A story that’s both beautiful and heartbreaking. I loved it and it made me realize how much I still don’t know about our country’s history. It’s different than the books I usually read, but it was well written, had a strong pace, and an ending that met the moment. I definitely recommend it.

I am sorry, I just could not get into this one. I didn't care for the writing though I was interested in the subject matter

I don't typically read novels from this era, but every now and then I like to change the pace and read something outside my comfort zone. I was not disappointed with this book. Wonderful characters, great writing, I can tell the author did her research. If you like Caroline or New of the World, you'll need to read this book!

The cover art for Cherokee America drew me in before I picked up the book. A lone woman on the prairie, with the wind tumbling through her shawl. It evoked that same sense of loneliness and longing as Andrew Wyeth’s painting, Christina’s World. I wanted to know this woman’s story, and after reading the synopsis was hooked.

Cherokee America opens in a late 1800’s small town, as Check (Aunt Check to most folks) runs errands at the local general store. This simple setting, the hub center of the town, serves as a surprisingly perfect opening. Not only do we get a solid sense of Check’s no-nonsense way of viewing her neighbors and townsfolk, but also her compassion for the downtrodden. I felt like I was there with Check as she rescues a dying infant’s life.

This is the Cherokee Nation after the Civil War, after the land was ravaged for supplies from the armies, and the people are still attempting to cover the scars, both over the land and within themselves. There are people like Sanders, who walked the Trail of Tears and came out of the War with next to nothing, besides two wives named Nancy. There’s Puny, a former slave whose grief turns into a desperate quest for gold and a way to change his circumstances. And Check, who misses her Tennessee home, who is raising her children with a dying husband waiting at home. They keep to the Bible, while not wholly believing in or trusting all it represents. Claiming the whites’ religion hasn’t saved them from walking the trail to this new land, and it can’t save Check’s abolitionist husband an early grave. Still, Check keeps her farm running and family together as best she can.

Rather than split into chapters, the book is divided by titled scenes, interconnecting the story in a refreshing and fluid way. While usually told from Check’s perspective, we also see through the eyes of secondary and even minor characters like Check’s sons, Sanders and the two orphaned boys. As the story unfolds, pieces of a larger puzzle come together in an exciting way. The author, a member of the Cherokee Nation herself, uses the Cherokee alphabet and language through the book, which lends another layer of immersion to Verble’s story. I loved learning about Cherokee culture, alongside the darker aspects on both sides of the Civil War and all that came after.

Big events often have small beginnings. In the case of Cherokee America, a baby’s death drives a man to gold, a fever that quickly encompasses the whole town. Check and her family learns they are some of only a few who weren’t aware of the Wartime legend. And like it or not, the Singers are quickly embroiled in the inevitable conflict that comes after. Check struck me from the moment I first met her and I’ve found her character and spirit have lingered with me after. Great heroes aren’t always the most obvious, and Check’s determination, her love for her family and her people no matter their skin color or creed is what truly saves the day in the end. An expertly crafted picture into the heart of America after the Civil War, Verble’s historical drama is sure to capture readers to favor strong characters and compelling plots. Stunning and heartrending in turn, this is a story you won’t want to miss.

**I was provided with a copy of Cherokee America by the author and this is my voluntary and honest review.**

I loved this story! It kept me reading way past when I should've been sleeping. Finished it in one night.

I first like to thank Historical fiction Virtual book tours and Netgalley for giving me a Kindle copy of this book to review on my blog.

Cherokee America by Margaret Verble is set in the late 1800’s. The setting of this story is Cherokee Nation West.  

Several different characters are introduced in the first part of this story and they have their own story.  But all the characters are tied to the singer family.

The matriarch of the family is Check.  Who is half-blood, she is part Cherokee and part white. Just like her mother she married a white man,  she is now raising five sons. Her husband is sick and eventually dies towards the end of the story.

Through Check we are introduced to Puney and Ezell. Former slaves who now work for Check.  Puney “woman trouble” causes a whole lot of mess throughout the story. Then we are introduced to Sanders,  who has a habit of getting people out of messes. Then we have Check’s eldest sons Hugh and Calum who are coming into manhood. Who are at period in their life that one wrong move can affect the rest of their lives.  The two main plots in this story were a hidden gold stash and murder.

The story for me started off slowly,  I think that introduction of so many characters and different plotlines slowed down the book somewhat. But eventually the book picks up and you can see how everyone ties into the story. I found myself really enjoying this book.  

I would caution readers to be patient with this book. If you’re looking to read something that instantly gratifies you then this not the book for you.  I would say that this more a slow burn.

I thought all the characters were very well written. I like that some of the characters were inspired by real life figures.

I kind of wished that this story was a sequel. I think it cut off too soon, and even though she gave an epilogue and told us what happened to them.  I kind of wanted more.

Overall, I really liked this book.  If your looking to read historical fiction on Native Americans.  I would highly recommend picking this up.

Let me tell you first that this book had tons of characters and Ceck Singer in one of the very best. She was so brave and determined filled with grit and a big heart. This book is a very heartbreaking and beautiful story about what happened to the Cherokee Nation in the 19th century. It's raw but honest.

I thought I would like this book more than I did, The story started slow and I hope it would pick up but it did not and there are tons of characters to follow in the story and I found it easy to get confused about who was who and what they were supposed to be doing. I did find the subject fascinating and would like to read more from this author

What drew me to read this was that it’s set in Cherokee Nation. I don’t know much about US history and I did learn much. But I have to say that there’s huge number f characters and I’m still bit confused at who is who and how they’re related. There was also lot of different plots and sub-plots that never really went anywhere.

I liked Check and admired her courage and determination. But there was too little of Check and Cherokee culture.

But I learned a lot about the time period, it just could have been more.

Cherokee America, by Cherokee citizen Margaret Verble, is a Western at heart… but a kind of Western you’ve never read before. All the elements are there: cowboys and Indians, outlaws, the remembrance (and aftermath) of war, gold hiding and searching, sheriffs, farmers, and a close community in a wide open prairie. The plot also revolves around familiar themes (at least on the surface): revenge and the hunt for a hidden stash of gold.

Everything that you would expect from a good Western novel is there, but the perspective of the story makes this novel unique. Cherokee America is set in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma when that nation was still independent from the United State and the rule of the land derived from traditional Cherokee culture. Here, women have they place and social role, very different and more free than it was in larger America society (Cherokee America – Check – is one of the main characters in the novel… though in spite of the novel being called after her, I’d hesitate to call her ‘the protagonist’ because this is truly a choral novel at heart). Here people are all equal and judged by what they contribute to the community, rather than by their gender or race.

The multi-culturality of the setting is one of the things I enjoyed the most. The diversity of this rather small community gives richness to the story and the characters, and suggests how this is true in life also. I loved seeing how characters from different cultures relate to each other in a way that underlines their identity, but also showcases the attitude of reaching out, an attitude that often turns into respect and even friendship.

The novel is split into two quite different halves. The first part revolved around Check’s husband sickness and eventual death. It’s a very intimate, ponderous part, heavy with a sense of loss and sorrow, and the way it is written and structure seems to call the reader for a slower partecipation, an invitation to take their time and get to know this place and those characters. Everything is designed to take the rhythm down, including the sentence structure, to mark a place and time where rhythms were widely different from ours. The peak of this first half is Andrew’s funeral, where all the community gathers.
The sense of a closely knitted community then carries over into the second part of the novel, where only working together, and offering rather than taking, makes the outcome possible.
The second part of the novel has a clipper pace and a more adventurous focus, as a girl goes missing and the community goes out in search of her. There’s a murder too, there’s revenge, difficult diplomatic relations, clever and unexpected solutions.

It’s a very complex story, not just for the crowded cast of characters and their arcs, but also for the themes weaving onto each other. But it is also a very satisfying story, one that will open your eyes on a sleeve of history that is seldom addressed. And on the matters of life, which is what all good stories are about.

When I first got this book, I was really excited. I wanted to love it, but the farther I got into the book, my excitement faded. In saying that, this book wasn't terrible, it just wasn't fabulous, for me.

Let's start with what I really loved. I really enjoyed the descriptions in this book. Margaret Verble built such a vibrant world that I my lack of familiarity with Native American history didn't feel insurmountable. I felt like I knew this world, could understand it, and really enjoy this story, simply because the author was so skilled at describing and weaving the settings and emotions.

I also LOVED Check. She had so much intelligence, strength, and determination. She was the epitome of life goals. I can only hope to have half of her courage during life's challenges. Her story was beautiful, tragic, and inspiring.

What I didn't like were the other characters. Honestly, there were just far too many of them for me. I couldn't get invested in anyone other than Check, because I never got a sense of who they were and what their story was. I don't know if this would be a problem for everyone, but numerous storylines with even more characters, tends to confuse me. I lose focus and don't feel invested in any one person or plot. As with most entertainment, this is totally subjective, so this may not be the problem for others that it was for me. So, this book took me a little longer than normal and I needed a break to read it.

I felt compelled to continue this book because it feels like a story that I needed to hear. Sometimes books can give you a completely different perspective on life, and really make you consider a time and place you've never given much thought to. This book really did that for me. Even though it wasn't my favorite book ever, I am really glad to have read it.
Praise for Cherokee America

* Special thanks to Margaret Verble, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and HF Virtual Book Tours for providing a copy of The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen Volume I in exchange for an honest review.

This book intrigued me for one reason—it sounded different. This is an ‘Own Voices’ book so I loved that it would be more about people on the fringes and as a historian this book held a lot of appeal to me.

It weaves Native American culture with a more traditional family narrative all set in a post Civil War world to create something unique and new. Based on that promise, I was eager to read this and see how it all worked together.

I haven’t read a lot of books set on the frontier or with Native American culture mixed in, so something like this book appealed to my curious side. Not to mention this cover is beautiful and eye catching so I didn’t want to miss out on it!

It also helps that the author was a finalist for the Pulizter Prize which says to me that it would be a well written book.

Summary

It’s the early spring of 1875 in the Cherokee Nation West. A baby, a black hired hand, a bay horse, a gun, a gold stash, and a preacher have all gone missing. Cherokee America Singer, known as “Check,” a wealthy farmer, mother of five boys, and soon-to-be widow, is not amused.

In this epic of the American frontier, several plots intertwine around the heroic and resolute Check: her son is caught in a compromising position that results in murder; a neighbor disappears; another man is killed. The tension mounts and the violence escalates as Check’s mixed race family, friends, and neighbors come together to protect their community—and painfully expel one of their own.

Cherokee America vividly, and often with humor, explores the bonds—of blood and place, of buried histories and half-told tales, of past grief and present injury—that connect a colorful, eclectic cast of characters, anchored by the clever, determined, and unforgettable Check (summary from Goodreads).

Review

This book had a lot going on. It was dense and tedious at times. There were a number of characters to keep track of so that was a bit of a distraction for me and it started a little on the slow side. I felt like I was so worried about who was related to who for the first third of the book until it finally became familiar. I have seen a few others comment on the same issue and I will admit, it was a struggle at first.

But eventually the characters became familiar and the list of how they are related helped a lot, and then the story started picking up and eventually I became engrossed in everything that was going on. I loved the backdrop of a post Civil War era. As I am sure many of you know, I am a huge Civil War buff, but mostly as it pertains to the South and nursing. I have done some research on frontier America but my research into Indian culture is extremely limited, so with this book I found something new and fresh to relish in during one of my favorite eras of American History.

This isn’t a book that you want to rush through. I did aggressively read this one admittedly, but mostly because I was eager to make headway with it. I thought the research the author poured into this book was commendable and did the time period, culture, and character justice. I especially loved Check, I thought she was an interesting character, she was strong and independent in a time when women had to rely on their man, she didn’t and I found her character fresh and invigorating. However, there was just so much going on for me that I periodically stalled in my reading efforts. I think it would have helped if all of the plot points to characters ended up connecting some how but sometimes it just didn’t have any bearing on the overall narrative.

In the end I went with 3 stars for this one. It was good and definitely worth a read especially if you are looking for an Own Voices type of book, but just be prepared that there is a lot going on in this one.

Book Info and Rating

Kindle Edition, 400 pages
Published February 19th 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ASIN B0789JHPWY
Free review copy provided by publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in part of the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 3 stars
Genre: historical fiction

You need to know going into Cherokee America that there are gobs of characters, and they will be introduced rather quickly for the first chunk of the book. I read a review that mentioned bookmarking those pages where the characters are introduced, and that helped me keep up. Once you have the characters down, there is much to love within this story.

The year is 1875, and the setting is Cherokee Nation West. Cherokee America Singer, nicknamed “Check,” is our beloved, strong main character. She’s a wealthy mother to five boys, finding her fortune in farming.

There are multiple plots to follow. A murder involving one of her sons, a neighbor disappears, a gold stash is stolen- basically, bad things are happening on the sometimes lawless frontier. The violence seems to escalating, and something has to be done. What can Check get her community to do?

The frontier is a land of rough and tumble, and Margaret Verble’s writing transports you to that fervent time and place. Check is a hero of a character- one to admire, one to shake your head, one to be in awe of her sheer grit and determination. This is a dense, epic story, requiring some patience, but with that investment, I found the pay-off residing in my fondness for Check and her family.

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I was very excited to read Cherokee America because I read and loved Maud's Line by this amazing author, Margaret Verble. I grew up in Oklahoma and both sets of my grandparents lived in Indian Territory and/or Oklahoma Territory. Verble's depiction of the area is very accurate and I am always impressed with her ability to evoke what I consider to be very detailed images of the people and the times. Her stories remind me of the tales my grandmother told me about growing up in Indian Territory.

Cherokee America is such a great character - based on a very real woman, who I would have loved to have had the opportunity to meet. She is so strong and pragmatic and I loved her internal monologue. This is a great example of the women who survived in the harsh land under difficult and unfair situations. I loved that Verble allows Check to be a little flawed and have a understanding of how very complicated the world actually is. Check's world consists of full-blood Cherokee, Creek, mixed-blood, whites, freed Blacks, a dying husband, five sons who need raising - and no one seems to want to do as they are told. She's a tiny woman who is force to be reckoned with. While there is a lot of comedy in the story, there is heartbreak, fear, grief, love, and everything else that makes up life.

Honestly, I can't recommend this book strongly enough. Check just sticks with you - I can't stop thinking about her and the story. Verble doesn't sugar-coat anything. Life in Cherokee Nation was hard. But there is so much love, strength, compassion, and plain stubbornness and pragmatism displayed by the characters, especially Check. I would love to read more about this family, this era and this place. Highly recommended.

This was a hard novel to follow. There were too many characters to keep track of and Check just seemed to be a background character. The novel also suffered from being slow-paced. There was also not much in the story. Overall, this was an interesting aspect of a little known part of history. However, it was just not executed well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Margaret Verble for allowing me to read and review Cherokee America. I found it to be an interesting read, although not my normal pick.

I didn’t realize when I began reading this book that Cherokee America was a woman’s name. Called Check for short, Cherokee America is the matriarch of a prosperous family living in the Cherokee Nation during the 1870’s.

Check’s husband is a white man who is on his death bed at the start of the novel. With a family of five boys and a potato farm to run, Check has her hands full as she tries to care for her husband in his final days.

It is during this time that some pivotal events occur in the lives of her boys and some of her closest neighbors. As Check grieves for her husband, she is distracted by the shooting involving one of her sons, the disappearance of a young neighbor girl and then the murder of a member of the Cherokee Nation.

While the story had some terrible events, I found the writing to have a sort of slap-stick humor at times. The characters were amusing and different. Also fascinating was the racial pecking order in the Indian Territory. Not too many years had passed since the Civil War and blacks who had been slaves were still at the bottom of the pecking order.

Because of the crimes in the territory, federal Marshalls were sent in to investigate. This was counter-productive to the Indians and threatened previous treaties with the white man. The Indians worked together to seek their own justice, while satisfying the goals of the federal Marshalls.

Readers who like historical fiction, westerns and Native American culture will enjoy this book. Sensitive readers should know there is no graphic violence, but there are some incidents involving the young men and their overactive libidos.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

DNF. Too many characters to follow, not enough of Check Singer or Cherokee culture, for me anyway. Well written, nicely historically gritty, but I expected something different and it just didn't catch for me. :( I picked this up for a blog tour, but I won't give it a bad review there, but I have to review it here. A little too much about boys/men and their *** is when I stopped reading.

I have not heard of Margaret Verble. I’m embarrassed to write that. But, boy am I glad to know who she is now. I thoroughly enjoyed this story of Check. Ms. Verble is a great storyteller and I will be reading her Pulitzer Prise finalist book, Maud’s Line.
Ms. Verble tells an exciting story of Cherokee America, Check, and her family. At first I thought I would be overwhelmed with all of the characters and how they are related, but then I just let the story pull me into their world. I could picture the land, the food and the people, all because they were written so well.

Read this book!!

I love historical fiction and this did not disappoint. I have not read much Native American historical fiction, so I learned a lot. There are many characters, and in books where they throw many characters at you in the begging, a cheat sheet helped!
I thought it was thought provoking. I also felt a connection with the main character, Check. Normally when one thinks of a story taking place after the civil war, they don’t think it’s going to be something focused on a Cherokee family.
It was one of those stories that will stay with me for a long time.