If you are a historical fiction fan, you will not want to miss this new novel by the author of The Kitchen House. I appreciate the exhaustive research Grissom does when approaching her novels and I always come away learning a new bit of history. I especially like learning about all those “forgotten” women in history. Crow Mary is one of those women. Collaborating with Crow Mary’s descendants and Indigenous scholars Grissom provides an in depth look at one woman’s life of strength, fearlessness and wisdom. I found I liked the last half better than the first. It took a bit for the main events to take place, (just my impatience), but once things got going it was a harrowing story of one woman pulled between two worlds desperate to do the right thing. Grissom’s writing is well crafted with good character development, and its an inspiring story. Look for this in June!
4/5

*many thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed The Kitchen House, so I was thrilled to see a new release from this author. This story is impeccably researched and I appreciate that Grissom consulted Crow Mary’s family while writing this book. I think she paid a beautiful homage to Crow Mary and revealed important truths about the history of the time. My only complaint is that I felt the book lagged a bit through the middle. This is really more of a personal preference as a reader issue. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this advance copy.

Kathleen Grissom has been my favorite author since the first time I read Kitchen House. Her characters come alive from the first page and the reader is invested from the start. Popular authors come and go but the quality of her writing makes her novels stay in the best of the best always.

Crow Mary is a different time period than Kitchen House but the intensity of the novel prevails here, as well. The author has the ability to show how people were treated and the effects of such events on them personally in a way that makes the reader truly care about what they are going through. She is able to voice the joy, sadness, heartache and elation in a way that makes the story stick in your head throughout the day, even when you have put the book aside. Of course, this is not a book that will be easily left on the shelf. Once you begin, you will want to follow Crow Mary in one setting.

This book shows how unfair the Crow and other Indians, such as the Nakoda, were treated. The white men were often unfair and mean. Their lives were inconsequential to the Yellow Eyes and they were treated worse than the dogs and animals that the white men kept at their sides. When she marries a white man, it appears that her life may improve. However, her Indian status was still a barrier to being left alone to live her life as she pleased. The reader will wonder about choices and decisions that are made. Whether right, wrong, or uncontrollable, they will affect the reader emotionally and intellectually.

Everyone needs to read this book. It is just as good as Kitchen House and will become another best seller.

When Goes First, a young Crow woman, marries Farwell, an American fur trader, she becomes Crow Mary and her life changes forever. She and Farwell fall in love and travel the northwestern U.S. and southwestern Canada together, selling furs along with whiskey. But their bliss is short-lived when they are witness to the drunken slaughter of a tribe of Indians by a group of white traders. When Crow Mary saves some of the women from assault after they are kidnapped and Farwell tries and fails to get justice, this is the beginning of a splinter in their marriage. More fractures appear as Farwell returns to previous bad habits and Crow Mary gives birth to their children and the two realize the differences in their views on how their children should be raised. At the same time, the Crow and many other Indians are placed on reservations and instructed to change their way of life without the opportunity to hunt for game. Children are taken to white schools, men are jailed or killed for dressing in traditional clothing. And Crow Mary must make a life for herself and her children, who are both Crow and white.

This book is a stunning tale of resilience, endurance, courage, and dedication. Crow Mary is one of the most admirable main characters I've read in a long time. As you follow her life from a young girl growing up in a Crow village to when she is older and raising teenage children, Grissom makes it easy to relate to the questions and struggles she has trying to love her troubled husband, protect and proved for her children, and maintain her way of life. By looking through her eyes, readers can at least begin to understand what it would have been like to be treated as a "savage" and told your way of life was wrong when it was all you'd ever known, when someone else showed up on your land and infringed on you. This story talks about tensions and struggles and it is absolutely fantastic. My only complaints are about the prologue and the lack of actual time spent in the Crow village--a lot of the book is spent with Farwell at outposts with white traders.

4.5/5

This quickly became a book a page turner, one that I couldn't put down. A read that is fictional, but if you read the author's notes, based on fact.
I was soon walking in Goes First's [Crow Mary] shoes. We are with her as she grows up, and at 16 she marries Abe Farwell.
What a journey the author shares with us, and yes, we see how the Indian soon became a second class citizen of their own Country!
This is a rich story highlighting the beauty of this world and the people in it. People proud of their heritage, and unfortunately, not for many years able to celebrate whom they are.
I did love this story, and found myself holding my breath at times, but the author did a wonderful job of bringing Mary to life!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Atria Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

This book is based on a real person. Goes First is a Crow woman marries a white fur trader who changes her name to Mary. She tries to navigate her Crow upbringing with the ways of the white man. The two are not always compatible. The reader will learn of the Indian tribe and some of the injustices that were inflicted on native peoples.

This book is well researched. It will give you a look into the 1870s and what was going on in the country. It is definitely a book that will expand what you know about the treatment of native people in the Northwestern U.S. and Canada. This is a part of history that is not well taught in schools. Crow Mary will broaden you understanding of history. I highly recommend reading this book.

Thank you to #netgalley, #KathleenGrissom and #Atria for a copy of this book.
#CrownMary

From the publisher:

In 1872, sixteen-year-old Goes First, a Crow Native woman, marries Abe Farwell, a white fur trader. He gives her the name Mary, and they set off on the long trip to his trading post in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan, Canada. Along the way, she finds a fast friend in a Métis named Jeannie; makes a lifelong enemy in a wolfer named Stiller; and despite learning a dark secret of Farwell’s past, falls in love with her husband.

The winter trading season passes peacefully. Then, on the eve of their return to Montana, a group of drunken whiskey traders slaughters forty Nakota—despite Farwell’s efforts to stop them. Mary, hiding from the hail of bullets, sees the murderers, including Stiller, take five Nakota women back to their fort. She begs Farwell to save them, and when he refuses, Mary takes two guns, creeps into the fort, and saves the women from certain death. Thus, she sets off a whirlwind of colliding cultures that brings out the worst and best in the cast of unforgettable characters and pushes the love between Farwell and Crow Mary to the breaking point.
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My review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I generally judge a book by how much it makes me research. The need to learn more about a period or a person means I’ve been drawn in. Goes First was a real woman: strong, brave, stubborn, smart, and loving. Reading her story and the story of the Crow people was heart breaking and infuriating.

The issues with justice and racism ring true for our times. The injustice that Abe and Mary endured and tried to overcome were gripping. On one hand it makes the reader think, “How did this ever happen?”; on the other hand, we know exactly how. The sad history of taking children from their parents to “white schools” has been brought to light more recently and I would like to know more about Goes First’s children. Grissom’s writing is compelling and descriptive and I will definitely be reading her other work.

Five stars. Amazing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Crow Mary just rocketed to the top of my best of 2023 list! I enjoyed The Kitchen House and was excited to see this new book. I’m a Canadian American historian who watched both Yellowstone and 1883 so the subject matter clicked a lot of boxes. Crow Mary’s life draws you in and keeps you riveted from start to finish. This was a period of great upheaval, tragedy, and perseverance for the native populations. This book touched on all the horrors of the time but was accessible enough that people won’t be too triggered having to confront these aspects of the past. I especially liked how it touched on the residential school issue in the US— so much attention has been paid to the horrors in Canada and it’s like Americans are trying to convince themselves that the same thing didn’t happen here. It did. Children were stolen from their parents in this cultural genocide, that was also a literal genocide. Crow Mary is unflinching in her examinations of the people in her life and, through it all, she remains true to herself. This is a must read that is incredibly timely for the current discourse.

I want to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Crow Mary by author Kathleen Grissom. She previously wrote two widely liked books, The Kitchen House and it’s sequel, Glory Over Everything.
“My husband gives orders to white men. I am Crow”.
She was given the name, Goes First by her tribe and indeed she did! At her marriage to a “Yellow Eyes” (a white man), the preacher calls her Mary as he does when he marries an Indian woman and later Crow was added.
This book, based on the life of this incredible woman, takes place in the 1800’s, mostly in the Montana territory.
She can work with and ride horses and fire a gun better than most men.
The book is about her and living in two worlds.
Crow Mary should appeal mostly to women.
It publishes 06/06/2023.

This book educated me to the customs and traditions of the Crow tribe in the character of Mary Crow, a strong minded woman who disliked injustice. Her marriage to a white trader however introduced her to another way of life that was quite the opposition to her Crow upbringing. Mary found beauty in nature , her Crow family and her children. Her husband once a caring man found solace in whiskey which caused hardships to Mary . Mary’s strong commitment to Crow values helped her overcome many obstacles . This book showed resiliency in many characters despite unsavoury individuals that tried to cause grief and hardships to the Crow and other tribes way of life.

Crow Mary is a very well researched historical fiction novel that explores deeply into the Crow culture. The story is presented in a way that is incredibly factual and engaging. It is beautifully written, deeply moving, and realistic in so many ways. The author does a wonderful job engaging the reader in Crow Mary's wonderful story. I found it hard to put down. I loved it and I highly recommend it. I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley as an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciate NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom. I was drawn to the book after enjoying Grissom's other books, the Kitchen House and Glory Over Everything. Crow Mary takes place in the American West and is the story of Goes First, a Crow girl who leaves her family to marry a white trader. She quickly regrets her decision as she realizes how different her new life would be from her old one with her people. Her husband runs a trading post and she is now known as Crow Mary. Goes First witnesses many acts of cruelty during an attack on a Nakoda Village by some traders. After this attack, her life and Abe's change dramatically. They find out once again, doing the right thing is not always rewarded. Crow Mary was a book I couldn't put down. In the end, I learned this was based on a true story, which made it all the more interesting.

For years and years Grissom has had my #1 ranking for favorite historical fiction with The Kitchen House. I have constantly be checking in ever since for her to have a new book to suck me. I was so so excited when I saw she was finally having a new book!

She has such a way of transporting you right from wherever you’re reading to the story she’s telling. She’s such a talented author and I can only hope she’ll continue to give us more!

Crow Mary felt long and slow at times, but I couldn’t stop reading to see what happened to these characters. It was a part of history that I don’t feel like gets enough stories written about. It was so interesting to read while also drawing me in with the characters relationships and daily lives.

Here’s to hoping for more from Grissom soon!

Having recently finished “Crow Mary” by Kathleen Grissom, I am happy to have had the chance for the Advanced Reader’s Edition e-copy; thank you NetGalley and Atria Books!

For me, there is nothing better than reading a historical novel that transports me to a place and time that I never knew. Living in a world of comfort, I am in awe of courageous women of the past who persevered during the harshest of circumstances. With the encouragement of the Crow people and Crow Mary’s great-granddaughter, Ms. Grissom’s thorough research and writing process allowed me to experience a culture, and follow along on a journey that will continue to inspire me. After reading an amazing story like this one, I can’t help but wonder what of my own ancestors' history continues within me.

Crow Mary, by Kathleen Grissom, is a semi biographical novel that was inspired by the astounding, true story of a brave crow woman. The research that went into this wonderful story is just incredible! Needless to say, the novel kept my attention from beginning to end. The characters seemed so real that I alternated between wanting to hug some, while wanting to slap others.
It's the late 19th century and 16yo, Goes First, has just married a "yellow eyes", a white man. During the ceremony the preacher thoughtlessly gave her the same name that he gives all native women, Mary. Afterwards, they immediately leave her home and family to travel to his trading post in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan, Canada.
During the trip she finds herself learning to love her husband. So, once they get to the trading post, Goes First works hard to help make the season a success. But the day before they're planning to leave the post, a bunch of racist traders get smashed and murder a peaceful group of the Nakota people.
Later the drunk traders grab several of the Nakota women to take back to their fort to further victimize. After not being able to find help, Mary takes things into her own hands and rescues the women, herself. When her husband tries to get justice for the Nakota people, Mary learns more about how white man's justice "works" than she'd ever wanted to know.

For a history lover, it is an absolute delight when an author can take you into a world you have only read and imagined. Crow Mary has left me in the wild, untamed land of the burgeoning Western landscape of America. My mind has lingered there long after I was finished with the novel, and that tells me all I need to know about how well this sweeping piece of historical fiction is written. Kathleen Grissom makes her characters real and you long for them to persevere in a world that is sometimes harsh beyond reason. I enjoyed this novel even more than The Kitchen House, which was also a great read from Grissom. Highly recommend! #crowmary #kathleengrissom #netgalley #goodreads

I couldn’t pass up a chance to read the latest novel by the incomparable Kathleen Grissom, and I am awestruck once again by her talent. Crow Mary is a deeply moving, exceptionally well researched novel about an indigenous woman named Goes First, later renamed Crow Mary. As a 16-year-old girl, she was married to a white man, Abe Farwell, and left her family to travel with Farwell to Canada where he owned a trading post. Along the way, Crow Mary makes a new friend, makes an enemy out of one of her husband’s acquaintances and falls in love with her new husband.

Once in Canada, Mary helps her husband at his trading post and lives amongst the Nakoda Tribe. Though Mary herself is Crow, she still thrives with the Nakoda and becomes friendly with many of the women. When a group of drunk whiskey traders massacre 40 Nakoda (known as the Cypress Hills Massacre) and steals five of their women, Mary is determined to save them from the brutality sure to come. Though she wasn’t able to save them from being brutally raped, she did save them from being murdered. She and Abe then make a decision to be witnesses in the trials of the whiskey traders.

The outcome of the trials weighs heavily on Abe and he turns to whiskey for solace. Conversely, Mary continues to overcome obstacles brought on by the white people who steal their land, steal their children and try to steal their culture.

This book is enlightening, powerful and touching. It shines a much needed light on the plight of Indigenous culture, and I am so thankful to the author, NetGalley and Atria Books for the honor of being approved for this advanced copy.

I loved this book. Kathleen Grissom really tells a good story. Kathleen Grissom does a fabulous job on the research and puts together in the telling of a great story. Crow Mary was an amazing Native American Indian woman. Courageous, kind hearted, strong and very loving. A determined woman who wanted to keep to her customs and beliefs.

Goes First is a young Crow woman who marries Abe, a white fur trader, and sets off to live in the quickly settling areas of the West. Once married she becomes Crow Mary, a name that symbolizes the split nature of the rest of her life, trying hard to remain Crow and having to fit in to the society of encroaching settlers. Based on a true character, Crow Mary shows the strength and dignity of the indigenous people white settlers tried so hard to erase.

Kathleen Grissom first learned about Crow Mary, a true-life figure from the late 1800s, when visiting Fort Walsh and the site of the Cypress Hills massacre in Saskatchewan more than 20 years ago. This book is a work of fiction, but clearly well researched and based in fact.

The premise of the book revolves around Crow Mary, or Goes First as she is named by her people, and her marriage to Abe Farwell, a white fur trader, and the ill-fated trading post he established in the wilds of Saskatchewan in 1872. However, the book opens when Goes First is a young girl and shows her development into a young woman, and her way of life as a woman of the Crow Tribe. The book is fascinatingly detailed and well researched, I found the depiction of her day-to-day life and beliefs and traditions to be engrossing. This book pulled me in from page one, and I very much enjoyed the first-person narrative from Goes First's POV.

The massacre happens around the halfway point of the book, and from there the book dragged a bit for me, as she and Farwell attempted to bring the men responsible to justice. The line between whites and Natives was carefully drawn and portrayed in an accurate manner, again the research and time put into this novel shines through.

This was an easy 5-star rating to give. As I mentioned, the novel was engrossing, although it did slow down a bit between 50%-70% of the novel. I would never have heard of the Cypress Hills massacre without this novel.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.