the #gifted copy of the book! I enjoyed this #buddyread

Wow! What a debut novel by Nick Medina. I was totally immersed in this story from the beginning. Anna and her family live on the reservation which has been slowly changing due to a casino. Anna works at the casino for extra money as do many on the reservation. Her sister turns up missing not long after she starts working there. Anna and her family are distraught. The book explored many issues that tribal communities face today when crimes occur - lack of help from outside law enforcement, lack of resources and the number of women who go missing each year. Must read the author's epilogue!!

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It is hard to describe how good a book like this truly is. It centers around Anna of the Takoda reservation as she tries to decide who she truly is, and what happens to her own sister. Woven throughout are tales that have elements of horror and fright that govern the choices she makes. It was complex, heartbreaking, and rewarding all at once.

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Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think that this had a lot of promise -- and it had a compelling plot and mostly delivered on that promise. I see what the author was trying to do with the jumbled timelines and chapters but I think that it kind of made me lost at the start. But when things picked up I was really invested and I think that the central crime and fallout was well told and is an important story.

3.5 stars.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡'𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚'𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙩.

📍 Read if you like:
• Supernatural Horror Elements
• Native Folklore
• Dual Timelines
• Indigenous Communities

I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into this book. I just knew it had horror elements and followed a young Native girl on the search to solve the mystery of the disappearances in the community.

This book was so moving and incredibly eerie + atmospheric. It does have thriller & horror elements - and they’re very suspenseful. I was immediately intrigued by the Indigenous community and the native folklore.

We also get two timelines, which I did find confusing at first. However, once I knew what was going on, I was invested in the story. The characters were interesting - they did make some decisions and comments I didn’t love.

It was so heart-wrenching reading about missing Indigenous women. I think this story was a perfect representation of the harsh reality of indigenous communities.

I would highly recommend this book just for the beautifully crafted story and the Native folklore.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley for the review copies in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Death, racism, bullying, murder, sexual violence, addiction

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Absolutely wonderful read. Sisters of the Lost Nation is an excellent thriller based on a fictional reservation in Louisiana. The characters are engaging and well-rounded, and the setting is well-established and explored. In addition to this, this book is a brilliant exploration into issues that tribes today do actually face. The numbers of missing or murdered Indigenous women grow every day with little attention from law enforcement. Medina does a good job of digging into this real issue and exposing real struggles through a fictional lens.

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Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina is a captivating and powerful story that will definitely leave you hooked. I really enjoyed this story and getting to know Nick Medina's writing style, which has definitely made me want to read more of what he writes in the future! I think stories featuring Native issues and culture are much needed in the fiction world so I was glad to see this book and really loved getting to know all of these characters. The characterization in particular was incredibly well done and I really felt myself connecting to our protagonist and the struggles she endures. The pacing felt wonderfully consistent throughout and I never really felt my attention wavering due to the effortless flow of the story. Overall, a highly recommended read!

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I ended up having the pleasure of reading and listening to Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina with cover design by Ashley Suttor. I honestly can't pick a better format, I enjoyed them both equally.

When I mentioned hard hitting, I wasn't lying. Medina intertwines the folklore of a Native tribe and the heart-wrenching truth of the multitudes of missing indigenous women that goes unsolved across the nation. It's a mixture of mystery, horror and brutal truth.

Anna is a well crafted character. She moves through life one struggle after another just trying to make it through and be understood. Bullying from the kids in school, politics of the tribe, her sister's cold shoulder and a job that comes with hidden secrets. All of which skyrockets when her sister goes missing.

I felt so many mixed emotions towards the characters, their actions and even their behaviors. Medina paints such a vivid tapestry of Native culture. The addition of the disembodied spirit that haunts Anna was an interesting touch that took a minute to adjust too. When the final chapter closes in, the lore and the plot come together with powerful meaning. The audio is read by Elva Guerra and the author. I enjoyed the feeling that was put into the narration and the atmospheric tension that builds.

Novels like this that bring to light the harsh realities of this world and the unspoken horrors that plague the indigenous communities should be read and cherished. I want to share a few important resources provided by the author with my followers:

🔥Native Hope ( www.nativehope.org )
🔥Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women ( www.csvanw.org )
🔥MMIW USA ( mmiwusa.org )
🔥Native Women’s Wilderness ( www.nativewomenswilderness.org )

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This one was just ok for me. Anna, our protagonist, is looking for answers about why there are missing girls from her reservation which is a fictional tribe. I felt from the beginning it was rather predictable and therefore it became kind of a chore to get through. Again, nothing particularly wrong about it but absolutely nothing new or fresh or interesting. Having a fictional tribe even further distanced me from the story too. This book just didn't capture my attention and the audio was really not great- the narrator's voice sounded like it was on the verge of cracking the entire time (to my ears) and it felt very amateur . Can't recommend on audio.

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Quick Synopsis from the front cover: A young Native girl’s hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe’s reservation leads her to delve into myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself.

What I loved:
✨The story itself - such an important story to read, acknowledge, and help spread its truth. The mystery is compelling; their reality is brutal.
✨Our MC - Anna embraces her Two Spirit. In the face of bullying, she maintains her strong will while searching for what’s right and just. I don’t know if I’ve ever had more respect for a teenage MC than Anna. She is beautifully written.
✨Native Folklore - full of stories, legends, and imagery woven into the mystery. Hauntingly beautiful!! One of my favorite stories is “The Tale of Two Sisters.” We need more fiction that includes this folklore.

Who should read this:
✨Looking for Indigenous representation
✨Mystery lovers - especially ones based on true stories.
✨Folklore lovers

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✨ Review ✨ Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

This was a really moving blend of mystery/thriller and light horror. Anna Horn, an Indigenous teen, works at the local casino hotel, attends high school, and spends time with her family. Quickly, however, Anna becomes aware of something problematic happening in the hotel, and Indigenous girls are going missing. When her sister Grace goes missing, Anna and her family investigate, in hopes of finding her before it's too late.

Medina, a member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, brings his appreciation of Indigenous mythology by threading myths through the book along with the horrifying rolling head that's rumored to roll around the tribal land. In order to avoid placing blame or problems on any one tribe, he creates a fictional tribe for this book, and brings together several myths and ways of knowing.

This book engages the reader while shining light on the very real problem of Indigenous women going missing or being murdered. Very little media attention has been given to this issue, and he seeks to inform the reader and raise attention for this cause. I really appreciated how he did this in this book.

Note, because this book operates with a dual timeline, it can be a little tricky to follow sometimes if you listen to the audio version. Once I figured out the pattern, it worked for me, but it might not for everyone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: mystery/thriller, horror
Setting: fictional tribal land in Louisiana
Pub Date: 18 Apr 2023

Thanks to Berkley and #netgalley for advanced copies of this book!

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When I read the blurb of #sistersofalostnation
I knew I had to read it 🖤

Blurb: "A young Native girl's hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe's reservation lead her to delve into the myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself, in this atmospheric and stunningly poignant debut.

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation’s casino…and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step—an ancient tribal myth come-to-life, one that’s intent on devouring her whole.

With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she’s sure lies in the legends of her tribe’s past.

When Anna’s own little sister also disappears, she’ll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation—both ancient and new—are strong, and sometimes, it’s the stories that never get told that are the most important.

Part gripping thriller and part mythological horror, author Nick Medina spins an incisive and timely novel of life as an outcast, the cost of forgetting tradition, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be."

🖤

The way @nickmedinawrites tells this story is captivating. It was a real pageturner. Slow and atmospheric at the beginning, the pace went quicker and quicker. The chapters are short, jumping between different times and like a jigsaw, we can solve the Mystery.

I also loved the character of Anna who is afraid of a lot of things, bullied at school, labelled the "outcast" but finally faces her own demons. Subtle, the author describes her as embodying both female and male parts - a great blessing to the community.

A huge recommendation for #sistersofalostnation 🖤

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Sisters of the Lost Nation is a suspense/thriller novel with horror overtones. Anna, who lives on a reservation in Louisiana, is searching or her sister Grace- who has mysteriously gone missing after a night in a hotel room.

The first half of the novel jumps back and forth in time- building the world around Anna and her relationship with her sister Grace- while also showing the start of the hunt for the missing Grace. The second half is for more linear, but also more fantastical.

I really enjoyed this novel. While there were moments at the beginning where the non-linear narrative left me a little confused, the book presents a full world and Anna's journey is compelling.

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Excellent coming of age story. Living on the reservation is difficult for 2 sisters. Poor and not excepted in the local public school you find yourself wishing them a better life. A the older works at the resort on the reservation as a housekeeper. She is told not to go to the 8th floor when she begins. She later is told she will clean that floor when special guests leave.

There have been 3 missing girls and the native police get little help from the town police. Anna becomes involved when her sister Grace disappears. Working with Luke the reservation policeman she uses her skills too. Search for her sister. She has skills related to being a shaman that her Grandmother helps her CCDPT.

the mystery as well as the culture of the story provide a solid read with an understanding of Native life in todays world. Recommend for mature teens and adults

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This is definitely one of those books that I'll probably need more time to fully process my thoughts on. I loved the premise, and this is an important narrative that I'm glad to see highlighted more. The ending felt maybe a little abrupt, but overall I found it to be an engrossing read.

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Nick Medina’s debut novel isn’t just about missing girls, ghost stories, and Native American culture - it shines a small light on a huge issue plaguing our nation. Don’t let the “horror” classification deter you from reading this one. The inclusion of a classic Native ghost story is likely what places it in this genre but I found it to be so much more. It’s a heartbreaking tale of fiction unfortunately based in truth.

I swapped back and forth between the digital and audio versions and enjoyed them both. The narrator did a wonderful job voicing all the different emotions for each character. The timeline is unique as it flips back and forth between before and after Grace goes missing. Both timelines progress through part 1 and then converge in part 2. This can be confusing if you’re not paying attention to the chapter titles but once you get a hang of each timeline, it’s easy to become immersed in this book. I do have to give kudos to the author for doing such an amazing job giving strong voices to Native American women.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a story with a deeper meaning. Definitely read the author’s note on this one because he gives more insight on why he wrote this book.

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I tore through this book in a day. This was a dark atmospheric, mystery set on a reservation. Anna is struggling. She is being bullied at school. She works at the casino on the reservation and she feels like there is an ancient tribal myth that has come to life stalking her. Girls begin to go missing on the reservation, including her own sister. I don’t want to say too much to give away the mystery but I really enjoyed this one. This book has equal parts mystery as it does mythical horror. I would be all in on this as a tv series.
.

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @prhaudio and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This is not a new issue to me. I’m a volunteer at our regional theater and one of the theaters in the building has a lot of premiere plays. One of those plays not long before the pandemic brought recognition to the missing native american women. There was even an installation around the grounds of red dresses to draw even further attention.

So I jumped on the chance to read this. It took me many pages to connect with the story. I’m not really sure what the cause was, but I do wish it happened sooner. Had I not received an advanced copy for review, I might have set it aside. I’m glad I didn’t because it is a really good and powerful story. In addition to the young girls that go missing in this book, it also addresses how native americans address two spirited people. While not exactly the equivalent of transgender, the native americans’ two spirits are able to do both traditional male and female jobs of the tribe. And while they are admired for this, they are less accepted when it becomes about sexual preference instead of abilities. I always love to read through a character’s eyes that allows me to see another side of the world. Anna is both native american and two spirited. I was able to walk a little while in her shoes.

By the end of this one I was gripped by the story and even had a tear in my eye at the end of the author’s note. An observation that this one is listed as horror and while I do believe it shows the horrors of the world we live in, it is not what most would consider a horror story.

This is one of the more unique books I’ve read this year and definitely think it is worth the read if you are looking for something a little bit different.

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In Sisters of the Lost Nation, Nick Medina has created a novel that is emotional and dramatic. The voice is authentic and real, presenting readers with a novel that presents the truth about the plight of Native women in a way that is beautiful, heartbreaking and yet hopeful. The character of Anna is incredibly engaging as she tries to discover what has happened about her sister and learns to accept herself. 

I love the focus on heritage, on both the past and how to move forward into the future without losing the stories and voices of the past. I love the respect for the elders in the culture and while the tribe in the story is not a real one, it incorporates all the truest elements from real tribes and remains authentic in its voice. I also found the search for the missing girls, the coldness of the white society, and the struggles of Native people incredibly real and compelling, revealing truths white people need to see. 

If you love drama and mystery, mythology and authenticity, I recommend reading this book. Nick Medina’s novel is timely, emotional and dramatic. The characters are engaging and compelling. The aspects of heritage and two spirits are well written and intriguing. The novel is moving and reveals truths that most readers should hear.

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