Crooked Hallelujah is a novel about the relationships between mothers and daughters and about how every person has their own struggles in life and how that affects them and their relationship.  You are able to get into the mind of each of these women - each character is fleshed out well.  However, the structure of the book makes it difficult to follow who is speaking and what is happening.  If this was made more clear, it would be a better book.

"Crooked Hallelujah" by Kelli Jo Ford is the story of three generations of Cherokee women (four, if you include Granny) who struggle to find their way in the world.  Each woman must overcome her own personal challenges and obstacles, including abusive men, abandonment, poverty, wild fires and drought, and religious fanaticism.  

I really wanted to love this book, especially since it is filled with strong female characters who overcome great odds. I love books about messy relationships between mothers and daughters.  Unfortunately this book fell a bit flat for me.  It is obvious that the author has real talent, but it was also obvious that this is a debut novel.  Though I typically enjoy novels that are told from different perspectives and weave together different timelines, I sometimes had difficulty following the story and figuring out who was speaking and when.  I had trouble grasping a central theme of this book, which made reading it all the more difficult.  

I look forward to reading more from this author as her work matures and progresses.  Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a gem. Set in rural Eastern Oklahoma and rural North Texas, from the 70s to the near future, it follows four generations of Cherokee women through belonging to (and leaving) a Pentecostal church, rape and teenage pregnancy, chronic illness and death, failed relationships and useless partners and in-laws and relationships they make work, tornadoes and fires that mark the seasonal rhythms of life, and leaving home and coming back. The characters are fully drawn and allowed to be complex and change over time.

It's hard not to write this review against the inexplicably (to me) negative reviews of the book on NetGalley, which range from racist to sort of exasperated with the number of voices in the book (each section is told from a different POV, though some are recurring). To me, the narrative is gripping, easy to read, even deceptively simple. There's clearly a lot going on just beneath the surface that challenges the reader to reflect and maybe even research: where (physically, intellectually, culturally) is Ford writing from?

Ford writes place so well. Having lived in North Texas and Central Oklahoma most of my life, I was transported back (and beyond--I mostly know the places she writes about by driving through). The sense and celebration of place, tied up with good memories and bad, is palpable; Lake Tenkiller is practically a character in the story in its own right.

In a way I'm sorry to be writing this before the more fully researched reviews and interviews with the author come out. Like I mentioned, this book has apparent subtexts that are not immediately legible; the final near-future section in particular seems worthy of essay-length treatment. White supremacy, separatism, and environmental disaster background a final reflection on leaving or staying, returning with an outsider's perspective, and the complicated ways that our families define us. 

This book is brilliant and moving. It will be out June 24. Thanks @netgalley and @groveatlantic for the e-ARC.

This was such an impressive debut, and I feel it captured the complexities and varieties of mother/daughter relationships across different generations. The connection between all the women was so engaging and they felt truly real. This is a engaging, enjoyable and excellently executed book that is well worth the read.

This is a complicated book with a complicated story. What I loved was the complex mother/daughter relationships that Ford deftly characterizes. The four generations of Cherokee women: Granny: Lula, Lula: Justine, Justine: Reney unravel as you read through the book, though in an unpredictable way. You get to live in the minds of these four women, out of sequence and out of time, but yet they all display their strength and vast love for one another, despite differences and difficult circumstances. 

What I struggled with most was the structure. Each chapter or section was narrated by a different person with almost no explanation of who this is or what time they are living in the headings. I got used to the uncertainty, letting myself settle in each voice as it came and not worrying too much about trying to figure out where the book was going. This is something that is hard for me, preferring a little more structure to my books, however Ford's writing was powerful and intriguing and kept me engaged no matter who the author was writing as. However, as the story progressed, we got to see some perspectives that were not one of the four women - the father of Pitch, Justine's husband, and a heart-wrenching Mose. Both seemed out of place and didn't really drive the story forward or resonated on the theme of mothers and daughters (though did have an element of fathers and children which could have been really interesting if it was expanded more). It was also a little disappointing because I really loved Mose so was sad when his beautifully tragic vignette ended on a cliffhanger only to never reappear... I also found the ending of the novel to be confusing, almost switching genres to semi science fiction or dystopian with no warning. 

Overall, this was an impressive debut with some flaws. Ford roped me in and got me about these women and their relationships. Some particular moments were beautiful and will always stand out for me (the goldfish in the dirty pond for one) and I look forward to more from the author.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Four generations of women in one Cherokee family in Oklahoma and Texas as they battle the elements and sometimes the men in their lives."

The flow of the writing was hard for me to read, it was just too disjointed. I think in some ways it added flavor and character to the story but overall left me confused and disinterested.

2 stars

I received an ARC of Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford in exchange for an honest review. This is a story of generations of women in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. It is the story of mothers and daughters and of the men who come into their lives, often in less than positive ways.
It is also the story of faith in a fundamentalist Holiness Church where one believes in God rather than science or medicine.
overall, the story was interesting although rather disjoint. I read it over three nights. The first part was fairly straightforward and linear. Fifteen year old Justine starts to rebel from her family’s belief system and eventually becomes pregnant and give birth to her daughter Reney. This part was, in my opinion, the part of the novel where the story was clearest.
As the story progressed, the time lines and characters jumped around. The story jumped forward and then came back to the same place later on from a different angle. There was also a segment that brought in a totally unrelated character that had little or no bearing on the story and could well have been left out.
However, there is a central theme to the book and I think it can be summed up from one little quote:
Kids grow up. We either end up just like our parents or do our best to turn out nothing like them. If we are lucky, we by-God make a little better of all the things we can.
We are all the result of our upbringing in one way or another. We are all a mix of blessing and failure. We all need to find love and forgiveness in our lives. This message comes through loud and clear, despite the twists turns and tornadoes in this Crooked Hallelujah.

“Crooked Hallelujah” details the struggle of three women in one family, one generation to another. On one hand this is a novel that tells our mothers that we hear you and see you for the struggles that they may have faced, and on the other hand, it’s a novel that gives a nod to the mothers who struggled, survived, and didn’t continue the cycle. 

The women in Crooked Hallelujah are strong and courageous. Mistakes are made, mistakes are mended. Human error is shown in the familial bond that is love and distance and comfort once more. 

I strongly recommend this book.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. On one hand, I love reading stories about fractured family dynamics. I liked the overall vibe of the Lulu and Justine's strained mother/daughter relationship. But my main gripe was this book is trying to be one thing, and trying to be something else at the same time. There's this underlying theme of Native American culture/repression but it's never discussed in length. Just brushed upon. I found this very disappointing. Secondly, I did not like the writing style. One minute the narrative shifts to Justine, then Lulu practically in the same sentence or paragraph. I was totally confused whom was speaking. It's like the author gave up halfway through and couldn't decide which character should tell this slow-moving story. A deeply frustrating read. 

Thank you, Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital ARC. 

Release date: July 14, 2020

I requested this book primarily because I was looking for a native story, but there is not as much specifically and uniquely Native American experience in this story.  Instead, it is a single mother and her daughter on the road trying to find a life for themselves and a solid novel for that storyline.

A really well written debut novel.Characters that drew me in America alive their story kept me turning the pages.This is a book I will be recommending an author I will follow#netgalley#Groveatlantic

I really liked this book, from the characters to the way it's written. I didn't find it to be disjointed or confusing; it's just not a straightforward plot-driven narrative. It's disturbing to me to see other reviews that say it's "not Indian enough" and it's "just about poor people." This book is by a Cherokee author. When BIPOC write stories that reflect their lived experience instead of exoticized white fantasies about what their culture is "supposed" to look like, they are not asking for us to tell them how they are getting it wrong. They are offering us a glimpse of their reality and asking us to listen.

In her debut novel Crooked Hallelujah, Kelli Jo Ford follows the lives of four generations Cherokee women seeking a safe place amidst their faith-based convictions, class, and nation, and dysfunctional families. Set in the 1970s and 1970s, proud and stubborn characters like Lula and her mother (Granny), daughter Justine (in the first part of the book a teenager herself, in the second part mother of Reney), and granddaughter looking back on past certainties and the unsure present.

The writing style however seriously needs attention. Disjoint chapters, the introduction of new characters without rationale or clear position in the context, and the very different nature of the third part, in which statements replace the narrative, confused me very often. I went on reading, although I could easily put this book aside. On various occasions, I really had no clue what I just had read.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Grove Press for a free uncorrected proof/e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Kelli Jo Ford's debut novel Crooked Hallelujah follows four generations of Cherokee women across four decades. The book opens with teenager Justine in 1974 and jumps both back and forth in time, including the stories of Justine's mother Lula, Lula's mother (only called "Granny" in the novel), and Justine's daughter Reney. The struggles of being both Native American and a "holy roller" in Oklahoma, Reney's life and relationships in Texas, and the troubled but also beautiful relationships between mothers and daughters are the focus.

"His baritone sounded familiar but busy, his words fireflies that flitted between them without illuminating a thing."

Justine learned early that life was made up of occasional threads of joy woven through a tapestry of unceasing trials and tribulations.
(Reviewer's note: quotes are from the uncorrected proof and may not reflect the finished copy)

I thought the writing was absolutely gorgeous, but the plot itself was sometimes hard to follow. In the midst of the women's stories is a brief interlude about a neighbor, Mose, and the death of his mother. This incongruous segue interrupted the flow of the story and I am not sure it added anything to the whole. I was also not a fan of the ending of the book, but I don't want to give away any spoilers. So I will end this review with a recommendation to read this book, if not for the plot, for Ms. Ford's beautiful way with words.

Crooked Hallelujah is due to be published on July 14, 2020.

It is rare when I get to the end of the book and I still don't know how I feel about it. Crooked Hallelujah is like that. I have finished the last page, but the story seems to continue on without me. I know that sounds odd. 

It is a story as old as time. The choices of the mother and the effects on the daughter. Crooked Hallelujah follows four generations of women. All trying to find something. Stability. Meaning. Happiness. It seems each generation is mirroring the one before. There are some changes, but not enough. 

I found myself hoping for a happy ending, but I knew I was not going to get the fairy tale ending like I would prefer. I would get an ending with some happiness, some sadness, and some understanding.

This book explores 3 generations of Indian women and is a solid story. Disappointing there is nothing Indian about this book and it tells the story of them being poor, that's it, no heritage nor Indian life. It's extremely confusing with so many characters coming and going, and a difficult timeline leaves it not recommendable.

These are stories of generations linked, mater to mater to mater. Granny begets Lulu who begets Justine who begets Reney . . . Oklahoma, Texas to Portland, Oregon. . . it is a long road for these ladies as they try to figure out the maternal bonds they have (or don't) and how Granny's strict evangelistic religion plays (or doesn't) into the challenges and solutions of their lives.

The men in their world take a backseat - sperm donors, some, and some like Uncle Thorpe are controlling parts of the narrative to which that younger generation refuses to bow. . .some of the men are ineffectual - like tornado-tossed Pitch, or are sweet, like Moses. . . and once on stage, scene done, they are gone. ?What happened to them? The donkey versus calves element was another confusion for me - like Moses, it was never mentioned again, and I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from that information.

As the story unfolded earnestly tried to hang on and find the cohesive thread that would unravel my confusion. I never found it. I wanted more history, indigenous, in-looking-out for a change and with all the mentions of Cherokee, Choctaw, feathers and beads, I thought there would be that. Instead, these four ladies live through the decades and don't seem to benefit by their indian-ness, rather they were no different than poor Americans throughout the states. Could be me, though, not on the right horse.

This is a story of family. It mainly follows mother and daughter, Justine and Renee through their lives. Overall a solid read. There were times where I had trouble for a while discerning which character was narrating. I liked that way it was written.

This book was promising but the jumble of characters made it a little too confusing to follow. While I do like to read to see if cyclic behavior is ever broken, the amount of characters introduced throughout the book made it difficult to enjoy.

Kelli Jo Ford’s women in Crooked Hallelujah have a penchant for bad men and unforgiving religion. They work hard, love hard, and no matter how far they stray from home, they always return. Granny, Lula, Justine, and Reney, mothers and daughters, have lives that span place and time from Beulah Springs, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to a dusty town in Texas. They are left by men and leave them. They have dreams. But in the end, they mostly have each other.

In Crooked Hallelujah’s world life is hard and each generation makes a lot of the same mistakes. The women are tough because they have to be and tenderhearted because while they were raised with a stern hand, they knew it was raised in love. I wish there would have been more of a story, but a good novel of resilience it is.