This is a book about family, or rather a book about mother-daughter-relationships. Following four generations of Cherokee women in their attempts to live their lives and to make better choices possible for their daughters, this book is focussed on the peculiar relationships women can have with their mothers. The story is told chronologically but jumping forward in time, sometimes in first person, sometimes in close third person, and as such fairly introspective. Kelli Jo Ford chose to tell every chapter from the perspective of the daughter in the relationship she focusses for this moment – and I adored that choice.

I thought this was excellent – especially when Ford focussed the difficult relationship between Lula (hyper religious and often harsh) and her daughter Justine (who has her own daughter at 16). I loved the parallels between these two women who seem at first glance very different but who both try their very best to change their daughters’ trajectories for the better. Both make the best of the limited choices they have – and this limitation of choices due to poverty is at the core of this book. Justine who is prickly, difficult, lonely, strong remained my favourite until the end.

There were two things that did not completely work for me. There is a chapter in the middle of the book that is only tangentially related to the rest of the book and that I found gratuitous in its depiction of homophobic violence. I also thought that the final chapter taking place in the near future in a climate change ravaged Texas, did not completely work. I understand the thematic relevance and I loved the mirroring Ford achieved here, I just would have liked to not have it take place in the future. But even if I have slight problems, this book was for many pages absolutely brilliant and I love the tenderness Ford’s writing has for her characters. Even when the women fight, they always, obviously love each other and only want to help each other.

Content warnings: rape, miscarriage, tubal pregnancy, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, Christian fundamentalism, death of loved ones, death of animals (horse), teenaged pregnancy, robbery, homophobia, epilepsy

A deep exploration of poverty and the choices it offers women. This is a heavy book that explores the push-and-pull of religion (Pentecostal Cherokee), the messiness of mother/daughter relations, with a heavy dose of environmental disasters. This is a nonlinear novel which means there's sections that are about other members of their communities which does mean this can be hard to really sink into.

I was intrigued by the description of this book. Unfortunately, I found it jumped around a lot and I had many questions about the characters that were never answered. Overall I was disappointed.

This was a very dismal story, with no hope of any change for the characters. It seemed more about trying to get reader sympathy for how bad these characters had it - but nothing ever got better. People were trapped in a cycle of bad circumstances and bad decisions.

"Don't be like me. Don't ever be like me."

First things first. Great title. It really captures the essence of the story. The characters' strength, determination and questionable choices will make you want to turn the pages to know what happens next.

All in all, I thought the ending was a bit rushed, but everything before it was excellent. These resilient women won't leave my head anytime soon.

This debut novel follows the story of Lula, her daughter Justine who is half-Cherokee, and her daughter, Reney. Set in Texas and Oklahoma,the novel delves into motherhood and families. It also shows the strength of women against social forces as well as battling natural disasters like tornadoes and wildfires.
This would have been better as a short story collection.

Beautifully written, with a cast of perfectly imperfect women, Crooked Hallelujah stayed with me for a long time after I'd finished reading. It's deeply affecting and thought-provoking but at the same time, so compelling that it'll keep you up at night just to find out what happens next. One of the best books I've read this year.

This, along with Tommy Orange's There There, provides a portrait of what it means to be a member of the current Native American population in America today. Although the beginning put me off a bit (I am so tired of women being impregnated at the getgo of a story), the journeys of the three women at the center of the action caught my interest, and the interweaving of timelines worked. Hopefully there will be more from this author.

I, very sadly, did not connect with this book. I understand that it was supposed to be a look at the legacy of a family through the lives of the women, but there really never felt like there was an actual story arc. It just started at one point and ended later. In the middle, there was no cohesion between events, and other than actually being related there didn't even seem to be any connection between the characters. Then the last chapter with the numbered list. I completely missed whatever that was supposed to be about. I've stated before my disdain for experimental fiction and I think a chapter of numbered vignettes qualifies. I had hoped for more about the Native American heritage and less of a disconnect between the characters, the story, and myself.

In the running as one of my favorite novels I've read this year, Crooked Hallelujah stunned me with its characters, its writing, its setting - but most especially its portrayal of mother/daughter relationships, and how these ties bind the characters together so they can deal with any and everything the world throws at them. Portraying four generations of a Cherokee family, the story weaves in and out of each woman's life from the 1970s to the future, showing how each of their lives' affects the other. Granny, Lula, Justine and Reney are all fully fleshed out, giving us a sense of who they are as people, wives, and especially mothers and daughters. These relationships are what really stand out, especially as each woman explores the effects of their mother on how they've chosen to live their lives. Ford also ties in the landscape and its volatility with the story - I especially thought the ending was poignant in this way, showing the uncertainty of our future and that of Justine and Reney. This story relies on and evokes dusty landscapes, scars both seen and unseen, long skirts, late night car rides, sweaty horses, and running. Running away from a place, towards a man, towards a future where the old cycles of being forgotten or forced to follow old traditions die away. This is a lush, powerful debut that I could write more on, but needless to say - if you enjoy family sagas centered around women/mothers/daughters, *read this*.

Enjoyable read about four generations of a Cherokee family. The women are very different and yet very close and similar. While I enjoy books that move around in terms of characters and time period, in this book they were often abrupt and disjointed (chapter headings with voice and time period might have helped). I read a NetGallery review copy with a few sentences which took a number of reading to comprehend due to incorrect or missing words. But overall the story of the struggles, lives and survival of these women pulled me in and was interesting

This beautifully-written book will challenge you as a reader. It features four generations of Cherokee women in Oklahoma and Texas, and will force you to examine your preconceptions about what it means to be Native American in the 21st century.

Crooked Hallelujah will also require some patience, especially for those who need a linear story. If you've ever been annoyed by someone who's watching a film with you and keeps asking, "What's going on? What's that about?" and you tell them, "Wait and see"-- think of that as you come to a new chapter and it's narrated by by an entirely new character, and you don't know yet whether they will be central or peripheral to the lives of Granny, Lula, Justine or Reney.

Kelli Jo Ford's command of language is breathtaking, in a completely understated fashion. One online reviewer called it "dry as dirt" -- Yes! The dirt of Oklahoma and Texas! These four full-bodied characters are not the people for florid prose. The book's segments are disjointed, as are all their lives.

I recommend this novel, and will watch for future work from Ford.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance readers copy.

Crooked Hallelujah is brave novel that sheds light on contemporary American life in surprising and meaningful ways.

This novel is to be praised first and foremost for its complicated, heartbreaking examination of the limited and self-damaging choices women have when they live in poverty--especially when they are raising children in circumstances that offer very little hope. There are so few literary novels written from the perspective of poverty, when it's one of the existential crises of our age. The novel gives nuance and humanity to characters who are living on the bleeding edge.

The novel is also to be cheered because it's a serious literary work that tackles head-on the sometimes-redemptive, frequently-damaging nature of religious conviction in modern life. Not since Jamie Quatro's FIRE SERMON have I seen the topic of religious faith dealt with so well in literary fiction (or at all, frankly). The outsized effect that religion has on American culture today is almost never given its proper weight in contemporary fiction, and I welcomed the insights Ford wrote into her story here.

I know that "brave" is a word so overused in author blurbs that it might provoke cynicism in a review, but if you can remember the original meaning of "brave," that's what this novel is.

I know nothing about Kelli Jo Ford, but I bet she had experience living in poverty. Fried bologna sandwiches and using wood-grained contact paper to update your home add dimension to this story of four generations of Cherokee women. She also speaks to the importance of strength in poor women and how something like getting a GED, which initially embarrassing proved to be the way to getting higher pay for menial work. At times, I had trouble deciding which woman’s life was being looked at and I still don’t understand why Mose, the mentally-disabled Mose and his friendship with the lesbian couple was introduced into the book, it took me into world with which I had no familiarity. Once I realized these were interconnected stories as opposed to a novel with a storyline, I enjoyed the book more. Was I satisfied with the ending of the book? No. But if you are living in poverty, there is no satisfying ending.

Crooked Hallelujah is the story of a young woman growing up in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in the 1970's. Granny is the only one who can still speak the native language and is a comfort and wise advisor to her granddaughter Justine. Justine's father abandoned the family when she was young. Her mother, Lula turns to the Holiness Church, run by her brother, Justine's Uncle. While Church gives Lula comfort and guidance, Justine finds herself less interested as she matures, then terrified when she makes a mistake that changes her life. Fast forward a decade and Justine has fallen into a routine of drinking and dating unsuitable men. Her daughter Reney has a lot to put up with for one so young. When she realizes how dangerous her lifestyle has become, Justine marries a gentle jockey from Texas and moves with Reney to his home in Red River. There they have to contend with the forces of nature along with the regular problems facing a mother and her teenage daughter. Wildfires and tornadoes work hard along with everything else to tear down their relationships to each other and to home.

Kelli Jo Ford writes an excellent book about mothers and daughters and the sacrifices these Cherokee women must make for those they love, all the while dealing with the life, culture, and prejudice they were born in to. This was a stirring, stunning story. I enjoyed reading the ARC.

I think this story was incredibly important. It was own voices and gave me a powerful look into one perspective of living as part of the Cherokee Nation. I think this is important for everyone to read.

Crooked Hallelujah is Kelli Jo Ford’s debut novel journaling the lives and interpersonal relationships of four generations of Cherokee women.

The story begins with, part-Cherokee, Justine relating her childhood growing up in a small home with her mother, Lula, and her grandmother, Granny. Justine rebels because of the strict rules imposed on her due to her mother and grandmother’s association with the Holiness Church. Reney, Justine’s daughter, is born into this dysfunctional household and continues the complicated, convoluted existence of women in difficult relationships with each other and impossible relationships with the men in their lives.

The premise sounds promising and led me to read this book. The execution is less promising. I, incorrectly, assumed that Native traditions would play a prominent role in the storyline. Though the community living conditions are introduced in a vague manner, the novel really has nothing to do with Native traditions. The book is hard to follow due to unexpected, unclear shifts in time, perspective and voice with no apparent rhyme or reason. Characters and storylines are introduced but left incomplete. There is no clear plot, and the ending appears to have loose, or no, connection to the rest of the novel. The vivid depictions of the scenery in the various regions of the country visited throughout the novel, and it’s impact on the characters and story, along with the character development of the women, are redeeming qualities. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Crooked Hallelujah due to the chaotic storylines and nonexistent plot and rate it 2 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

📱📖BOOK REVIEW⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌅This is a beautifully written #ownvoices story that follows about 4 generations of Cherokee Women.

✨Each character shows stubbornness and strength, and stays true to who they are the entire novel.

📓I only wish I hadn’t read this on my kindle, at times I wanted to hop back to double check something and that was challenging to do. Nonetheless I am thankful to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC

➡️domestic violence, gun violence, homophobia, religion

Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford is a beautiful multi-generational story about three Cherokee women working to make a good life out of what they've been handed. It tells the story of Lula, her daughter Justine, and her daughter's daughter, Reney, as they grow up in Oklahoma and North Texas, navigating their incredibly difficult relationships with one another and the world around them. They grapple with their faith, their histories with men and violence, and the different paths they choose. The writing is beautiful but not overwrought, and Ford plays with format and timeline in subtle ways. The story felt powerful, and I appreciated the complexity of Ford's characters. Religion and rebellion play a big roll in Crooked Hallelujah, and I suspect that if you grew up in a very religious household you may relate in an interesting and meaningful way. I don't normally read books like this (literary fiction, family sagas), but I'm really happy I picked this one up! I look forward to what Ford writes next.

Crooked Hallelujah is a debut novel by Kelli Jo Ford, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The book mainly follows Justine and her daughter Reney as they navigate life and their relationships. But it also includes Lula (mother of Justine) and Granny (Lula's mother) and really focuses on these women's relationships with each other and their survival through generational trauma.
The writing is excellent. In the first few chapters I had already laughed to myself and teared up. The sense of place really comes through as the characters go back and forth between Oklahoma and Texas. The chapters are non-linear but give the reader clear hints within the first paragraph so they can understand who is telling the story and when it is set. I was especially impressed by the author's writing from the perspective of children.

I can't quote from an uncorrected proof but her writing was so evocative about love, forgiveness, death, motherhood... that I really enjoyed it while also feeling like my heart was being ripped open.

I didn't write this review immediately after finishing the book, and I'm glad I didn't because while I laid awake last night I realized that separation was an underlying theme of the novel. Forced separation from loved ones and from your own culture. Chosen separation from abusive partners or relatives. Physical separation caused by distance, boundaries, and vigilantes. And difficult separations from loved ones due to health, religious choices, and other circumstances that the characters really grappled with. It's just so good! Thanks for reading my review and I highly recommend the book.