Sisters of the Lost Nation: A Novel by Nick Medina
Anna's younger sister, Grace, is missing.
This much everyone agrees on.
But what no one believes--at least at first--is Anna's side of the story.
As a young kid, her uncle Ray told her of a rolling head that devoured those in its path--including Anna's beloved mentor. Since she learned of this disembodied being, she has felt haunted. Her classmates and peers--both at school and on the rez--do not understand her and most do not even accept her existence.
Before Grace disappears (and while other women and girls go missing on the rez), Anna is counting the days until she turns 18 and will get a check from her indigenous nation's casino. Until that day comes, she is resigned to working as a maid at the casino to earn some money. But then Anna notices strange things happening on the casino's eighth floor. Things no one will acknowledge. Things no one will explain. Things she feels in her gut are just wrong.
And then Grace starts working at the casino and sneaking out at night. Anna feels torn in her loyalty to her sister--who has distanced herself from Anna ever since Grace started high school--and her duty to Grace as her older sister.
But then, as said before, Grace vanishes.
Can Anna find Grace (or any of the other missing indigenous women and girls), the truth of the casino, the story behind the rolling head, and her place in her community? Only time will tell.
Sisters of the Lost Nation: A Novel by Nick Medina is a gripping, relevant, and poignant horror thriller. Medina deftly weaves together grounded life on a rez (although he does acknowledge that Anna's rez and tribe are fictionalized, but he explains why), indigenous folklore (Medina again combines a few elements and invents some of his own, but with clear reasoning), haunting imagery of his own, and vicious crimes that often befall indigenous women with little to no investigation (in part due to jurisdictional and racist disputes).
Anna feels like a real teenager. Yes, at times that means that Anna does not fully know herself, but it would be unrealistic for a 17 year old to be confident in understanding herself--many folks older than Anna are also still searching for parts or all of themselves.
Medina's prose both in description of scenery as well as Anna's inner thoughts flow well and relay vivid emotions, backstories, and twists. At times, I found difficulty with keeping the timeline of the story straight, but this is likely more due to listening to this novel as an audiobook than to Medina's efforts for clarity. Additionally, I was not frustrated by any confusion I felt as I thought the murkiness of my understanding contributed to the stress I felt in sympathy for Anna's search for answers.
While I would certainly caution readers that violence of various natures are discussed in the pages of this book and to take care if that will be too intense for them, I also certainly recommend Sisters of the Lost Nation for those who are searching for a ghost thriller that remains grounded.
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