I had a hard time getting into this book. There were too many characters to keep track of. When the hurricane hit, I expected a bigger story.

What a great debut by author Kimberly Garza!

THE LAST KARANKAWAS is a blazing debut about a tight knit community of Mexican and Filipino American families on the Texas coast, weaving together a multitude of voices to present a lyrical, emotionally charged portrait of everyday survival.

I thought this was such a beautiful story told through multiple characters, each complex and well developed, combined together to create one cohesive story.

I was grateful to listen to this as an audiobook, which helped to set the characters apart, and I loved that the audio featured many various narrators too.

*many thanks to Henry Holt and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

THE LAST KARANKAWAS was a masterful piece of writing that explored not only Mexican and Filipino American families living in Galveston, Texas, but how a community encompasses their ancestry, beliefs, and immigration. Each character had his or her own voice, and all lived out different experiences up until Hurricane Ike.

Hurricane Ike was built up in this story, foreshadowing the damage it could/would bring to the city and the people within it. And while that build was intense (similar to hurricanes), the aftermath of the story didn’t match. It sort of felt like Garza grazed over what Galveston became.

To echo myself, I was really immersed into the characters, but since there were so many POVs, it felt as if we were only scratching the surface and couldn’t get to know the characters as well as one many have likes. It felt a lot like short stories due to the experiences and lack of explanation for how these characters truly connected with one another. Due to the amount of people, it was somewhat hard to keep track of.

Lastly, because of the synopsis, I was hoping there would be more about the Karankawas and how they influenced the community of the island. I think it’s left up to interpretation if they are still providing influence and the descendants within Galveston, but that aspect of the story was a lot smaller than I anticipated.

Content warnings: racism, hurricane, miscarriage, dementia, infidelity, abandonment

Big thank you to Henry Holt for the gifted copy!

Excellent debut from Kimberly Garza! I really enjoyed this book. It is an atmospheric and character-driven novel about a community in Galveston, Texas as they prepare for Hurricane Ike. There are a lot of characters so it really presents like a collection of short stories but the are woven together nicely. I've heard it said that "places have a way of claiming people" and I believe that is exemplified in this book. Garza's writing style is beautiful, almost poetic. I both read and listened to this book. It was read by multiple narrators who spoke English and Spanish and, at times, a mixture of the two. This created a more engaging, immersive experience for me. I will definitely read another by this author!
**Audio narrators: Adriana Sananes, Andre Santana, Becca Q. Co, & Reggie De Leon

I was highly anticipating the release of The Last Karankawas, and was not disappointed after reading this beautiful story. Told from multiple perspectives and a non-linear timeline, we learn about the lives of Carly, Jess, and several other family and community members in a smaller town in Southern Texas. The writing in this book was lyrical and descriptive. I could see the characters, the baseball games, the town, in my mind as I listened to the cast of narrators. While some readers might not enjoy the jumping to characters and through time, the stories do come together in a cohesive novel about family, home, and perseverance.

A huge thank you to the author, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. #TheLastKarankawas #NetGalley

I really liked the different characters' perspectives and the time jumps. It's a complex story, but all the characters were so interesting. I liked the audiobook version, with different narrators for each character. Very enjoyable.

Oof. I did not really like this one. Part of the problem is that it was written as more of vignettes/short stories rather than a fluid narrative focusing on one central story line. I mean I guess the storyline is the impending hurricane Ike but even that was so lack luster when it finally came through. There were so many characters and it was hard to keep them all straight and understand how they fit into the story when I was listening and didn’t have the book to flip back to for reference. I got so confused at times when trying to piece it together that I got to the point of “I don’t care I just don’t want to listen to this anymore.” I think if I read it I would have enjoyed it better. The writing is beautiful I will say that. I’ve also been to that part of Texas before so it was nice to try to picture it. I wish this story focused on Carly and Jess’s story and perspective all the way from their high school days to their present time. Unfortunately, this one did not work for me.

I admit that I picked up The Last Karankawas based on the gorgeous cover. And true to its cover, the contents of the book are also gorgeous. However, it professes to be a novel. And while I suppose this is true, it reads more like a collection of interconnected short stories with some characters who we keep coming back to (kind of like an Elizabeth Strout book in this way).

I think I would have enjoyed this book even more if I knew what I was going into instead of expecting a novel and then being confused when I kept getting different narrators, characters, and timeframes. I also would have enjoyed it more if I had read the Goodreads description and saw exactly how each of the characters related to others from the start.

But once I realized what was happening, I allowed myself to fully sink into the lives of these Mexican and Filipino characters living in Galveston, Texas. I'm sure like many others, I was especially pulled into Carly and her boyfriend Jess's stories, high school sweethearts turned adults still working and living in the Galveston area. We go into much of their backstory and everything that leads up to 2008's Hurricane Ike.

I do highly recommend listening to this on audio as the different narrators really make this book feel special.

Overall, a beautifully written book, but just be sure to go into it knowing it's not going to be your typical novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio copy of The Last Karankawas in exchange for an honest review.

In 2008 Galveston, Texas was ravished by Hurricane Ike turning this seaside city upside down. Kimberly Garza's new novel takes a look at a group of interconnected Filipino and Mexican families living in Galveston at the time of the mass destruction. The novel is written in short story form with each chapter being told from a different characters POV. I was excited about the concept of this story about families surviving a devastating natural disaster but little focus was on this and the plot line fell flat with little action or drama to keep it moving. There are way too many characters with too many subplot stories to keep track of. I liked some of the characters like Jess an aspiring baseball star who is trying his best to survive a family torn apart by drugs. However, most of the characters were static with little character development. It would have helped greatly to cut down the amount of people and developed them better. Overall, the story struggled to keep my attention and was a bit of a chore to get through, I rounded up on my rating. I had the audio version narrated by Adriana Sananes; André Santana; Becca Q. Co; Reggie De Leon. I think everyone did a good job but again the disjointed story telling style did not help to keep their work interesting.

The Last Karankawas
Author, Kimberly Garza
Audio narrators: Adriana Sananes, Andre Santana, Becca Q. Co, & Reggie De Leon
9h 16min
Available now!

I love listening to audiobooks, but when you have the opportunity to listen to one read by multiple narrators and those who also speak the language of the book- both English and Spanish, and a little Spanglish too- it makes for a much more unique listening experience! Thank you @ @macmillanaudio and @netgalley for the opportunity to listen and review The Last Karankawas!

In her debut novel, Garza immerses her readers in the harsh climate of Southern Texas where scorching heat and devastating hurricanes constantly pose a threat to the diverse population who rely on the land and the Gulf for work. This tight- knit community of Mexican and Filipino American families have been sweating and raising their families in the tourist town of Galveston for generations. Some even claim to be descendants of the Karankawas, an extinct indigenous Texan tribe- yet another reason why these families feel bound to their location.

Through a myriad of characters- mother and son, army buddies, an ageing grandparent, budding relationships and marriages, neighbors, church friends, and co- workers- Garza weaves together a complex drama of resilience, culture and inheritance, and the powerful bonds of family and the history that binds them. With an emotional and atmospheric writing style, readers are drawn into the diversity of each character's lives, identities, challenges, and triumphs, as they are thrown into Hurricane Ike- it's arrival and impact. Read almost like several short stories that intersect, The Last Karankawas explores immigration, prejudice, poverty, and mental health. A "kaleidoscopic" and complex story of who we are, where we come from, and how some of us stay and some of us go.

The Last Karankawas
by Kimberly Garza

The struggles of the modern world. A young girl is left alone with her grandmother who has dementia whom believes that she is the last of the Karankawas. the personal struggle of family history, personal choices, the structures of life waving in and out of history. The storms like IKE and RITA that change the world scaring the population over and over again, afraid of history affecting them again.
The audible version has a great vocal quality, that enhances the nuances of the characters development from Ike, to the Philippine immigrants.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the entertainment organization responsible for allowing me to listen to an ARC of this book. This is my honest opinion.

The Last Karankawas is supposed to be about the Filipino community that lives in Galveston, Texas. As I have close Filipina friends, I was anxious to learn more. The book is actually made up of a number of short stories that are loosely connected by a central character named Carly. The story takes place before, during, and after Hurricane Ike hits the coast of Texas and wreaks havoc.

The stories are nicely written and some of the characters were more interesting than others. Some had a mixture of Filipino blood and Native American blood, hence the Karankawas of the title. I had a hard time following the arc of a story. It took me a while to realize these were more short stories than one long cohesive story. I think it is probably a story worth reading as I don't think these communities are much represented in fiction writing. The other is a good writer but, for me, making the whole more cohesive would have been helpful.

The Last Karankawas has been described as “kaleidoscopic” and after reading it I could not come up with a better word. It is an intriguing work of literary fiction. The book reads almost like a collection of short stories so segments of the kaleidoscope but as you keep on reading the connecting lines between the characters some stronger, some looser become more obvious and the characters get revisited swirling (kaleidoscopically 😉) towards Hurricane Ike and it’s looming arrival at the shoreline.
The fix point connecting the whole story is Galveston, Texas and specifically it’s Fish Village and it’s inhabitants.
There are disappearing mothers and sons, there are elderly to take care of, relationships to take care of or let go, between family or neighbors, fellow churchgoers, coworkers or army buddies.
The language is lyrical and beautiful. The people come to life through in their stories - their joy and their sorrows, their complex humanity. Immigration, community, prejudice, poverty, absent fathers and mothers, generational trauma and mental health, are all touched on and explored. The writing is compelling this was a fabulous read that I think many lovers of historical fiction, family dramas, literary fiction and beautiful poetic prose would enjoy !

The Last Karankawas takes place in Galveston, Texas and follows many characters through past and present. Their lives are interconnected in some complicated ways. Mostly following Mexican and Filipino families and struggles in settling in Texas, author Kimberly Garza did a fantastic job at storytelling. The character development was excellent. We got to know all kinds of diverse characters and families. There is a hurricane storyline mixed in, but the heart of this book within the characters and their relationships with one another.
I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommended!
** huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I struggled really hard to get through this book. I think it was in part to the character bouncing; the back and forth. It was a decent story. But with all the differing perspectives, It was hard to pay attention to the narrative.

If you liked Black Cake, you'll love The Last Karankawas. Told through multiple perspectives, a thoughtfully rich narrative of extended family within immigrant communities in Texas. Brilliantly written, a true treat to read!

This story sadly wasn't for me. I was interested in reading about a Texas community of Filipino immigrants but I couldn't get into the plot or characters. The narrative structure was a little too third person for me. I wanted a more personal account I could get behind. The audiobook narrator was good though. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early ALC in exchange for my honest review. This was a DNF at 20% for me.

I listened to this literary novel about multiple characters of Filipino and Mexican descent growing up and living in Galveston, Texas. The writing is descriptive and well done, but I felt a lost with the interconnectedness of the characters in this story. I would’ve preferred if the book focused mainly on one of the relationships, like Carly and Jess. There was just too much going on and a bit all over the place for me. I think this author has potential for a great character driven novel and I look forward to reading her future work.

Pick this up if you like slow burn character novels.

DNF 30%

This book spotlights a community and a part of the country about which I didn’t previously have much knowledge. I’ve been looking forward to this title for months, and I think the fact that I didn’t finish the audiobook has more to do with my current level of focus than it does with the quality of the work. The book features first person and third person narrators, and even a first person plural narration, and I found the multiple narrators and points of view to be difficult to follow on audio. I think at a different time, I’ll come back to this book.

The Last Karankawas by Kimberly Garza is a pretty good debut novel! It’s about a tight-knit community of Mexican and Filipino American families living in Galveston, Texas. I loved the full cast in the audiobook! The four narrators Adriana Sananes, André Santana, Becca Q. Co and Reggie De Leon all did an excellent job! There’s kinda a lot going on in this novel as there’s a lot of characters and the point of view would keep changing. It was a little hard to follow the timeline since the past was brought up so much. I liked learning about the Mexican and Filipino American culture and the lasting impact of immigrants struggling to survive. I liked how the hurricane became another character. I also liked the large age range of the characters from three generations.
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Thank you to Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!