WANDERING STARS is a meandering hodge-podge of a book — on both the structural and the sentence level. It follows the members of one Native American family from the mid-1800s to the present. Early chapters reference and reimagine historical figures and events. Chapters frequently switch points of view and/or voice. Themes (intergenerational trauma, addiction) and symbols (stars, birds) are everywhere. Sentences are long, repetitive, and rambling, whether they’re meant to put the reader inside of a character’s mind or feel more detached and objective. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, it’s also both a prequel AND a sequel to another book (THERE, THERE).

It ends up feeling like a disjointed mess with spots of brilliance. When this book is good, it’s excellent. Some characterizations, particularly in the modern storyline, are distinctive and nuanced. The occasional passage about technology or human interactions feels profound, and I loved reading the young characters thinking messy, relatable thoughts. But for every great passage, there are several that feel unnecessary and unfocused. There’s too much going on to get invested in any character; too little connective tissue between the timelines. Orange spends a lot of time in small moments, only to rush the biggest developments in a way that feels underbaked. (The ending, especially, feels unearned and tacked on.) Some of the sentences use repetition of words and a lot of commas to successfully produce a stream-of-consciousness effect… others feel like fake-deep word salad.

Structure matters a lot to me when I think about books. To me, books can be thought-provoking, smart, or moving without being well-structured… but they cannot be GOOD unless their structure fits with the story. Having a lot going on isn’t the problem - it’s the lack of a throughline that clicks everything into place. Without one, books tend to feel like they’re a few rounds of edits away from greatness, like I’m seeing into a talented author’s creative process instead of reading their masterwork. Unfortunately, that’s how I feel about this one. Promising — but not there yet.

Ty Knopf & Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I had read that this book was related to the author's first book, but you didn't need to read that book to enjoy this one. I think I would have gotten more out of this book if I had. It's novel about Native American generational trauma and drug addiction. Part 2 seems to be the aftermath of the first book. I thought Part 1 was very good and got a little lost in Part 2.
I listened to this on audio and it's also probably better to read the book.

Tommy Orange writes stories that are both filled with beauty and are devastating, calling our attention to the injustices of the world but also carrying us also gracefully through prose that shines. It's always a beautiful and heart-felt experience to read his work and this book was no exception.

Tommy Orange has the incredible ability to convey pain, struggle, and trauma without getting into the gritty details, instead focuses on the emotional and physical aftermath in his characters' lives. His writing is incredible compelling and he has the ability to create distinct character voices. I was fully drawn in by this book and immediately picked up There, There needing to know more about the characters and experience more of his exemplary writing.

Orange has such a unique narrative voice and it is on full display in this novel. Wandering Stars is sprawling and original, with so much depth written into all of the characters he explores.. It is a prequel and sequel to There, There, sure, but it's also a book that stands on its own. A lot to admire here. And I can't wait to see what Orange does next.

I really wanted to love Wandering Stars after being so moved by There There, but this one just didn’t resonate with me in the same way. The writing still has moments of beauty and raw emotional power, but the narrative felt disjointed and hard to connect with. The jumps in time and perspective made it difficult to stay invested, and I found myself struggling to keep track of the characters and their relevance to the overall story. It felt more like a collection of loosely connected vignettes than a cohesive novel. While I appreciate the ambition and historical depth, it ultimately left me feeling distant rather than engaged.

Follow up to There, There is both a prequel and sequel and while beautifully told does suffer from from sequence jumps that are harder to follow in ebook and audiobook formats. Thinking this may be best read in a physical format to be able to reference back to previous chapters. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy for an honest review.

There, There was a brilliant novel, encapsulating a plethora of Native experiences, all tied together and yet unique. I absolutely flew through it, even though it was hard to read at times. This followup wasn't quite as fascinating to me. I felt that Orange did much more "telling" in this story, whereas the narrative structure and motifs in There, There really tied everything together in a much more cohesive and elegant way. At times this one just felt narratively and thematically clunky. I did care a lot about the characters and was glad to learn more about their lives, and still felt invested.

There's something about Tommy Orange's writing that just hits differently, and "Wandering Stars" is no exception. I've been a fan since "There There," and I was really looking forward to this one - it definitely didn't disappoint. Orange has this unique ability to weave together stories that feel both personal and historical at the same time.
This book can be HEAVY - don't go into it expecting a light read. Orange doesn't shy away from the painful realities of Indigenous experiences, and there were moments that left me needing to sit and process for a minute. But that's also what makes his work so powerful. The heaviness comes with this incredible beauty in how he crafts characters and how real they feel. Each character had their own voice, their own specific wounds and hopes that made them totally authentic. I tend to prefer tighter plots, but each character was so distinct and had their own little impact on the larger story, so it was still a pleasure to read. If you appreciate fiction that doesn't flinch from difficult truths but wraps them in gorgeous prose, "Wandering Stars" is absolutely worth your time.

Wandering Stars is in some ways both a prequel and a sequel to Tommy Orange's Pulitzer-Prize finalist debut, There There. The opening follows generations of a family we met in There There, from ancestors who experienced massacres and Indian Schools to the children who struggled in the fallout of what their parents experienced, and into the present day, where young Orvil and his family are dealing with the trauma of what he experienced at the end of There There. It's a bold, affecting examination of generational trauma, cultural alienation, identity, and family (in all its bonds and fractures). Orange has a real talent for multi-layered stories that never lose balance, and I can't wait to see what he does next.

Tommy Orange is a go-to author, and this exploration of addiction, relationships, and the struggle to Survive and thrive is well worth the read. The audio is terrifically performed as well.

I appreciated the journey across time, with the storytelling weaving together the experiences of the characters. Reflective and focused on the lasting impact of historical trauma reverberating into the future. I read this book quite a while after reading There There, and did have trouble remembering some of the characters and events and their relationship to each other. However, I found the writing style to be absorbing, and I remained invested despite the sense that things would end tragically for many of the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback

I adore the works of this author, and this book was really great, Am enjoyable read, eye opening and fascinating, would highly recommend.

Wandering Stars

This author is one of my favorites for his deep links to American history and connection to his heritage. I feel the indigenous perspective is heart wrenching but profound.

Star is a native man who was imprisoned after the Sand Creek Massacre then flash forward to Oakland CA and his son is bullied by the relative of the same man who tortured his father. There are several deeply honest looks at humanity and the dark parts.

It has a similar pace and cadence to There There which I like, big build to an overall big picture message.

A stark depiction of the Indigenous American experience, Wandering Stars is Orange’s sophomoric follow-up to his debut novel, There There. Wandering Stars serves as a prequel and sequel to the first book, starting in 1864 with the Sand Creek Massacre and ending in present-day Oakland, after the Powwow in There There. Orange tells the multi-generational story of a family struggling to recover their cultural identity after centuries of suppression, forced assimilation, and intergenerational trauma. The prose is so beautifully poignant and Orange does a tremendous job proving that storytelling can serve a much higher purpose than entertainment.

What I loved:
*I learned so much from this book. So much about Native history that I was absolutely ignorant about - and with no excuse whatsoever because the information was out there. I just didn’t look.
*The emotional depth. Rarely do I encounter a novel that explores emotions so deeply, describes them so accurately, and connects so much with the reader.
*The difficult subject matter. This book handles some dark shit. Addiction, death, SA, racism, self-harm. Orange does not shy away. He discusses the hard stuff, but also what comes after the hard stuff. There are no excuses in this book. He forces us to see what we have done and why things are the way they are. The ripple effect is strong in this one. As a white woman, I felt ashamed. I felt disgusted. I felt guilty. But more than anything, I felt enraged. Because honestly, what the hell? Why? How in the hell did anyone even think of the dumb ass idea to take native children away from their families and put them in “schools” to take away their culture? And how did everyone else go, “Yep, there’s a good idea. Let’s do that”? I just can’t.
*The beauty. This book is beautiful. The family, the friendships, the deep love - despite everything this family goes through for generation after generation, there is love. And Orange writes it perfectly.

What I didn't love:
*Yeah, I got nothing.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, but unfortunately it never clicked for me. I did really enjoy the earlier chapters illustrating the history of this family, but struggled to connect with the characters overall. I adored There, There and will definitely continue to keep an eye out for Tommy Orange... but this book was not a favorite for me.

Wandering Stars was such a beautiful portrait of family and ancestry. I’ve learned it’s both a prequel and sequel to 'There, There', but it stood on its own. I would love to go back and read There, There - see familiar characters and learn more about the events that changed the lives of Orvil and Lony, Opal and Jacquie. This provides historical knowledge and stories of native children assimilation and residential schools. I had no idea about the Occupation of Alcatraz. It’s both fact and fiction, wrapped into a heartbreaking novel of despair and hope, I absolutely adored it and will certainly read more of whatever Tommy Orange writes.

Thank you netgalley for this eARC!

Thank you, Tommy Orange, for conceptualizing this story and sharing it. The complexities of addiction, generational trauma, genocide, and how these all are intertwined in our lives and families gave me food for thought time and time again. I had to read this in bits and pieces, but getting to know the characters and bearing witness to their pain feels like a kind of connection that is uncommon. I also got to see another side of Oakland. Lony’s lost letter was such a perfect way to end it, I hope he found his way home. I hope we all do.