First off, I love, love, love the idea behind this collection, from the collaborative element, to the magical realism elements, to the vivid cultural immersion. I also love that it gave me a chance to sample a wide variety of new-to-me authors.

As with any short story anthology, the stories themselves varied widely in appeal. A few particularly fantastic ones did stand out, however. Darcie Little Badger’s “Game Night” instantly made me fall in love with an entire gaming group. Cynthia Leitich Smith’s “Patent Red” presented an interestingly messy dynamic. K. A. Cobell’s “The Rest Will Come” actually had me on the edge of my seat as I realized what was really at stake. And oh my god, Kaua Mahoe Adams’s “Braving the Storm” blew my socks off with its spare, evocative poetry and heartfelt story of grief and courage.

I did find that many of the stories resolved their conflict way too easily for my tastes. I found myself wondering if that’s what a YA audience would actually want, or if that’s what the authors want the YA audience to want. It’s also entirely possible that this collection is aimed at a younger young adult readership than what I generally consider YA. That could well be the source of the disconnect.

All that said, I did have a good time, I’m glad I requested this ARC, and I will be seeking out many of these authors’ novel-length writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Heartdrum for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

Must have for ssecondary library collections especially if your representation of Indigenous Peoples is small. This great collection of stories centers around a mythical drive-in that everyone knows about and somehow finds their way there when they need some encouragement, support, or a voice to remind them of their strengths and give them a boost. Great cozy read in this tumultuous time. Thank you Cynthia Letich Smith for sharing your voice and those of other Indigenous People with us.

Ancestor Approved, the first short story collection edited by Leitich Smith, was a hit for me, so I was glad to get the chance to read Legendary Frybread Drive-In. I didn’t like this quite as much as that collection, but there were some real stand outs. Just like in Ancestor Approved, the way the authors worked together to reference one another’s characters makes this collection special. I found myself constantly battling back questions about how the drive in worked, because I know it wasn’t the point, but it was distracting nonetheless.

Legendary Frybread Drive-In was such a tender and loving YA anthology of Indigenous voices and slightly interconnected stories ranging from grief to first loves that left me mesmerized and hungering for more.

From trying to reconnect with one’s identity as a Native person in ‘Maybe It Starts’ by Kate Hart, to grappling with first crushes in ‘Look Away’ by Karina Iceberg, all the way to grieving a family member in ‘I Love You, Grandson’ by Brian Young, the range of stories are woven together by the magical and liminal space of Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In.

I really adored so many of these stories and enjoyed the experimental narrative forms as well (one story is told entirely through an online chat DnD game!) and so glad to have been able to read works from so many great Indigenous authors that I will now be checking out as well.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for this e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Man, I really wanted to like this book.
There isn't many indigenous books out there that are written by indigenous people so I gobbled this one up to read but I was stumped early on and had a hard time reading it and getting through it.
Majority of them were really good and I did love them but others, where there should have been a CW there wasn't. Deaths and accidents that lead to such things should be warned before reading, in my opinion.

I definitely look forward to seeing more indigenous books by indigenous authors in the future and hope to be able to review them.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books for my #gifted e-ARC via NetGalley. My thoughts are my own.

I was privileged to get to read this anthology of YA voices among indigenous authors. The stories are as diverse as the authors themselves, but they all have in common Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In. It’s a magical place for lost people in need, in some stories appearing unexpectedly and in others a well-known local hangout down the road. I know enough to know that there is symbolism and meaning that I am incapable of understanding from my White viewpoint, but even so, I was struck by how universal the themes are anyway. Things like figuring out who you are; what it means to belong; family; community and individuality; and being there for the teens in one's culture who are desperately trying their best. I was so excited to discover this broad range of new-to-me voices, and look forward to sampling more of their work in future.

Imagine a place where you are affirmed, encouraged, and helped when you need it most. Each writer brings their unique tribal and personal experience to each precious, poignant, and humorous story. Racial injustices are acknowledged unflinchingly but without self-pity, and in each story there is hope, determination, respect, and love as characters look to their futures. Bravi!

Thanks to NetGalley and Heartdrum for a copy of this arc, all opinions my own.

I really loved this collection of stories from a variety of authors. Loved loved that this focused on Indigenous authors/stories while focusing on a way to interweave them. Some of the stories worked more than others, but I still enjoyed this collection.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Heartdrum for the ARC!

Legendary Frybread Drive-In is an anthology by Indigenous (Turtle Island and Hawai‘i) authors, centered around Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In, a somewhat-magical place of community and joy.
This was a super fun, joyful read. The stories all had nods to the others, while also containing the authors’ individual experiences. It made for a good blend between reality and fiction.
I liked almost every story (a rarity for me with anthologies). Some of my favorites were:
Maybe It Starts (Kate Hart): 4.75/5 — This was a fantastic start, and I loved the portrayal of generational defiance and the struggle of accepting your Native identity.
Game Night (Darcie Little Badger): 4.75/5 — I had a great time with this one. I love D&D stories, and the texting-epistolary style worked so well with this.
Braving the Storm (Kaua Māhoe Adams): 4.75/5 — This made me cry, and it was so good. I loved the verse style, and the emotions of the story were so well-written.

CW: death (parent & grandparent); grief; car accident; injury

2.5

Unfortunately, very few of these stories worked for me. Things are poorly explained and often feel like they're a snippet from a novel rather than they're own story. One of the stories actually does feature characters from a novel, so it was hard to follow because I haven't read that book. Characters rarely get any background information so it's hard to care about them. Most of the characters came across as very immature.

Sandy June's is clearly some kind of magical and everybody seems to know that, but the kids are still questioning if it's at all magic or not.

It's amazing to have a collection of stories like this from native authors. Even though this was not for me, I hope there will be more like this in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

CW: death of a parent, death of a grandparent, hit and run

What a fantastic collection of short stories! Centered on Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In, a restaurant that defies space and time, each of these stories examine life for a indigenous youth through Turtle Island. SJ’s drive-in is the type of place that is for indigenous peoples, by indigenous peoples. But it doesn’t just exist in place. It appears to those who need it when they need it. And the reasons the teens in this book need it vary from needing a place to catch up, to finding their voice, to meeting long lost loved ones, and so many reasons in between. While each story stands alone, the authors do a wonderful job of drawing on each other’s story and pulling characters or small moments to show the world that encompasses Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In. I really enjoyed this collection of stories and I think others will, too.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories by so many authors I did not know! The tie-in location of the frybread drive-in was so cool, and each story brought a different aspect of Native experience to life. I think these stories are perfect young adult tales and I hope high school teachers take advantage of this and use it widely in the classroom.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this short story anthology. Legendary Frybread Drive-In is a collection of short stories written by a variety of Indigenous authors. What I enjoyed most about this collection was that while each story was different in theme, character, and plot, they each included the Legendary Frybread Drive-In, a place full of Native pride and community that transcends place and time. Each story was unique and offered strong themes related to culture, language, community, and heritage. I think it can be an especially useful resource in a classroom.

Not all short story collection feel cohesive. Through careful styling, these stories are interwoven in a way that is both authentic to each story and unobtrusive to the individual narratives. The small details that remain consistent throughout each story show a true collaboration between the authors. This is hands down the best collection of short stories I have read in a very long time.

Legendary Frybread Drive-In is an anthology of stories that are lightly interconnected through this shared, mystical space of the drive-in where indigenous people can find their way when they need to connect. I absolutely loved this book. Each story was so interesting and I loved seeing the drive-in again and again in each story and seeing the way this space to connect and be together and be seen was able to provide so much to each of the teens in these stories in exactly the way that they needed it. There was just something so hopeful and endearing about this collection, I couldn't help but feel happy and uplifted while reading it. I found myself, at the end of each story, feeling a little sad because I just kept wanting to know more about each of these characters and more of their stories while also being excited for another story to begin. All of the food descriptions also kept making me very hungry as well. This is just a lovely collection of stories that I think everyone should read and can enjoy.

Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world’s best frybread.

A collection of short stories written by various Native American writers that are connected by the
legendary drive-in. The diversity in different tribes is well presented in stories that detail events in
everyday lives. Natural flow to the stories leading from one to the next.
#LegendaryFrybreadDrivein #HarperCollins #Heartdrum #NetGalley

I think this was really well done and has a lot of important points of view and stories to share, but the magical element threw me each time. That's about me and not about the quality of the book, I know.

I enjoy anthologies and I enjoy YA books. When I saw this anthology and a handful of writers I was familiar with--I had to request it.

Each of these stories is unique but all share the common thread of the liminal place called Sandy June's Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In. What is Sandy June's? That's not really an easy question as it represents something different for the characters of each story. It's magical realism and Native joy at its best.

I really enjoyed the Alaska and Hawaii representation in this anthology with Kaua Māhoe Adams and Karina Iceberg's contributions being two of my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins/Heartdrum for an advanced copy of this book.

What an incredible book! I cannot say enough good things about it. It's a braided anthology of sorts, with the Legendary Frybread Drive-In serving as the (meta) physical center of a universe of young people and legendary elders from a kaleidoscope of Native communities. It was so exciting to go from story and story and discover the new characters interacting with this magical space -- how they'd get there, what they would experience, and how that journey would affect their lives.

A special shout-out to the back matter here -- stick around to read the authors' reflections on their experience in general and with their story for this anthology, as well as a glossary for each language represented. I will purchase this book for my shelf for sure, and as a non-native person intend to read more from the authors in my efforts to learn more about the experiences and perspectives of this community. This is a true winner, clearly a labor of love, intellect, community and creative collaboration.