The Last Karankawas is set in Galveston, Texas, and follows a large cast of characters leading up to Hurricane Ike in 2008. It is difficult to describe this book because it is more of a series of interconnected short stories than a novel. However, it does have several themes woven throughout, namely, faith and religion and the meaning of home and community.

The author does a great job of describing the region, both in terms of the natural world and the cultures of the Mexican and Filipino residents. Additionally, she explores other important themes, such as immigration, veterans, elder care, and abuse. The descriptions of Hurricane Ike were very vividly depicted.

This book reminded me a little of The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor and There There by Tommy Orange in that it is multiple characters that are loosely related through a geographical location. The Last Karankawas is very much character driven as opposed to plot driven. The ending seemed slightly abrupt, as there were so many characters that needed conclusions. Overall, it is a strong debut, and I am interested to see what Garza writes in the future.

Wow! This book was stunning! I absolutely loved the author’s writing style and the intertwined stories and well-built characters! As a Chicana, I could identify with parts of many of the characters and loved how complex each of them were. This story is set in Galveston, TX and has so much heart, you really need to read it to experience it!

This was a tough read for me to assess mainly because in absolute honesty, I did not like any of the characters and I do not respond well to multi character point of view narrative, the book is well written and descriptive but I just couldn't handle all the dozen people with individual narrative that sometimes only loosely tied to the others, Sorry but this was not for me.

The Last Karankawas shares the stories of several characters who have found their way to Galveston, Texas. Their stories are told from several point of views, and the characters are loosely connected to each other’s.

While the writing is captivating at times and many of the stories are interesting, the brief interaction with these characters made me wanting for more. I was waiting to get back to previous characters so I could relate to them more deeply and experience the characters’ connections. However, instead, with each chapter, I’d be introduced to a new character. I was hoping that there would be more plot that would help me focus and root more for the characters. Unfortunately, my inability to connect to the characters left me unsatisfied.

While this book didn’t capture me, it would appeal to those who like a story told from several points of view, who are interested in the Filipino and Mexican experience on the Texas coast, and who want to experience a glimpse into the lives of the inhabitants of Galveston, Texas.

Thank for NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kimberly Garza paints a picture of Galveston Texas with pure love. Having been to Galveston- it's a very unique place that is also poverty stricken. With Hurricane Ike bearing down on the community- you can feel the community trying to come together to survive a hurricane that has caused devastation.

Garza writes so lovingly about South Texas that it makes this non-Texan want to visit...almost. I appreciate how many of the characters are very much tied to their specific communities, and with each other. Less of an accomplishment is the use of Indigenous heritage as mystical family tidbit, used to explain one character's stories, and another's disbelief. Still, the novel can be an enjoyable enough read, particularly for fans of well-written characters.

I had some difficulty into the dynamics of the Filipino and Latino communities in Galveston. I couldn't put my finger on what.

Exploring the bonds of family as a hurricane bears down is an apt metaphor for this wonderful novel that includes many separate but unified viewpoints.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for the chance to review this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Last of the Karankawas is so good! It revolves around a community in Galveston Texas as they prepare for Hurricane Ike. There are a lot of characters in this book. Many of them are transplants that ended up in Galveston in one way or another. Others are BOI-born on the island. Carly plays a big role as her grandmother tells a story of how they descended from the Karankawas, natives of the town, that some people believe didn't exist.

As the hurricane approaches, everyone has to decide to evacuate or stay and ride out the storm. Uvalde is mentioned throughout the book and given the recent events there, it makes reading this book even more impactful. I felt emotions of the characters and really empathized with all the different situations and challenges they were faced with.

I really enjoyed it all up until the end. The format changed from being told from the multiple point of views of the characters to a sort of newspaper reporter stating the facts kind of feel, which I didn't enjoy that much. That's the reason for the 4 stars. But overall it was a great read.

I feel like I never see books set in Texas so when I saw this one set in Galveston, just an hour away from me, I was so excited to pick it up!

It's definitely an emotional read and I was happy that I sympathized with the characters and cared enough about their stories, but there were also too many of them to keep track of. Would've worked better to have the focus on just a few of them!

Have you ever visited Galveston Texas? I was struck by the poverty when I visited. There was a gloomy similarity to the fading industrial college town I had lived and studied in. This first hand knowledge made me want to grab this book up and I am so glad that I did!

The dual themes of family and belonging threads together a variety of narrative voices of a group of people of both Mexican and Filipino descent living in Galveston. Personally, my favorite books span across a time (generations) and include a variety of opinions and points of view that allow the read to connect the dots on some of the smaller stories that are part of the plot. In Karankawas, we meet multiple people and their offspring and piece together a cross stitch of of life in a small seaside town. The town of Uvalde is mentioned more than a few times which is erie at best, but as a cultural touchpoint, it brings an additional level of sadness to these stories.

Garza however, leave us with hope and a touching novel of families trying to stay afloat in modern America. If you like generational tales, multiple points of view and narrators, and love a good literary tale, then The Last Karankawas is for you! #Netgalley #TheLastKarankawas #Henryholt

This is a character driven novel that is set in Texas. It encompasses the Philippine and Mexican communities, the people and their culture. This is done through various individuals such as Carly, raised by her grandmother who claims that she is a descendant of the Karankawas. There are quite a few characters and often I had to look back through the book to remind myself of who was who. The characters lives are all tied together and this becomes apparent as the years go by. Throughout the book, hurricanes are mentioned. When the big one hits you have a deeper appreciation for the people and the survivors that they are, the way they keep going. The book also poses the question of whether the Karankawas were a real people and this was confusing to me. I may have missed something in all the detail that would explain this reasoning and plan on re-reading the book at some point. I also feel that a map of Texas would be helpful to the reader to see where the different places are in proximity to each other. Brownsville, Fish Town, Galveston,and Uvalde were some of the places mentioned. I received a digital advance copy from NetGalley and Henry Holt Co. and the opinions submitted in this review are my own. I give it three stars because at times I felt like I was wading through a thick, muddy creek trying to keep the characters straight. For the most part, it held my interest even through my own confusion. Others are likely to rate it much higher because it is a good, but slow read.

Ms. Garza is a superb writer without doubt, brilliantly evoking characters and their strengths, challenges and motivations in this, her first book. As well, she describes the various categories of immigrants inhabiting the Galveston area, their temporary or deep allegiance to the island, and the BOI’s (Born on the Island) residents . There is even a Vietnamese fisherman, Mr. Pham, who wears a hat claiming he is a “BOI” though he immigrated as a child. It was a surprise to me that there were Filipinos in the area as well as Mexicans . The term “bolillo” was a new term to me but is used fairly frequently.

There are many, many characters in this book, and to a degree, this is a detriment as it was hard to keep track of them and follow their life stories due to the fractured time periods described—before, during and after Hurricane Ike and in some cases, their growing-up years. One of the best portrayed, I felt, was Carly’s grandmother Magdalena, who is throughout fixated on the legendary strength of her Karankawa ancestors.

I personally love the state of Texas in all its variety, have relatives there and travelled to Galveston, the Hill Country, Dallas and Houston areas; much of the author’s description of geographic ambiance and the evacuation process to other parts of the state resonated as realistic. Detracting from the narrative to me, though, was the abundance of vernacular Spanish and Filipino words, and the disconnect between various characters’ stories. A glossary of the words used, such as “bolillo,” “curandera,” “Pachanga,” caida de mollera,” “chanclas” would have helped; While I have studied Spanish, I found myself looking up many words to grasp the meanings. Similarly, Tagalog words such as “Tatay,” “ninong,” inay” and “pancit” would have been more helpful if explained.

Though I appreciated this ARC from #NetGalley and the publisher greatly, and the author is clearly very talented, believe various additions cited above would have been helpful. Nevertheless, it was a great read about how Galveston residents faced one of the most destructive hurricanes the Island experienced.

I'm a little disappointed at the 2 and 3 star ratings because I don't think people knew that they should read it as a set of short stories instead of a novel. It's a set of short stories that are related to each other, and no one is the main character. And frankly, it is frustrating no one understood the assignment! I loved this book, some stories and characters more than others. I loved this probably because I am Texan, and spent 4 years living in Galveston for college. I get the island. I loved how the author entwined scenes from the Hill Country and RGV into the lives of the Galveston characters. I could imagine the chill of the Frio as it passes through Concan, the traffic on I-45 through the Bay Area and League City, the waters rising into the Fish Village homes---because I know how Galveston floods during a heavy rainstorm.

To soothe the 2/3 star reviewers, the publisher could amend the book include a family/friend tree of sorts at the beginning or end of the book.

I received this book for free for review purposes from the publishers and Netgalley. Generally, the plot of this novel was entertaining. The central themes of identity, community, loss, and complex family dynamics are woven throughout "The Las Karankawas." Why I did not love this novel were the plethora of narrative perspectives. I thought having 12 central characters were overkill. While I do see what Garza was trying to achieve by using this literary style, I think using three or four narratives/characters would have been more effective. Her writing was great but I had whiplash trying to remember the various characters and had a difficult time attaching to them as a result. I would still read another book by Garza because the novel was thought-provoking and the writing was good. The style itself reminded me a lot of "The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles.

The last karankawas will be a very popular book for good reason. It was well written and the characters were so well thought out.

Yes! The historical novel about my home town that I didn't know I needed. There is a lot going on in this book. It would be a great book club read as there are many topics of discussion.

Thank you so much for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Oh, how I wanted to love this one. I love intertwined short stories--in fact, I'd go as far to say that my favorite works are connected short stories--but I got whiplash from this book. The quality and tone seemed to vary too drastically between chapters, which just left me exhausted. For this reason, I cannot give this book more than two stars.

While this is one full text it does read as small vinegars that are linked together through a the cast of characters in the book. We all come from somewhere and those places define who we are in many ways. For the inhabitants of this island there is a desire in some to move on, of waiting for the world to change, for others there is comfort int he familiar And a sense of community that can not be denied. The characters in this books are interesting, engaging and often unlike any others I have read. A unique and engaging read.

This was a decidedly different type of genre, part domestic drama, historical fiction, and cultural interest with chapters divided by various characters whose lives intersect.
The story was somewhat slow to start, tied together as it progressed through the characters, time periods and events. It spans over twenty years in a neighborhood called Fish Village in Galveston. Other small Texas towns such as Concan, Huntsville, and Utopia are mentioned. As a native Texan, the atmosphere rang true. A perspective that encompasses immigration, roots, traditions, ancestry, beliefs, and religion but was not political or preachy.
There was of course mention of Mexico since many of the characters immigrated from or had family connection to our southern neighbor.
One of the characters was a healer, a whisper. She had mostly given up the healing, remedies and potions. These practices were from the vanished Texas tribe the Karankawas. Believer or not, I found the subject interesting.
There is love, loss, rebuilding, adultery, heartache, death, desertion, and abandonment. It was quite the family saga and I'm glad I read it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance digital copy of "The Last Karankawas" by Kimberly Garza and to Henry Holt and Company. These are my honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily.