For the life of me, I don't why I waited so long to read this fine novel. A multigenerational story about 4 women and their lives, struggles and relationships. My only minor quibble was at times, it was hard to discern which character was being discussed. Highly recommended.

I grew up in the period of slower time of the 1970s in the Green Country part of Oklahoma that Kelli Jo Ford's Crooked Hallelujah describes, and in much the same way: in a religious family surrounded by nature's beauty and power but also religion's persuasive, pervasive danger. I've been a fan of Ford's other writing and on the recommendation of many Native American/Indian authors, I was very curious about this title. Ford's book does not disappoint. Justine, in 1974, and her Granny and mother have their strong stories, to be sure, but it is Justine's endurance with her daughter through what at times must seem, as it did to me in that time and at that age, to be an absurdity of violence in the midst of such beauty that carries the story. Her story extends to Reney's and into Texas in the 1980s, also a large part of my own life experience, and that fascination continues to this day for me. Strong women? Check. Powerful, violent, and insightful? Check. At times lilting and impressive prose that carries the story to real times and real places? Check. Long-listed for multiple prizes, this book is not to be missed, and Ford's continuing work at the Santa Fe Institute of American Indian Arts, like our poet laureate Joy Harjo before her, will be a lifetime body of work. Be sure not to miss Crooked Hallelujah and Ford's continued efforts.

I really hate DNF'ing books as I try to give them a pretty fair shake before doing so. I unfortunately DNF'd this book at the 35% mark. I feel that this book suffered from a major problem of being marketed as a book it truly wasn't. When I requested this title, I thought "WOW! I am ecstatic to read a book that will enhance my experience of the Native American life." This book was not at all what the synopsis set out to describe. There was no true depiction of life in the "Indian Country." I also thought this was originally tagged as Young Adult and I think I could be slightly more forgiving if that were the case.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for allowing me to read a copy of this book!

I loved this book. The stories (because this is many stories in one) are told from the perspectives of different characters, sometimes narrated in third person and sometimes in first. We jump from Justine, to her daughter, to her grandmother, weaving a tapestry that illustrates one family over many generations. Their experiences are not always happy- actually, they rarely are- but one thread that runs throughout is the love they have for each other. This might sound confusing but the timeline is still linear so it's not too hard to follow. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in family dynamics and the experiences of indigenous women. I would also recommend this for book clubs!

5 "humbling, apocalyptic, mesmerizing" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Grove Atlantic for an e-copy. I am providing my honest review. This was released July 2020.

Words will only hint at the esteem that I hold this novel. This is a book that contains stories of the Cherokee, Choctaw and Whites that live in small town Oklahoma and Rural northwest Texas. As single stories you may be moved, you may learn and you may access empathy, compassion and perhaps (if you are honest) some harsh judgements of the people that lay within. The whole surpasses the singles and this is an immense book of hardships, survivorhood, beauty, spiritual bliss, madness and the deepest and cruelest of loves. The prose is repetitive, gorgeous, sloppy, wise and contradictory. This is how stories are told in real life. Mouth to mouth, on a rocking chair, emotions flitting to and fro from the deepest of serenities to the wildest of rages.

I am amazed at the author's vision, moved by her narratives and grateful for this creation. Ms. Ford you have made my heart quaver, my soul both sink and soar and have immersed me in a world that is both desolate with little yet so full of the deepest love.

Simply Astonishing !

I started this book intrigued and wanted so much to like it, and dare I say even learn things, as a Cherokee woman myself. But the characters and plot dragged, I'm just beyond bored with it. I'm sorry, I'm flouncing at 78%. There's just too many great novels out there for me to waste my time with one I'm not enjoying. I got the arc from Netgalley though, so I'm still leaving my thoughts in a review, per my promise. 2 stars - so I'm at least willing to try another book from this author. Not all is lost.

Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford (Cherokee) is an excellent story that follows 3 generations of Cherokee women and their experiences with intergenerational trauma and motherhood. I found the story to be told in a really compelling way with the narrative changing perspectives, occasionally switching between first and third person, and jumping the timeline of events. There were moments that would shock me, usually due to the encounters with violence that the characters would go through. It brought to mind Carry by Toni Jensen, which discussed how interwoven violence (and particularly gun violence) is into the American culture. And we see that played out in Ford’s book as the characters navigate the world and relationships within it. This book also shows how trauma is passed down through and effects each generation starting with the grandmother’s time in boarding school and indoctrination. They each carried the weight of the trauma in some way and its effect on their identity and connection to community. In some ways, it left me feeling further and further disconnected from the land as the story went on, so that by the end you really feel the separation.

If you are interested in literary fiction by an Indigenous author, I would highly recommend Crooked Hallelujah. It’s an excellent story about Native women living in and interacting with a contemporary world.

I liked but didn't love this book. I enjoyed reading it and would be interested in reading more from this author in the future. The characters are well developed and you can't help but feel invested in their lives.

3 stars*

Another book I downloaded upon finding it on a recommendation list and promptly lost it to the page two issue. I simply had no idea I had a page 2 on NetGalley!!

Crooked Halleluhah is the first book I have read by Kelli Jo Ford, and I would definitely look for more. It is one of only a handful of books I can recollect reading written from the perspective of a Native American protagonist. I enjoyed the entirely different perspective on life, although the main character isn't telling the story of a Native growing up with traditional customs. Rather, she is raised in the Holiness Church. I had never even head of this sect of fundamentalist Protestants until reading this book.

I enjoyed seeing the world through this totally different pair(s) of eyes. I really struggled with how much the story hopped around. It moves across time, across narrators and completely left me wondering why.

I'd recommend it to people looking to expand the media they are consuming to include differing voices, even though the story was not my cup of tea.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but could not get into it. I had to abandon it. While the writing was good, I simply could not relate to the characters

More like a collection of short stories that connect vs. a traditional novel- non-linear and like each chapter is a stand alone story. Found it to be slow-paced, kind of dry, and hard to connect with the women but it explores important and underrepresented viewpoints and experiences.

Being from Western North Carolina and learning about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians while growing up, I am always interested in reading books by Cherokee authors and with Cherokee characters. I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel starting in the 70s and revolving around four generations of Cherokee women. The religious elements were interesting to me, as I am fascinated (and horrified) by churches that are more extreme with things such as speaking in tongues. The book can be a bit confusing as the timeline is nonlinear and there are multiple narrators.

Four generations of Cherokee women work to show how easily the programs designed to insure a better future for them can be broken when real life intervenes. While this is definitely a fictional story, it was all too common in the not too distant past for tribal populations to live their lives in less than ideal situations. This story would not find many examples in the current tribes, but the shameful past will always leave a stain.

Kelli Jo Ford has given us a story of four women, related by blood and judged by their heritage. The main story revolves around Justine, a mixed blood and her daughter, Reney. Justine was raised by her mother Lula and her grandmother, Granny. When she rebelled their religious teachings and became pregnant at 15, Justine decides she will not live her life in the shadow of her mother's. She and Reney will travel from home only to return when they find acceptance of who you are, not your race, is a singular point in love. A really beautiful story that should be shared with every young woman who would reject her heritage instead of embracing it for the beauty it is.

DNF
The story was a little too slow and boring for me. I am still kind of interested in it, so I might give it another try. But, for now, I'm just not in the mood for it.

Four generations of women fight to survive in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, or fight to leave it. Their journeys are complicated by poverty, bad men, religious disagreements, perilous natural disasters, and complex relationships with each other.

This is a painful and messy and emotional story, and the protagonists are very realistic. I lived in Oklahoma for a good chunk of my life, so I also really loved how Oklahoma's natural landscape and threatening climate events functioned as a backdrop. However, the timeline caused some confusion for me, and the last quarter felt like a completely different book - different genre, style, and mood. The themes and characters are so important that I wish I could recommend this one whole-heartedly, though!

What Kelli Jo Ford does best in this book is weaving a tapestry of unusual stories told from multiple points of view to depict a broken, lonely landscape of loosely connected people. Her writing is stellar and her characters are so real. While I wanted a bit more plot and description at times, the vivid landscape and depth of characters kept me intrigued with every page.

Set in somewhat contemporary times, we are introduced to four generations of Cherokee women. Each generation struggles to get by, one year being very similar to the next. The men in their lives are pretty much non-existent. Justine calls them "sorry choices."

We have Granny and Lula, mother and daughter. Lula is Holiness church and Justine must toe the line of the church, no straying off the path. Of course she does and has Reney. Reney's father is but one of the sorry choices made in Justine's life.

The story jumps back and forth between all four generations of women and it was difficult to keep track of which generation was being written about in that particular chapter. There was little about the Cherokee people, no cultural backgrounds, no sense of identity, nothing but the poverty. Maybe that is the point of the story, that grinding poverty is all people can see, and may be the reason so many poor choices are made.

This is a debut novel. Perhaps the author will follow up with more cohesive stories about the Cherokee people.

I started this intrigued mostly by this religion that I am not familiar with. That aspect was quickly removed though and the rest of the book didn't capture my attention as much.

This story is complicated and messy. Just like real life. In the end though I was confused about the point or the moral of the story, which is unfortunate. I hope to see more from this author.

This was really nothing like what I expected it to be. Its definitely more of a character study more than a plot driven story. And I think that served it really well. The writing was really nice to read, and very quick to get through, but the technicality of it is kind of strange. It was a little difficult to keep up with the timeline the majority of the time, and the perspective shifts at every chapter were difficult to keep up with. And I can see how that can be useful, seeing as a major theme of this book revolves around the cycle of violence, and how children who grow up in unstable, abusive homes often go on to have abusive relationships themselves. But there was absolutely no distinction between Justine and Reney's points of view, which made the reading experience a little disorienting. And that is to say nothing of the perspectives that were included that didn't provide anything to the narrative at all. Very strange indeed.

But! There were things this novel nailed perfectly. 'Crooked Hallelujah' is about four generations of Cherokee women, and their efforts to do what they think is best for their family, and I think it does an exceptional job at portraying that. All of the relationships felt real, and very familiar. I don't think I have ever read anything that sums up the single mother-daughter relationship and its struggles than 'Crooked Hallelujah.' Which can be perfectly summed up by the quote:

"Can I love anything the way that I used to love the mystery of my mother, her strength in suffering?"

I also really like the discussion this has around abusive relationships. I love how it shows how and why people get into, and stay in, romantic relationships they actively know aren't good for them. And I really love how Reney learns from her mother's bad relationship, and seeks out better for herself. Justine knows that Pitch is bad for her, and is providing nothing to the relationship. She frequently calls him out and half-heartedly tries to hold him accountable, but nothing ever changes, and she stays. Which I imagine is true for a lot of women throughout history.

Overall, I would recommend it. I think the things this did well heavily outweigh any of its shortcomings.

The opening just didn't grab my attention and I put the book down. I'm sure others will love it. It just didn't do it for me