What I loved:
*I learned so much from this book. So much about Native history that I was absolutely ignorant about - and with no excuse whatsoever because the information was out there. I just didn’t look.
*The emotional depth. Rarely do I encounter a novel that explores emotions so deeply, describes them so accurately, and connects so much with the reader.
*The difficult subject matter. This book handles some dark shit. Addiction, death, SA, racism, self-harm. Orange does not shy away. He discusses the hard stuff, but also what comes after the hard stuff. There are no excuses in this book. He forces us to see what we have done and why things are the way they are. The ripple effect is strong in this one. As a white woman, I felt ashamed. I felt disgusted. I felt guilty. But more than anything, I felt enraged. Because honestly, what the hell? Why? How in the hell did anyone even think of the dumb ass idea to take native children away from their families and put them in “schools” to take away their culture? And how did everyone else go, “Yep, there’s a good idea. Let’s do that”? I just can’t.
*The beauty. This book is beautiful. The family, the friendships, the deep love - despite everything this family goes through for generation after generation, there is love. And Orange writes it perfectly.

What I didn't love:
*Yeah, I got nothing.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, but unfortunately it never clicked for me. I did really enjoy the earlier chapters illustrating the history of this family, but struggled to connect with the characters overall. I adored There, There and will definitely continue to keep an eye out for Tommy Orange... but this book was not a favorite for me.

Wandering Stars was such a beautiful portrait of family and ancestry. I’ve learned it’s both a prequel and sequel to 'There, There', but it stood on its own. I would love to go back and read There, There - see familiar characters and learn more about the events that changed the lives of Orvil and Lony, Opal and Jacquie. This provides historical knowledge and stories of native children assimilation and residential schools. I had no idea about the Occupation of Alcatraz. It’s both fact and fiction, wrapped into a heartbreaking novel of despair and hope, I absolutely adored it and will certainly read more of whatever Tommy Orange writes.

Thank you netgalley for this eARC!

Thank you, Tommy Orange, for conceptualizing this story and sharing it. The complexities of addiction, generational trauma, genocide, and how these all are intertwined in our lives and families gave me food for thought time and time again. I had to read this in bits and pieces, but getting to know the characters and bearing witness to their pain feels like a kind of connection that is uncommon. I also got to see another side of Oakland. Lony’s lost letter was such a perfect way to end it, I hope he found his way home. I hope we all do.

I read There There several years ago and appreciated the content of the novel while not particularly loving the book, and I would say that I feel similarly about Wandering Stars. I was locked in through the first half, following Jude Star through his capture and forced re-education and then down through the generations, to the birth of Jackie and Opal. However, I think I was lost in the second half, in the moment where the prequel became a sequel, in part because the weight of generational trauma seemed both distant and crushing at the same time. Watching the two boys go down similar roads of injury and substance abuse felt redundant; it also reinforced a lack of hope that might have made more sense had they been closer to the truth of their family histories.

I also think I connected more deeply with the first half of the narrative because it is following so closely with what I'm learning in reading Original Sins by Eve L Ewing, which I am working my way through and would recommend as a companion read to Wandering Stars.

Thank you to Knopf for the opportunity to read and review.

Ughhhhh couldn't love this book, or Tommy Orange, more if I tried! Trauma and religious trauma (which I have a lot of experience with) are front and center. This would be a perfect book for book clubs!

Tapping out at chapter 5. I don’t know if it’s me or the book, but it’s not doing anything for me.

Thank you Net Galley & to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an incredible, important book. I learned so much while reading it and found myself wanted to learn more once it ended. I cared deeply about the characters. It is hard to read but beautifully written.

"Wandering Stars" by Tommy Orange is a collection of stories that talks about the lives of Native Americans today. The author, Tommy Orange, is known for his book "There There," and he continues to write about Native American life in cities. The stories in "Wandering Stars" are about different characters who each have their own problems, dreams, and pasts. Orange's writing is very descriptive, helping readers feel like they are part of the characters' lives.

One of the interesting things about this book is how Orange mixes funny moments with sad ones. The characters go through tough times, but they also find reasons to laugh and be happy. This mix of feelings makes the stories more real and relatable.

Orange also writes about important themes like family, community, and cultural heritage. He shows how complicated it can be to figure out who you are in a world that can sometimes be confusing or supportive. The stories make readers think about their own connections to their culture and the people around them.

Even though some stories might stand out more than others, the whole book gives a strong message about the experiences of Native Americans today. "Wandering Stars" is a beautifully written book that shows Tommy Orange's talent for storytelling and his dedication to sharing Native voices. It's a great read for anyone interested in learning more about different cultures and understanding other people's lives.

I’m giving up at 17% for this book. I really enjoyed There, There, but I can’t pick up the plot in this one. The language feels very stream-of-consciousness and hard to follow. I want to be respectful of the information, but I am just having a hard time following this book.

This was beautifully written and such an interesting expansion on There There. I'm not always a hug fan of historical fiction because it frequently spends more time on history & settings than the literary fiction & character building I enjoy. In Wandering Stars, however, Orange did a thorough job of characterizing each unique person and their experiences, all while tying them all together and to the present story (both fictional and real). He has such an interesting mix of writing styles - from first to second to third person perspectives to internet chats to 1800s white guys self-righteousness - every story line is uniquely characterized by the characters' thoughts, actions, and ways of thinking that only this mix of writing styles can illuminate. So many heavy themes, from violence & racism to addiction & recovery, were each handled with care and showed how the present never excapes history and, especially, that it shouldn't.

2.5 stars.

The premise behind this novel is a great one and I was really looking forward to the read, but it did not follow through for me in execution. The plot presents a very raw depiction of the progression and suppression of Indigenous life under the control of the United States government; the ways in which the unnecessary "management" of these peoples has led to generational struggles.

There were moments in this book that were very visceral and poignant, but they were scattered here and there while the tone wavered. I had a hard time bonding with the voice behind the book due to the organization of the story. It is appropriately titled as "Wandering". The movement from one story to the next with loose connection and no real transition made me feel untethered and I really had a hard time developing a deep care for the characters. Just as I was beginning to get intot the story and the character introspection started to expand, that piece of the tale would abruptly end and the narrative would shift to another character. It felt very disjointed and I had a hard time sticking with the story.

The message behind this novel is a good one. There do need to be more tales like this, being honest and revealing the secrets that have been held in American history as to how the different cultures in this "melting pot" were treated based on color of skin and location of origin. Humanity needs to learn lessons from the past in order to rectify the present. This particular novel and narrative style just wasn't the right one for me.

Tommy Orange’s Wandering Stars, the highly anticipated sequel to There There, continues his powerful exploration of Indigenous identity, generational trauma, and resilience. While There There followed a cast of interconnected urban Native characters leading up to a tragic powwow in Oakland, Wandering Stars shifts focus to the next generation, unraveling the lasting impact of historical violence on their lives.

The novel spans multiple time periods, from the brutal aftermath of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre to the struggles of contemporary Indigenous characters. Orange masterfully weaves together narratives that highlight the resilience of Native peoples despite centuries of displacement, erasure, and oppression. His prose remains vivid and lyrical, immersing readers in the deep emotional landscapes of his characters.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its ability to humanize history. By grounding historical trauma in the personal struggles of his characters, Orange bridges past and present, showing how generational pain—and healing—are passed down. The characters are complex and deeply flawed, making their journeys all the more compelling.

While Wandering Stars is undoubtedly a heavy read, it is also a necessary one. Orange challenges readers to confront the realities of Indigenous history and its ongoing repercussions. Fans of There There will appreciate the continuation of familiar storylines, while new readers can still engage with the novel’s standalone depth.

Overall, Wandering Stars is a poignant, heartbreaking, and beautifully written novel that cements Tommy Orange as one of the most important voices in contemporary literature.

I finished Wandering Stars last year and have yet to post my review! Tommy Orange is a Native American author that wrote There There to critical acclaim. This was his most recent follow up to that Pulitzer Prize-finalist piece of work.

I will say that this book is written masterfully and makes you feel all the emotions for each of the main characters. But, those feelings aren’t warm and fuzzy, so you do have to be in a certain state of mind when reading this one. I highly recommend, but just be prepared for what you’re about to read…you’re gonna feel 🙁🫠🥴.

Did not finish. (DNF). Read more than 25% and couldn’t get into it, put it down and didn’t feel like picking it back up.

It lacks the propulsive narrative of There There, but I should’ve guessed that from the title. There There, like it’s doubled, pointed title suggests, is driving constantly towards a violent and surprising intensity that draws all the different Native American characters together THERE, at that pow-wow. Wandering Stars is the slow-motion aftermath that scatters the characters far and wide, like the shrapnel after an explosion. But it is also the prelude to There There with brief but suggestive back stories on the ancestors of those impacted in There There. We see a tendency towards wandering through the generations, but one not born—at least originally—out of intent but by the violent, scattering forces of the US government. Tommy Orange is mourning as one of the diaspora, trying to frame some narrative out of the sprinkled facts. I applaud the effort, but the story doesn’t gather together in any meaningful way. I was hoping for at least one character I could love and cheer for (Grandma Opal is the most likely!) but I found myself wearying of the ways in which these characters stay deeply in their own heads. This is the story Orange wanted to tell, and I won’t fault him for it. I was just disappointed. (My review is likely also tinged with my own fatigue after reading a couple narratives about meth and opioid addiction already. I’m so tired of stories about addicts. I want these characters to have something more interesting to explore.)

Tommy Orange has much to say with his sophomore novel, Wandering Stars. Unfortunately for me, the story didn't hit the way I wanted it to. I was fully immersed in the book's first section, the storyline following the family since 1864, but once the plot moved to 2018, I became disinterested.

A beautiful telling of past and future and the children and men who were forced to be who they were not. A showing of institutional violence put upon those that aren't worthy of such violence. A look at colonization, generational trauma, addiction and mental health are a few of the topics that Tommy Orange addresses well in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the gifted e-ARC of this book.

I made it 40% of the way through this book and was enjoying it. But then I realized I really needed to re-read the first book because I did not remember these characters as well as I thought I did. I will return!

I think I liked this better than There, There. It's kind of a sequel but more like a prequel that gives us some more history on some of the characters from There, There. I should have re-read There, There but I did not. There are a lot of characters in this one too but for some reason it was a little easier to keep track. Orange writes about the Native American experience but it's also got a lot of Oakland in it too which I loved. Orange is definitely worth reading. May not be easy reading but important and informative reading!