Only now, after reading other reviews, do I realize that Tommy Orange’s Wandering Stars is a pair to his 2018 debut, There, There. Do not let this stop you from picking up this book if, like me, you have not taken the opportunity to read There, There. I found Wandering Stars worked wonderfully as a stand alone.


Wandering Stars is a profound exploration into the tragic history of Native American life, skillfully interwoven with the fraught past and a turbulent present. Opening in the immediate aftermath of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, the narrative introduces Jude Star, enduring harsh assimilation policies at Fort Marion Prison Castle, setting themes of trauma, identity, and resilience. As the saga unfolds, it traces the scars passed down through generations to Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield and her nephew Orvil in 2018 Oakland, whose struggles against cultural genocide are depicted with compelling depth. Orange's narrative is both vivid and immersive, marked by his poetic prose and deep character development. We bear witness to a cycle of historical violence and the resilient quest for healing. Wandering Stars is a testament to the endurance of spirit and the profound strength required not just to survive but to reclaim identity against the erasure of time and policy.

Received as a free e-book from Net Galley.

Tommy Orange is a beautiful writer. His introspective prose is a pleasure to read, and he has an ear for natural sounding dialogue from characters I wanted to meet or could imagine knowing. I love the way he uses multiple voices to honor indigenous American storytelling traditions and share intertwined, multi-faceted narratives.

This book builds on the story begun in "There, There" and expands it to both the ancestors of a family line, future generations, and the people they encounter. I especially loved to hear about Orville and his brothers. The character Lony shines.

As with any story that deals with addiction, there are intense moments of dread that build as you wait for the terrible thing that seems inevitable. But I've never read such a thoughtful exploration of addiction and drug use, with "therapy speak" embedded in very organic ways. I think this book itself could be a path for people to understand themselves and their families in a more accessible way.

It's heartbreaking at times but ultimately provides a path for characters and readers to heal. I know I'll read this (and his first book) again.

Review published on Goodreads

Thank you #knopf for a free copy of Wandering Stars in exchange for an honest review.

First, I loved Tommy Orange’s book There, There, so I knew I was going to read Wandering Stars. I did not fly through this book, but I enjoyed the time I invested and spent with it because it allowed me to spend time with these characters and sit with the trauma that they endured.

The book starts in Colorado in 1864 when Star, a survivor of the Stand Creek Massacre, is forced to a prison “castle” in Florida where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity. A decade later, Star’s son is send to the same place, now a school, founded to eradicate Native Culture and Identity. The book follow’s Star’s blood line and the impact of generational trauma up until the present day.

The last part of the book focusing on the present-day ancestors of Star is a standout and haunting.

This is not an easy book to read, but it is worthy of your time. I would also love it to be taught in high schools across the country.

If you have read Tommy Orange before, you know to expect a great story with many characters interwoven making it a complicated multifaceted adventure. Wandering stars won’t disappoint.

“Stories do more than comfort. They take you away and bring you back better made.” ⁣⁣
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“I do not know the ways of our people. I was too young when they took me, and then the school meant to make what I knew a sin. Everything I have left to share, to pass down to you will have to be good enough.” ⁣⁣
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From: 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 by Tommy Orange⁣⁣
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I could have highlighted this entire book and would have loved to have a physical copy to own as a prized possession. ⁣⁣
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It is full of beauty. Pain, sadness, addiction and the lasting, generational trauma of colonization is all there too and still Orange has made it hopeful and beautiful. ⁣⁣
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I loved Orange’s stunning debut 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 and his clear voice and stellar prose was recognizable from the first paragraph. He writes about the lives of Native Americans in the present, but never disregards the reverberations of the centuries of genocide and colonization that shape their world today. In this book more literal than in his first book, by starting Wandering Stars during the horrifying Sand Creek massacre in the 19th century and following one man and his offspring through time until now. ⁣⁣
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Orange has a way of making his characters, of which there are a lot, come alive. He is able to describe addiction so realistically, but also the feelings and emotions in the aftermath of a shooting. How he portrays the internal motivation and supposedly well intentioned actions of Richard Henry Pratt (a historical figure, American military officer turned school superintendent of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School with the slogan “Kill the Indian, save the man”) is apt and disturbing. ⁣⁣
It all feels unbelievably true. ⁣⁣
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I loved this book and I highly recommend picking it up. ⁣⁣
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I want to thank @prhinternational and @netgalley for the advanced reader copy

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion. The number of times I cried while reading this novel cannot be understated. THIS NOVEL WILL DESTROY YOU AND YOU WILL BE ALL THE BETTER FOR IT. I have not yet read Tommy Orange's first novel, but after reading this novel I know I have to. He has such a beautiful, clear voice in what he writes, and it's material that everyone should read to truly understand the world as it is. Mark my words, this book will be another award winner!

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that the author has a tremendous rage that's been generations in the making, entirely justified that is the core of the book. The injustices wrought on the Native Americans over centuries tell tales of unspeakable horrors, that were considered righteous at the top echelons of US Government, for a very long time.

This book, however, suffers from a shortage of emphatic writing that could bring forth empathy in the eyes and minds of a layperson reader, who may or may not know where the author is coming from, and not to belittle the facts but the writing just leaves too much to be desired. The fictionalized life accounts of the characters as they try to make a life, and figure out for themselves their identity - all while resisting assimilation - should make for some very powerful writing. Comparisons with other better works aside, the reader is never really given a chance to sit down and empathize with what's going on. There are just too many oblique references, and too many ruminations, too many long winded passages.

At times, there's an almost Faulknerian stream-of-consciousness style that attempts to break through, but doesn't really come across as coherent or convincing. While there's no dearth of angst and anger and raw emotions, what's lacking is a straight-line perspective, or at the very least an overarching narration, that forces you to take notice, and to take sides.

I recently read "The Bullet Swallower", where the writing was allegorical enough to even have a character that's quite clearly not human, but the underlying storyline runs straight - from the main character to the narrator. The trials and tribulations are numerous and incredible, but the reader is given a chance to spend enough time with the eponymous central character.

I don't want to presume my opinion is anyone else's except mine, and maybe the writing is just lost on me. And that's my loss. In which case, this is my lament.

Thanks to NetGalley, Knopf and the author for provide an eARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased feedback.

A powerful story that spans 250 years, Wandering Stars expands on the events of There, There, Tommy Orange's debut novel that topped the charts and every list when it was released in 2018.

I haven't read There, There, and although you don't have to read it to understand the events of Wandering Stars, I wish that I had. The writing is so beautiful and the characters so carefully crafted, I imagine it would have had even more impact if I'd read Orange's previous work.

This is a gorgeous, difficult story. Sure to be an absolute best of 2024. Now, I'm off to pick up There, There!

A heartbreaking multi-generational saga of a Native American family whose ancestors survive the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864. The impact of this atrocity is experienced across generations as each member of the family seeks to find his identity in a land that has stolen his physical, emotional, and spiritual foundations. Throughout the generations members seek to fill the void in their lives through addictive behaviors only to find that they have added to their problems. In their quest for self-identity, each must rely on other family members to navigate the hardships and uncertainties of their lives.
Recommended for those with an interest in Native American history and culture.

Wandering Stars is a historical/literary fiction novel that follows a family of characters through time. I was excited to read another book by Tommy Orange and was not aware that this novel would continue story lines from There There (which I read and loved). This novel is VERY heavy as it explores the treatment of Native Americans in the U.S. across time. The novel follows various characters in different eras and touches on historical occurrences like the Sand Creek Massacre and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, as well as broader topics of addiction, mental health, shootings, and more.

I really enjoyed this novel. I always love when a book has an interconnected storyline. Wandering Stars does this particularly well. As you move from character to character, you see how one story leads to another and how one character's life directly impacts the lives of those who come after them. You read from various points of view, but they are all very distinct. I would have liked to spend more time with the characters in the earlier time periods. The novel moves through these sort of quickly and spends a lot of time with the characters featured in There There. This was not that much of an issue for me, but I think it did make the overall timeline of the book seem off. The second half of the book evaluates the current state of the U.S.'s treatment of Native Americans and of the state of America in general. The prose of Wandering Stars is really great. I felt that each character really had their own distinct voice. I highlighted SO many passages because the writing was so beautiful and profound.

I would highly recommend Wandering Stars!

This haunting novel, "Wandering Stars" by Tommy Orange, was sad and interesting. A tale of generations of Native Americans, their ancestors and lost children, suffering from dysfunction in family units, emotional/psychological hurt, insecurity, crime, as well as substance abuse and addiction. Was upsetting, and eye-opening. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I fell in love with Tommy Orange’s writing after reading “There, There” and was excited to receive an advanced reader copy of “Wandering Stars”. Wandering Stars is a prequel and a sequel to “There, There”. The writing is still hauntingly beautiful but with a really tough subject matter. My life is richer reading these words as it gave a perspective I would not otherwise have had. Thank you to NetGalley and to Knopf for the advanced reader copy.

I LOVED the first half of this book, focused on the Native ancestors and bloodline. I thought it was rich with history and poetic in its telling.

But the second half really slowed for me. This is when I should have been excited to be reunited with some characters from ‘There There’ but it just felt very sad— with not a lot of reward for that sadness. I was bummed because I feel like there is a lot to talk about with addiction and Natives but I don’t know, I had a hard time connecting with the way it was done here.

After reading "There, There," I was interested to read this one as well. Many of the same characters appear in this novel as well. Still touching on the opioid crisis, this book felt a lot heavier to me than the previous book. It's a tough read but necessary for the times we live in and I feel that it helped me have insight into why so many people choose this road to go down. Addiction isn't a choice, I know. Overcoming trauma is not easy.

Orange’s writing is so unique. It took me a minute to settle into it. His words are meant for savoring and they take time to digest, especially since the content is heavy and complex. He writes about generational trauma, addiction, rage, despair, hope, as well as the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania founded in 1879. He covers so much history that has been left out of our history books, but the truth about Native populations can never be erased. Wandering Stars is told through multiple time periods, generations and POVs and I thought it was very effective.

Wandering Stars is both a prequel and sequel to There There. I read both back to back, which made the whole experience that much more magical. I highly recommend both books. You will be forever changed.

Orange has created a story that is both shattering and wondrous. It is a powerful and moving narrative.
Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book even though it isn't a genre I normally would read. I felt for the characters and felt like I was there. I would recommend this book to all my family and friends.

After the relentless pace and intricacy of There There, Tommy Orange’s first novel, Wandering Stars is quite a shift. There There takes place over only a handful of days but involves a far-flung cast of characters; Wandering Stars covers more than a century of time but focuses on one family line.

Wandering Stars introduces the reader to the ancestors of Jacquie Red Feather and Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield, two of the main characters in There There. Orange fills in details hinted at in his earlier work, explaining how the family came to live in Oakland after decades of mistreatment by both the U.S. government and the local communities in which they lived. Again and again, the family fractures, its members gripped by addiction and pain. As in There There, Orange tells the story from a variety of perspectives and in a range of writing styles, from first to second to third person, and it’s not always easy to follow the leaps in time or piece together a full account of events.

It’s absolutely key that one read There There before Wandering Stars, because otherwise the entire second half of the book won’t make sense. This half picks up after the Big Oakland Powwow shooting that ended There There. Orvil Red Feather has survived his physical wounds, but the psychological and emotional scars run much deeper and will require many years to fade. The story of Orvil’s descent into addiction and the anguish it causes his family is, like so much of what Orange writes, quite difficult to read. There’s hope at the end of Wandering Stars, but it’s hard-won.

Because I read Wandering Stars immediately after finishing There There, it’s impossible for me not to compare the two, and ultimately I found the expanded timeline and slower pace of Wandering Stars somewhat lacking after the rush of There There. In both books, though, Orange powerfully conveys to non-Native American readers the struggles that Indian communities face and the continued resonance of centuries of injustices done to them.

The theme of this book appealed to me, but the execution wasn’t for me. I don’t like the author’s writing style, and I wasn’t crazy about his first book either so I probably won’t try him again. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Tommy Orange is a wonder. We are so lucky to have him working in literature. I teach There There in my Native Literature class as a book circle option for my higher-level thinkers, and I can't wait to bring in copies of Wandering Stars as well. This novel opens up the wonders and heartbreaks of history to a whole new audience.