Crooked Hallelujah is a debut novel by Kelli Jo Ford, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The book mainly follows Justine and her daughter Reney as they navigate life and their relationships. But it also includes Lula (mother of Justine) and Granny (Lula's mother) and really focuses on these women's relationships with each other and their survival through generational trauma.
The writing is excellent. In the first few chapters I had already laughed to myself and teared up. The sense of place really comes through as the characters go back and forth between Oklahoma and Texas. The chapters are non-linear but give the reader clear hints within the first paragraph so they can understand who is telling the story and when it is set. I was especially impressed by the author's writing from the perspective of children.

I can't quote from an uncorrected proof but her writing was so evocative about love, forgiveness, death, motherhood... that I really enjoyed it while also feeling like my heart was being ripped open.

I didn't write this review immediately after finishing the book, and I'm glad I didn't because while I laid awake last night I realized that separation was an underlying theme of the novel. Forced separation from loved ones and from your own culture. Chosen separation from abusive partners or relatives. Physical separation caused by distance, boundaries, and vigilantes. And difficult separations from loved ones due to health, religious choices, and other circumstances that the characters really grappled with. It's just so good! Thanks for reading my review and I highly recommend the book.

In 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘫𝘢𝘩, Kelli Jo Ford depicts a matriarchal Cherokee family headed by Granny, a quiet, stalwart presence, and her daughter, Lula, who joined the Holiness Church—a denomination that rejects modern clothing, hairstyles, and entertainment—when her husband and father of her three daughters left the family. Justine, the youngest daughter, tries to be dutiful, but chafes under the strict rules of the church and her mother’s mercurial temperament.

With her daughter Reney, Justine runs from her Oklahoma home into the arms of wrong men, finally landing in North Texas where she can never quite commit but can also never seem to leave. Reney inherits her mother’s beauty, stubbornness, and sense of isolation.

The women are beset by an oppressive society, poverty, an unforgiving natural environment, and a knack for poor choices, and the discrimination and abuse they suffer resurfaces each generations. Still, the love among them never wavers and gives them the strength to hope for something better.

While I found Justine and Reney interesting characters, I had a difficult time finding the rhythm of the book. The timeline was never fully clear to me, with chapters jumping forward without much transition. Furthermore, three chapters felt out of place and didn’t advance the plot or develop the characters. One was a journal entry written by Granny, one about a character who wasn’t mentioned before or after he appeared in his chapter, and one from the perspective of Justine’s father-in-law. The remaining chapters were told in a mix of first and third person that didn’t have a logic to me.

As always, though, I have a fondness for novels set in Oklahoma, and I thought Ford’s language was lovely with a powerful use of details to depict scenes. Aspects of the book haunt me, depress me, vex me, and anger me. I suspect I will be thinking about it for awhile.

Thank you so much to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing me with a free early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Crooked Hallelujah is now available.

2.75 stars.

Somewhere between an interconnected short story collection and a very episodic novel, Kelli Jo' Ford's debut follows three generations of Cherokee women living in Oklahoma and Texas from the 1970s until the present day. In exploring the lives of Lula, Justine, and Reney, Ford explores themes such as religious fundamentalism, intergenerational poverty, tumultuous and abusive relationships, and motherhood. Unfortunately for me, this book's lack of cohesion really ended up making this a disappointing read. Aside from Bonita, my favorite chapter/story, the chapters did not hold up to me as individual pieces of short fiction, nor did they provide enough nuanced character development and growth to be considered chapters of a larger work. I also think this could have benefitted from a similar narrative style to Bryan Washington's Lot, wherein Washington interspersed the connected short story thread with completely unrelated stories. Crooked Hallelujah had two stories that featured peripheral characters, but since they were the only ones of their kind they ended up feeling out of place (despite the fact that the one story about the lesbian couple was quite interesting). I also found the last story's use of the apocalypse to be fairly undeveloped and somewhat random, and I may have liked Crooked Hallelujah as a whole had it ended with the penultimate chapter.

I am interested in reading more of Kelli Jo Ford's work, as she definitely explores a lot of unique themes, but this particular book did not really work for me.

4 stars

This book made me long for my home, where my mother is, for the many places I have always believed I was supposed to run further away as possible. In the current quarantine world, I wish I could cross the ocean and give my mom a big hug and tell her how much she matters to me. This book was phenomenal.

To be perfectly honest, I felt that this was the right book for most of the reading experience, but the wrong time. A multi-generational story full of brave women of color is my wheelhouse, but I wasn't prepared for the emotional turns this book took in many ways.

In the beginning, I felt a bit scattered, but as soon as the two main characters Justine and Reeney both started to narrate the story became as vivid as the light of day in my mind. Even if slow at times, the prose was continuously beautiful, and many passages just stuck with me. But most importantly, the ending was phenomenal! If you are in the middle of the book and still undecided if you would like to continue, I can tell you 100% you must read this one until the end.

The narrative shifts, and even the shift in style makes the book a memorable piece of literature.

That being said, I did not give it full five stars because some characters and narratives were introduced in the middle of the book to no end. More specifically, I became eager to go back to Justine and Reeney when they suddenly fell off the page. The story gave way to two separate characters/narrators that did not play any real role in the overall story. But that nonetheless did contribute to some world-building, in hindsight.

I am fascinated to see what Kelli Jo Ford will write next and cannot wait to recommend to anyone who will listen.

"Crooked Hallelujah" tells the story of four generations of Cherokee women through a series of vignettes occurring in the 197o's and 1980's. It is an interesting exploration of the effects of generational poverty and strict religious restrictions on a family. The prose is straightforward but effective, and the characters are well developed. Ultimately, though the story itself takes a hopeful turn in later generations, I found the finished collection to be bleak.

I was kindly provided a copy of this book by the publisher to review through Netgalley.
I rate this book a 3.5 stars out of 5 and would recommend this book to others. It was a gripping narrative that follows multiple characters over their lifetime and how through hardship, despair, love and discovery the roots of these lives intertwine and will always bring them home. Home is not only a single house or town in this case but a state of being. It can also be said that "home" in the book's context is an emotion. Home as in finding it in one's self, belonging as a whole and fitting in. The lives outlined in this book have had difficult circumstances and the sometimes brutal depictions of these trying moments in time can be triggering for some. I did get attached to these characters and found it easy to keep turning the pages.

A unique family saga that will appeal to fans of literary fiction. Ford uses four women- Granny, Justine, Lulu, and Reney- to look at poverty, violence against women, identity, the environment, and unreliable men. It's not a happy story and, to be honest, it's one that you might put down because it is quite bleak in spots. Those hoping for a great novel set on the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma might be disappointed; these are Cherokee women but it's not the foremost theme of the novel. That said, Ford has tapped into important issues and you'll definitely feel the pain of these women. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good debut.

"Can I love anything the way that I used to love the mystery of my mother, her strength in suffering?"

This novel follows four generations of Cherokee women from the 1970s into the near future, mostly focusing on their relationships with each other. One mother, Justine, leaves the comfort of her family to try to make a better living in Texas with her daughter Reney, and those two are largely the focus.

There is a thread of Pentecostalism throughout as Justine's mother attends a Holiness church, meaning long dresses and speaking in tongues and a lot of rules. That sets the stage for quite a bit of rebellion and subterfuge.

I've seen so many reviews from readers complaining there are "not enough" native elements, so disappointed these strong women are not "being more Cherokee" and how it is "really just about poor people." I don't even know where to start with readers who punish a book for their own lack of understanding. Others were upset over having to work to figure out the narrator in new sections. Please ignore those reviews if you are interested in the lives of strong women with a lot working against them, in a bleak landscape like Oklahoma and Texas, and if you're not afraid of a little work on the reader's part.

2 3/4 stars
I was fascinated when I began reading this tale of strong yet disadvantaged poor women with Native American heritage in a family that undergoes many travails through the years. The author really does a good job with immersing the reader in her settings, both Oklahoma and Texas. The characters are strongly portrayed and their interactions with each other and those around them fascinating.

As things moved along, however, the jumps in time and disparate stories that seemed rather jumbled up in a hodgepodge fashion created a sense of annoyance and impatience within as I waited for the story to get back to the main characters and to find out what happened with one situation or another that just seemed to abruptly end. There often didn't seem to be any transition from one chapter to the next. I am sure that sense was exacerbated by the format, which I realize was an uncorrected proof so I assume that the final version will not look quite so choppy.

I just did not feel the connection between some of the characters and stories, although I did appreciate the bond that the mothers and daughters and grandmother had throughout. That was very touching and heartwarming.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read the eARC ahead of publication, which is set for July 14, 2020. I'm glad I read it in the end.

This story follows four generations of Cherokee women as they do their best to navigate the hand they’ve been dealt in life. They struggle with poverty, identity, religion, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy. Set in Oklahoma and Texas, the reader gets a glimpse into the inequalities that these women face as they each seem to have a vice.

Kelli Jo Ford creates a diverse cast of strong women in her novel as we see Lula, Justine and Reney try to pave their own way in the world. Ford explores the themes of survival and faith as the women survive tornadoes and abusive partners. The novel started off strong for me but started to lose steam as the story started to lack cohesiveness between characters and storylines. It became difficult to follow as there would be random side stories thrown in about other people who lived in their town with no connection to the main plot. The writing style was very matter of fact with no frills but I kind of liked it because it gave a clear picture of the way the characters were living. I enjoyed Justine’s part and Reney’s narrativeon, but found the novel lacked focus as a whole.

Crooked Hallelujah is a short-ish collection of linked stories about the inheritance and relationships between a mother, daughter, and granddaughter in a mixed-race Cherokee, sometimes-Holy Roller family in rural Oklahoma and Texas. The writing and characterizations in Kelli Jo Ford's debut are almost always vivid; I got a distinct sense of place and culture, as well as of the three women, who are so distinct in many ways and yet so similar. The women's similarities are most striking in how they all struggle with the push-pull of love (to men and mothers) and independence (dedication to art, to partying, to the search for self).

The stories don't have much in the way of a traditional plot structure. Instead, they rush in circles, toward husbands and away from husbands, to home and toward the open road and back. The lack of plot never felt like a problem, though. Tension arises from the force of the attraction-repulsion between the characters. I was compelled to read on from wondering what will happen to 15-year-old Justine, after she gives birth, and, later, whether her daughter, Reney, will ever leave the DQ and her disappointing husband. Similarly compelling are the details of Holy Roller culture and the maps of these specific Indigenous lives (so rare and exciting to see in mainstream literature!).

Some reviewers have mentioned finding the stories depressing. That wasn't really my experience. I think if you accept that real life is arbitrarily hard on lots of people, it's no surprise to encounter difficult events (teen pregnancies, domestic violence, sexual assault, money troubles) on the page. But Ford doesn't go into gruesome details with these hardships. Her characters take trouble for granted, focusing instead on what happens afterwards--what to do in the wake of the rape, or when eviction is looming.

All of that said, the collection isn't perfect. The two stories not from the matrilineal characters' perspectives felt distracting, and one of them, about a neighbor is just bad. (I skipped most of the story once I saw that the two gay characters--the only ones in the book--get attacked. Just, why?) The final story, which takes place in a sort of fantasy, post-apocalypse, was also pretty unsatisfying. I don't know if it was the abrupt switch from realism to magical realism, or the many missing years between that story and the previous one, but I couldn't fully believe what was happening in it. This meant that the important mother-daughter reconciliation that happens at its end fell flat.

Still, the parts of the collection that are good are SO good that it's well worth reading. It makes me excited, too, to see what this author does next.

3.75 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 7 July 2020 .


Justine is a 15 year old Cherokee, living in Oklahoma with her mama and her grandmother. While her family does belong to the local Bible church, known by the townfolk as the holy rollers, Justine doesn’t feel like she fits in. She doesn’t want to be a holy roller. She wants to be a typical 15 year old, wearing jeans and hanging out with boys.

So one night she sneaks out and changes the course of her life forever.

Crooked Hallelujah follows Justine from the 1970s into the 2000s. Through marriages and failures, accepting her past and future, raising a child, being part of her community of women. Through Justine and her daughter Reney’s eyes, we learn what life has been like and continues to be for the Cherokee nation and these women.

Initially, I didn’t think I would like this book at all. It was a tough read and I struggled to even like the characters. As I continued to read, I began to understand Justine’s, Lula’s and Reney’s struggles with who they are and what to make of their lives. I ended up being entranced by Ford’s storytelling and writing.

DNF

This is just one of those times when I didn't connect with the writing style. Its long, descriptive paragraphs made the story hard to follow and the characters hard to relate to. What I understood, I liked, but I don't want to keep reading a book that I'm only understanding 15% of at any given time. I also felt like the stories were too disjointed, like none of them ever really ended in any way, and it was frustrating to read. I ended up deciding that I wouldn't get attached to any character, as I would get no closure for their stories.

I received a complimentary copy of Crooked Hallelujah from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Oh man! This novel was super depressing. There was only one bright spot--one girl who got out and broke the cycle. I am hoping this was entirely fiction, because the living situations of this family of women ranged from highly unpleasant to downright awful. Warning: The point-of-view and time period change without much indication--at one point even jumping to a neighboring adolescent with possible mental retardation and a same sex couple who, I can only assume, live in the same town. (There was no resolution for the aggressive plot of those three characters, by the way.)

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was so excited to read this, and of course, it did not disappoint!

This story, written by a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, follows two Cherokee women—Justine, who gets pregnant at fifteen, and her daughter, Reney—as they both grow up, move away from, and return to, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. The book is structured so that each chapter either follows Justine, Reney, or a handful of other characters that surround their lives. Ford's writing is really heartfelt, and while it is not overly descriptive, I was really touched by moments of intense love between Justine, Reney, and their family members. This is a story that will tug at your heartstrings and really connect you to a lineage of strong women.

I really enjoyed getting to know individuals in the communities Justine and Reney inhabited, even if it did move the focus away from their narrative. It helped to flesh out the arid, hard-scrabble environment in which they lived. However, I do think a few of the stories that we follow end very suddenly, or were hard for me to connect to the overall storyline (such as the brief section about Justine's father-in-law). Ford also writes evocatively of the landscape, which comes to life as a character in its own right. Nature plays such a huge role in the story, both in how it helps define family and home, and how it affects Justine & Reney’s life in more obvious ways. I found this story to be a beautiful, heartfelt exploration of what it means to be a Native person today, exploring tradition, family, and the bond with the environment.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting novel about a native American family who are part of a holiness church. Once a family member decides to leave, it changes the family dynamic.

"Crooked Hallelujah" a novel-in-stories about four generations of women in one Cherokee family. Set in Oklahoma and Texas, the women - Granny, Lula, Justine, and Reney - battle each other, God, the men in their lives, and the elements.
I appreciated the insight author Kelli Jo Ford gives to her female characters. These four women are both strong and weak, and it takes them a lifetime to really discover who they are. who they want to be and how they want to interact with each other.
The book is often confusing and annoying, though. The narrator changes character in several places, and it took me awhile each time to figure out who was talking. The author backtracks often, too, which left me feeling confused and annoyed. There are also several plotlines that are abandoned and probably should have been edited out. I also didn't think that men should be included as narrators since this book is supposed to be about the women.
Despite the flaws, I didn't want to put down this book. Something about it kept my attention. Maybe it was the strict church or the complicated generational relationships. Either way, I probably would not recommend this book, but it did provide a good reading experience.
Note: this novel does include physical, emotional and spiritual abuse, profanity and sexual content.

I found this book to be very confusing. While I understand that the subject matter is the lives of present day American Indians, I had a difficult time finding any cohesive plot. The writing did not hold my interest at all. The plot seemed to shift between the lives of several different family members in a way that i could not follow. I did not find this book to be interesting.

The description for this book sounded amazing. I had super high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I feel like it fell a bit flat from what I wanted it to be.

The book jumps through various time periods, which is understandable. We're reading the story of several generations of women here and so it makes sense that in order to get to know all of them, we have to go to different periods of their lives. But the problem is that we're generally not told what time period we're in. We're not given a "1974" at the top of a chapter/page, or a "28-year-old Justine..." or something to help set the time for us. We jump from Justine as a teen to Reney as a teen to Reney as an adult or a child, and there's no rhyme or reason given to help it make sense or bring it all together.

There are also some loose ends that don't seem to get wrapped up. I still have a few pages to go, but there's a scene early on where Mose comes to help Stevie and Marni when something really bad happens, and he's sent to phone for help. And then... that's it. He goes, and when we cut away from him, we never see him again. Did he find help? Were they all okay? I feel like I'm asking how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop... I may never know.

I also feel as if there are some gaps that are bigger than they should be. We're shown clear signs of tension and trouble in the relationships between these women, but in some aspects, it feels like there's far more tension and trouble than there should be based on what we see. Like it feels like there's much more happening off-stage, so to speak, that would explain how these relationships ended up here - but we're not being given any of that off-stage info - and that's not fair to the reader.

I'm hoping that maybe there will be something in these final few pages that will bring everything together, satisfy my longing for loose ends to be tied up and gain some real satisfaction with how it all turns out. But I'm afraid this hope may end up being dashed like my hope that this would be such a good book.

Updated: I finished the book. I was bitterly disappointed. For the first dozen or so paragraphs of the last pages, I wasn't even sure who the narrator was. It wasn't until there was finally a mention of Lula that I understood who it was. The leap forward into the "near future" made no real sense. I didn't understand what was happening or why.

I realize this is an advance copy, but this entire book has a very unfinished feel to me. Too many loose ends left dangling, too many confusing narration changes, no cohesive plot beyond that it's following mothers and daughters. The description offered lots of promise but the book didn't follow through.

This is a touching multi-perspective novel about four generations of Cherokee women grappling with hardships, poverty, alcoholism, and relating to each other. Each woman's story is able to differentiate the characters from one another. The flow, however, from one chapter to the next could have been more smooth. What is clear from the story is that generational economic inequity and how women are treated by society impact the individual lives of the characters. I look forward to seeing the next novel by Kelli Jo Ford.