Wandering Stars is a clear-eyed, unvarnished story of violence, addiction, and generational trauma that stem from the cultural erasure intended by US policy towards indigenous tribes since forever. While it helps to have read There, There, first, this provides the most pertinent details from that book's conclusion: namely, Orvil's near-fatal shooting at the Oakland powwow. But this is jumping the gun. Wandering Stars begins at the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864, where one of Orvil's ancestors survived, only to be caught in trap of the US's all-out effort to de-Indian the Indians. With each subsequent generation's struggles illustrated, the line from the past to the present could not be more clear, and without saying so, makes a powerful argument for any and all restitution, beginning with the most elementary available to us (land acknowledgements, etc). History and politics aside, though, by the time the author arrives at the present day and Orvil & Co, it is also a deeply empathetic family portrait.
I especially appreciated reading this in this moment, as I think Native representation in media has evolved noticeably since There, There came out. The contrast alone between Reservation Dogs (excellent!!) and Killers of the Flower Moon (controversial) says so much. This book feels like a natural companion to the former (although not comedic) and contributes more grist to the argument for Own Voices in relating history.

OKAY OUCH. I am just utterly speechless with bittersweet joy and love for this book. I fell out of my chair when I got a physical ARC of one of my highly anticipated reads, and it didn't disappoint. I loved Tommy Orange's There There, and this was the perfect leg up on its literary predecessor to further paint a picture of how native Americans and Indigenous groups have been wrongly treated and pushed out over the centuries. Wandering Stars follows one family line through decades of trauma, bloodshed, war, loss, and addiction, detailing the inner threads of this family tree.

We start at the Sand Creek massacre in the mid-1800s and follow narratives down to the present day, where one family (Star and then Red Feather) finds themselves in terribly horrific situations such as bloody killings, State Boarding Schools, racism, addictions, and persecuted by old white men and perpetrators, robbing them of their land, rights, and well-being through a vicious historical cycle.

Tommy Orange is such a magnificent orator within historically accurate stories, and I am amazed by his ability to bring me to tears. I am so sorry on behalf of all the stupidity that this nation has struck upon its original inhabitants all those years ago and continues to do with each waking present day on this cyclical hellhole of a timeline. We can't let history repeat itself; we must stand up, take action, and give the land back where it's due. Freedom for one means freedom for ALL!

I am so thankful to Knopf Books, Tommy Orange, and Netgalley for granting me digital and physical access before this powerful piece hits shelves on February 27, 2024.

This book was intense. It follows the Star family and several members of it. It does switch between first and third person which threw me off at first. It’s about the generational trauma and cycle of addiction. It’s about family and love and found family. It’s about sadness and joy. It’s a beautiful book and I really liked it. Well written, haunting, and poignant.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So beautiful and tragic multi-generational story and the love of heritage and tragedy that occurs in every generation. Tommy’s writing is so beautiful and weighs heavily on the soul It’s nice to see more native authors coming forward to learn from. Five glorious heartbreaking stars.

With his distinct writing style characterized with a poetic rawness, Tommy Orange crafts a narrative that begins with the Sand Creek Massacre and then proceeds to follow an indigenous family through several generations Along the way, he captures the systematic violence and historical trauma inflicted upon the nation’s native peoples on a deeply intimate level. Once the plot settles in the modern day upon a cast of characters that we first became acquainted with in “There, There” the larger aforementioned themes then begin to become closely intertwined with themes of facing the effects of personal trauma that can occur as just a facet of life. The book in turn becomes something that is both very uniquely Native American at its core, but also a work that is intensely, if not almost painfully, relatable for those of us who at some point in our lives have found ourselves trying to manage a dark stretch. All of the above, plus more, makes for a magnificent complexity, and an honest ferocity that has honestly blown me away.

For those who have been patiently (or perhaps impatiently) anticipating Orange’s next work for the last several years, I want to say that the wait has been incredibly well worth it.
Wandering Stars" is definitely one of my favorite fiction reads of 2023.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ebook. The first part of this book follows a Native American who survives the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and follows his survival and lineage. The second part follows his modern day family, as they are trying to figure out how to move forward and survive in Oakland. A shooting will lead one son to a long recovery, but a growing drug habit and another who embraces cutting rituals as a way to keep everyone safe. It shows a family at risk of falling apart as they also try to question what it means to be a modern day Native American.

Beautifully written, difficult to read, but it’s important to know and to acknowledge history and the impact of that history on the present. Wow , can this man write - from the heart soul as he depicts the Indigenous American experience at different times . The prologue itself should be taught in high schools. It’s a multi generational story of identity, belonging, legacy and family, reflected through loss, blood shed, addiction. This is a follow up to Tommy Orange’s first novel [book:There There|36692478]. But it’s more than just a follow up taking me back to memorable characters that I loved in that novel. It goes further back in time to earlier generations of the family, back to the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 with Jude Star and to 1924 with his son Charles Star focusing on the infamous Carlisle Indian School.

As in his first novel, this one is told through multiple points of view. I can’t quite give this all the stars as I felt the strength of the connections between the stories stronger in [book:There There|36692478]. Having said that, meeting Orvil Red Feather again as he continues on his journey to find himself, meeting again Jacquie Red Feather, still healing , and Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, my favorite character, still fiercely loving and protecting her family is a moving experience . Tommy Orange has once again educated me and reminded me of the brutal past of the Native American, an important story to be told.

I received a copy of this book from Knopf through NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book, as it told the story of a family across multiple generations as they dealt with addiction and the legacy of oppression against the Native people of the United States. I didn't always feel like the stories meshed together super well, and it was occasionally difficult to parse where we were in the story (I found myself flipping to the family tree often).

Wandering Stars is part sequel to There, There and a look back at several generations of one character's family.

A shooting at a Pow Wow that involved Orvil Red Feathers is an important part of the story/journey. Then the book goes back to the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre and begins the path to the present, detouring to include the Carlisle Indian Industrial School all the way into the present. As in There, There, each chapter introduces us to generations and reminds us of the attempted decimation of these Indigenous people.

WOW this book is great - in my opinion, it really cements Tommy Orange as one of the best American writers to come out of the last few years. It is epic and intimate all at once, and so skillfully done. Orange pulls off the difficult task of making each section of a multi-pronged story equally compelling - I was gripped by the stories of Star, Charles, Opal, Orvil, and Lonny, without ever wishing to go back to a previous main character. His writing is so tactile and just a pleasure to read - I will be shocked if this isn’t nominated for the National Book Award next year.