My sincerest apologies for the lateness of this review. Life got crazy and I low-key forgot about my ARCs. I greatly appreciate this opportunity to review this book and read it.

-- THE REVIEW --

I think that Tommy Orange has a great grasp of writing books with multiple voices and multiple perspectives, and a lot of moving parts within his novels in general. The issue I had with There There is that I felt that it wasn't focused enough for me, that it felt like I was bouncing around between so many POVs and plotlines, all intersecting at once and all flying around that I had a hard time keeping track of everyone and all of the plots.

I think Wandering Stars is much more focused and concise than There There, whilst still having the polyphonic techniques he used in There There. But still there's something about his writing style, which can sometimes veer into essayistic indictments of the United States and the way America treated Native Americans, that sometimes makes me feel as if I'm watching a very personal, very emotionally raw, documentary. But it's still a documentary. I think that Orange just doesn't drill deep enough into the minds of his characters for me to feel that emotionally attached to them. Even an OG character like Opal Viola who was in There There doesn't pack that deep of a punch for me because I never really knew her from There There and I still don't really know her all that well after reading two books in which she's a major character.

I think Orange's writing and voice is important to American fiction. I just think his craft needs to be honed a bit better and become a bit tighter to make him one of my favs.

Thanks endlessly, endlessly, to Knopf for this ARC. I really appreciate this opportunity. Thank you endlessly!

This is a relatively dark story overall, although it is beautifully written, it is at times gutting to read, and it does leave quite an impact. As a multi-generational story, it covers so many important topics that are still relevant today. A story that feels true in its depiction of the impact of the horrific ways in which ‘others’ are treated.

Wandering Stars was an incredible read, another win from Tommy Orange. I recently re-read There, There, and that helped me understand this book better. I am not sure that a reader would get everything out of Wandering Stars without reading There, There. This novel was much more of a deep dive character study. I loved the various perspectives, and the motifs that appeared repeatedly throughout different characters' stories. It was insightful, vulnerable, and realistic.

This book is so powerful and devastating... but also left me feeling okay at the end which I really wasn't expecting. After leaving off from There There, I was dreading another ending that would break my heart. And it almost went there... it flirted with the reader a bit at the end and it kept me engaged in a way I may not have been if I wasn't have a reaction to the ending of There There.

I think I liked this novel better than There There because I felt like I got to know the characters so much more. There is still a massive cast, but going back in time and bringing us through the generations of this family really helped add context to their stories as well as bring you back to the characters without doing a complete recap of the last book.

I think this story should be read widely and I would recommend it to anyone interested in literary fiction or historical fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC.

I’ve had Tommy Orange on my to read list, and Wandering Stars did not disappoint in the slightest. I really enjoyed the voice and the journey through the characters across the decades, traced from one to the next, leaving the potential impact on the next clear.

Will definitely recommend this title to others.

Spanning across 2 POVs and 150 years, Wandering Stars is poetic in it's sorrow. It delves into the incredible culture of our Indigenous families.

A complex story of many characters, most of whom have difficulties related to their heritage of being Native Americans. The author has a lot to say, and most paths are quite dark. There are generations of people in complicated family situations, drugs, alcohol, and other struggles. I appreciate Netgalley allowing me to read this book.

Wandering Stars is more than a novel and more than the prequel/sequel to "There There." It is a clear and vital rendering of America's efforts to settle the land by erasing the culture and removing the resources, of Native Americans. Tommy Orange's work, in about 315 pages is gripping, tragic and tells the stories we should all know. The beauty and eloquence of his writing is in the voices of the characters themselves. They are now unforgettable for me. Wandering Stars moved me emotionally and increased my understanding and knowledge. Thanks to Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. I am grateful.
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I had such mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really loved the cultural aspect that is beautifully written, but the plot was super choppy.

Since this book jumped around so much, I think it lost some of the impact that it could of had in really driving home how horrible the Native American people including kids were treated over many many years. I know that it was showing decendants of the massacre, but a straight line approach could have shown that too.

This book made me think on many cultural aspects and appreciate a look at the history though a clearer lens.

Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

I loved "There There" and was excited to see that Tommy Orange was continuing Orvil's story in "Wandering Stars," since Orvil, his brothers Loother and Lony, and his grandmothers Opal and Jacquie were my favorite storyline from the earlier book. But Orange doesn't pick up right where he left off in "There There"; instead, he thrusts readers into the story of Orvil's great-great-great grandfather, Jude Star, in the midst of his escape from the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. We follow Jude through his capture by the US Army, his removal to a prison camp in Florida and then back to Oklahoma, where he marries and has a son, Charles Star, who picks up the narrative with his own story of being sent to the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Charles Star fathers a daughter, Victoria Bear Shield, who continues the family's story with her own life as mother to two small girls, Jacquie Red Feather and Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield--Orvil's grandmothers.

Having introduced this genealogical and historical context to the story and brought the narrative up to date with the events of "There There" in this opening section of "Wandering Stars," Orange then jumps forward in Part 2 of the book, entitled "Aftermath," to 2018, as Orvil is recovering from being shot at the end of the previous book. I found this longest section of the book a tough read--as it should be--as Orvil deals with the addiction issues that have plagued his family for generations, this time as a result of dependence on the pain medication given to him following the shooting. Orange shows readers how this addiction impacts every member of the family through their own perspectives; their stories are plainly but heartbreakingly told and there's a sense of real and devastating loss of the innocent Orvil of "There There." By Part 3 of the book, "Futures," there's a bit of redemption and hope, but Orange isn't really in the business of writing a feel-good book and "Wandering Stars" is all the more effective for Orange's refusal to write a conventional happy ending. And while that may have impacted my pleasure in reading the book, it definitely increased my admiration for it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

This is the first book I have read by Tommy Orange , very interesting that finally the treatment of Native Americans is finally being brought forward but deeper than that is the concept of when people are mistreated and their culture is decimated/irradicated what it does to generations to come. To understand what these two characters and other related characters are coping with, Tommy Orange takes us back to Colorado, 1864, to meet their progenitor, Jude Star, a survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre. After he is forcefully brought to the Fort Marion Prison Castle, the first stage of the eradication of Indian identity and culture takes place. In 1864, approximately 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people, mostly women and children, were brutally murdered and mutilated in the Sand Creek massacre. “Wandering Stars” starts there, with a young Jude Star surviving the attack, only to be captured and sent to Carlisle Industrial Indian School, an infamous re-education institution tasked with assimilating Native Americans into civilized society. The school’s founder, Richard Henry Pratt, lived by the expression, “Kill the Indian, save the man.” He told students they were being taught to become Carlisle Indians, a new tribe belonging to the school and the U.S. government. The children were whitewashed, severed from any trace of their history or heritage. This is only a portion of the book. The point is bridging the trauma of the past with today. We see subsequent generations orphaned from their past, only vaguely aware of their ancestors and their folklore. Here are people hurting today, not just mysterious tragic figures frozen in history. Drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, suicide… companions to the sustained dehumanization.

Thank you to Knopf, the author and NetGalley

Tommy Orange is an incredibly gifted storyteller, and we should all be wildly grateful to be alive at a time in the world where he was writing books.

I liked Wandering Stars even more than There, There (Orange’s previous novel, which has some overlapping characters and plot lines.) Wandering Stars, to me, felt more cohesive; we follow a family’s bloodline, essentially, and see the lasting effects of generational trauma and pain. Orange balances moments of lightheartedness with the heavier moments of confronting the darker sides of humanity. I felt fully enmeshed in the story right from the beginning, despite it spanning generations.

I highly recommend picking this up and giving it your full attention.

Thank you to the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free ARC ebook of Wandering Stars from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Part prequel, part sequel, part stand-alone novel, Wandering Stars is a companion to Orange's There, There. This novel is complicated, at times confusing, but the effort required to read it makes the raw pain of the characters so much more real.

Orvil, a survivor of the Oakland powwow mass shooting in There, There, returns with a bumpy recovery from his gunshot wounds. Orange begins, however, with the Sand Creek Massacre, the horrors of the Carlisle School, and the generational trauma inflicted on Native Americans. The American Indian boarding schools purpose was to eradicate the culture, the language, the identity of native children. The physical and emotional abuse suffered by children not only destroyed their childhoods but also altered the hope of their futures.

Orange creates characters who are achingly real and vulnerable. Their addictions, like characters in Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead , are presented with unflinching honesty.

This was a slow book for me because the nakedness of the characters' pain meant I had to keep setting it aside. Read, ponder, take a deep breath, and read some more.

I was really excited about Wandering Stars, as I have heard amazing things about Tommy Orange. I haven't yet read There There. I started Wandering Stars and have struggled with motivation to continue going. I can see how amazing and prolific of a writer he is. But I'm not sure his style is for me. I don't feel invested enough in the story and characters so far to keep going. I'm thankful to NetGalley for the chance to have access to this ARC for free.

This was such a brilliant sequel. Although the second half of the book was much more engaging and cohesive to me, I was easily able to understand the purpose and power of having those earlier perspective and histories. Tommy Orange has mastered the art of character creation, and every one of the characters (especially the returning ones!) are going to stay with me for a long, long time. I would not recommend picking up Wandering Stars if you have not read There There, as the impact and connection to the story really relies on having connected with the first installment. Still, this book stands alone incredibly well and I cannot wait to see what Tommy Orange does next with his craft.

Following the legacy of the Sand Creek Massacre, “Wandering Stars” tells the story of the family of Jude Star, a Native American who was sent to Marion Prison in Florida in 1875, and what happens to each member as the decades pass, from Jude’s prison “reforming,” language eradication, onto boarding school and brutalization, into the twentieth century and the further erasure of the culture, landing squarely into modern times and the question of modern life and the weight of being an Indian.

“There There” is one of my favorite contemporary novels of all time and I am just thrilled at this sophomore effort. I truly feel that Tommy Orange is a modern master, a writer with such a unique voice that even with only these two novels as his oeuvre, he has cemented himself into the canon. Following the Stars and the Bear Shields’s intergenerational trauma, the horror of boarding school and forced assimilation is intense and hard to read. There were several times I read a chapter and was forced to put it down so I could breathe. It felt like choking on your favorite food - I hastily swallowed it only to find that i couldn’t - and it was the most brutal decadence. Orange reminds me of Larry Brown a bit - not in voice but in the mood - his gritty detail has a lot in line with the Southern writers who shined a light on the darkness of their region, people like Barry Hannah, Brad Watson, Harry Crews. He is wholly original, I just feel like they have a lot in common in tone and down-and-dirty details.

Orange is able to move the narrative forward with poignant stream-of-consciousness, each character in the lineage has his or her own voice and describes their lot in life with such visceral and overwhelming loneliness and pain that the reader is forced to come along on this journey, a journey those of us who haven’t experienced it can barely believe it is real, but it is. This book is about seeking: God, family, purpose, reparation, understanding, equity, and really, truly questioning why a people were destroyed so fully. This book speaks to the trauma that is inflicted on an entire race of people and a lineage of heartbreak is drawn out in every paragraph as a lyrically insightful gut punch. Orange has a way of describing the world and the people within it that makes the reader feel embarrassed. You have to turn away because it makes you uncomfortable.

I love Tommy Orange’s voice and this novel, even if it did break my heart.

I was hungry for Orange's next book the minute I finished reading There There, and it was absolutely worth the wait.

I read a lot, and I have to say it's fairly rare that I have a hard time summarizing a book. I did here. It's not because Orange's writing is unclear or the story was muddled, but rather because there is so, so much contained in these pages. Family, addiction, education, growth, trauma, healing, uncertainty....you get the idea.

Wandering Stars is both contemporary fiction and historical fiction, It (mostly) trails a single family lineage, though it's not instantly clear how each character's lives entwine with one another. Orange's excellent first novel, There There, takes place in the shadows of Wandering Stars, somewhere midway through the generations he features. Interestingly enough, you can definitely read this independently of There There (but you really SHOULD read There There; it's an absolute triumph). It's comforting to revisit that universe in the same way while getting to experience something totally new and unique.

I hate to share anything more because the joy here really was in the discovery for me. Take the cue and wander through it. You won't regret the trip.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Wandering Stars takes the reader through a generational kaleidoscope of trauma, triumphs and personal journeys. Tommy Orange perfectly crafts the narratives together to build one after another. From a massacre to drug addiction, you can feel the pain within his writing. This book intertwined spiritual and reality and made it one of my top books to read for the year.

Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give a writer is that I couldn’t read this book fast. The language is beautiful and the characters shatter the heart before giving readers a little bit of hope to mend them again.

This is a raw, exploratory story following a family throughout time and dealing with many tough topics that have and continue to impact the lives of Indigenous peoples. It is told in chapters from different POV characters and really leans into showing the interconnectedness of people's lives. I think if you have read There, There by this author, you will also take away a lot from this story as well. It is not quite a prequel and not quite a sequel, it surrounds and expands on that story without you necessarily having to read that story.
Heavy, heavy trigger warnings surrounding this one: shooting, death, death in childbirth, discussion of boarding schools people were forcibily sent to and what happened there, cancer in a parental figure, racism, drug use and abuse including descriptive passages of the use and effects. If you have had any drug addiction issues, please take caution when reading this or maybe don't. It is quite a lot.