I loved this book. In his debut effort, Oscar Hokeah uses such an innovative was to tell Ever's story, starting with his parents' take on his birth and running through the lives of other members of his Cherokee, Kiowa, and Mexican community who share their perspectives until we finally get Ever's own closing chapter. I have recommended this book at every opportunity and can't wait to see what Hokeah does next. Thank you to Algonquian and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 stars

Engaging, immersive, and expertly crafted. A recommended purchase for all public fiction collections.

Wonderfully written multigenerational story from a talented debut novelist. I enjoyed the different points of view and how they all connected.

This is a moving novel of a young man coming to terms with who he is and learning about himself and his heritage. I loved this book and really enjoyed that Hokeah chose to tell the story through the lens of all the different family members. I look forward to his next book.

I really enjoyed this multigenerational story of a Native American family in the Midwest featuring a different character in each chapter. It was a compact book and I felt like the writing captured everything it needed to in a spare amount of words. Recommend!

Interconnected stories of a Native American family and community in Oklahoma, centering on one member, Ever. These stories feel honest and are well told, each unique voice coming through clearly. As I was reading these, it felt like I was hearing the stories.

Debut author Oscar Hokeah has a new novel out. Calling for the Blanket Dance features the perspective of one Kiowa and Cherokee family over 40 years. Told from different perspectives, we see the difficulties and their triumphs. Calling for the Blanket Dance is when a community comes together.

The primary focus is on one person and the family and community that supports him. His family took him to Mexico to be with his grandparents when he was first born. On the travel back, their car is stopped by police, and the father beat severely. The father's mother takes this as a bad sign and that the child will be cursed. Thus follows the child's journey into manhood while we watch his family and community grow. It is this perseverance that is so dear.

I loved this novel. Ever, part Kiowa, part Cherokee, part Mexican, is witness to a horrific event as an infant. Does this taint his life? Told from the perspective of a various relatives over a period of 37 years, the reader learns of his life and the lives of his family. Lots of Native culture, including the significance of regalia, dances and blankets/quilts. This was a debut novel and I look forwards to reading more by Hokeah.

The main character is from Kiowa and Cherokee tribes. He is a very complex character. He wants to promote his heritage to his grandchildren, but he also realizes his downfall. The blanket presentations and the blankets themselves represent more than a piece of cloth.

Recommended for public libraries.

This book, for me, was magical and raw. I really enjoyed it and have recommended it to many friends and family members as on my mom's side, we're all mixed.

Wanted to live this but lost interest. There's a lot of jumping from one character to the next. Was not interesting enough to keep track of each person.

This multigenerational literary novel about generations of Indigenous people is a necessary and important addition to your TBR. Ever Geimausaddle, a young Native man, is the focal point of which all other characters are centered. His story is told by his grandmother, grandfather, and cousin who hope to help him as he lives on through them and with them.

Intriguing book. I enjoyed the form of the book and the gripping family story. This was an excellent read. I highly recommend settling in and spending time with the community that Oscar Hokeah creates.

This book was such an amazing journey to read through. It spans generations of a mixed-Native American family. As a Native American reader, this Own Voices tale was a breath of fresh air. Being able to see my own experience through the lens of this author was refreshing.

This family saga is told in bits and pieces, through some outsiders perspectives, first person perspectives... Through family members that have long past, and through those living in the moment. We see generational trauma play out within this one family, how single threads of existence can skew the future of others. How one persons struggle with addiction can serve as a butterfly effect to so many other things.

I enjoyed how this author wove in pieces of culture, lost identity, and large scale implications of colonization.

A great look through the lens of an extended family of cultures mixing and clashing and generational perspectives of what to save and what to pursue. Funny and tragic and heartwarming - sometimes in rapid succession.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. It is great to be getting more and more content from Native American writers. I enjoyed this short story collection by Oscar Hokeah. I will be pointing this book out to my patrons.

I enjoyed Calling for a Blanket Dance. The story revolves around one main character and is told through the POV of each of his family members. It shows how one family's relationships with each other, are intertwined and the cause and effect of decisions that are made are passed down to generations. At the very core of the family is about taking care of each other and ensuring the culture and traditions of their native ancestors are passed down to the next generation. An amazing story about Native American culture and traditions and the struggle to find / and keep sacred their true identify.

One of my goals this year has been to include more indigenous voices in my reading and this book was at the top of my list and it certainly did not disappoint! Generational trauma is something so many people deal with but for the indigenous community this seems louder than most, their mistreatment to this day informs the life they will have and the lives those have had before them. As Ever Geimausadle makes decisions and choices we hear from not only his voice but the voices of those before him a fan around him. Those voices come in different languages and perspectives but all are important and show the make up of who Ever is and who he will become. The love between this characters, and the author and these characters, is clear as their dedication to hope, perseverance and success shine through. A brilliant debut novel!

Hokeah's beautifully crafted novel is threaded together as intricately as a quilt with each person's story contributing a different time and experience of the main character - Ever Geimausaddle. In following Ever through the eyes of his extended family and friends, we are invited in to experience life in their Cherokee/Kiowa community.. It is place of hardship and poverty but also a community rich in tradition, cultural history and generosity.

Highly recommend for book groups.
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin books for the ARC.

This novel introduces the reader to the Geimausaddle family and focuses on one member, Ever Geimausaddle. The family is Native American, both Cherokee and Kiowa and Mexican. Family is everything although the members of the family encounter many issues. There is poverty, addiction, divorce, issues with the police and government and gangs that try to woo the children away from the parents. Jobs are hard to come by and easy to lose.

But there is much that is good. Children are prized and the adults sacrifice much in order to attempt to make their children's lives better than their own. The tribe holds dances to teach the culture and to strengthen the ties between the families. The title phrase, calling for a blanket dance, is a reference to when a blanket is spread, someone with a need stands on the blanket and starts a dance and everyone there throws what money they can spare on the blanket to help a family in need. Ever fights through a childhood of anger to two marriages, both of which end in divorce. But he has his three children plus a young man he adopts. Ever does what he can to give back, working with the young people he sees in trouble.

This is a debut novel and it is exceptional. The story is told through the stories of individual members of the Geimausaddle family, Ever's parents and aunts and uncles, cousins. It is a story that will touch the hearts of readers and give insight into the lives of Native Americans in our country. Ever is an interesting character and seems to be autobiographical as the author's life follows much the same path. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those interested in other cultures.