4.5 - Wow! What a powerful debut. I can’t wait to see what other works this author has for us.

I couldn’t put this book down. I was engaged with the characters and the story the whole time. The author did a fantastic job of integrating the very real issue of MMIW into a book that brings awareness and the frustrations that are felt by Indigenous people with these cases.

The author does a fantastic job introducing us to each character through the use of multiple POV. The writing is fantastic and easy to read. I did not feel there were any dips or lulls in the story and I was guessing each time who the actual killer could be.

As this book deals with a very real issue, please be mindful when reading.

I really, really loved this book. It was so well written, I was totally engaged throughout. I thought the characters were really well done. I was completely invested in the story.

Cobell sheds light on the harrowing reality that indigenous women face. The rate of missing and murdered indigenous women is higher than any other demographic. With characters that jump off the page and a mystery that grips you and keeps you tuning the page Looking for Smoke accomplishes to be a great story. It's an important one too. Mara, Loren, Eli, and Brody all suffer when tragedy strikes their community. Mara as the new girl had been hoping to make friends when Samantha a friend of Loren and complicated histories with Eli and Brody dies they are all made suspects as they were the last people seen with her. Together they work to unravel the mystery of her death.

I really enjoyed the way the characters grew closer together as they investigated the death of Samantha. Loren's missing sister was heart wrenching to read about. Her anger was righteous and it motivated her to keep digging when the tribal police and the FBI were coming up empty handed. That bit of hope that a missing persons unresolved case brings was so hard for her to deal with while she also held feelings of guilt. Eli and his secrets were so interesting to follow. His cold exterior was softened by his love for his sister. He was truly devoted to taking care of her. Brody annoyed me most of the book. Mara dealing with being the new girl and her less than warm welcome to the reservation was interesting to follow. Her doubt of her identity but also her conviction that she was blackfeet was so revealing of the ways we construct our identity.

When I saw the cover, LOOKING FOR SMOKE was an immediate must-read. Then, when I read that it was a must-pick for readers of Angeline Boulley and Karen McManus, I knew it was a book for me!

K.A. Cobell’s writing captured me right away. I couldn’t wait to get to know the characters and figure out whodunit. Plus, Cobell does an excellent job of bringing attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement.

Reading LOOKING FOR SMOKE was unputdownable for a thriller read, but listening to the book is a fantastic experience you cannot miss! It’s a full cast audio narration that is perfectly cast, which only makes you want to listen to it more!

This is a powerful YA thriller debut you do not want to miss!

Thanks, Heartdrum and Libro.FM, for the arc and ALC!

Content warnings: murder, blood, grief, violence, missing persons, gun violence, drug abuse, abandonment, bullying, mental health issues, animal death

YA mystery inspired by the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women movement - four Ingenious teens become persons of interest when they are the last to see Samatha alive on the Blackfeet reservation.
Thoughts :
✨Complex whodunit
✨Multiple POV with compelling backstories
✨Blackfeet Culture
✨Unique use of “smoke” woven through the story
✨Themes of b elonging, family, community, respect, and resilience
✨Awareness to MMIW
✨Full Cast Narration - highly recommend

Bottom Line: Powerful YA mystery highlighting MMIW! It’s Good! - 4 ⭐

LOOKING FOR SMOKE is a beautiful, necessary, twisty thriller that’s perfect for YA mystery/thriller collections. Cobell sheds such an important light onto Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women via the unique, fully realized POVs in this book, and the story brims with compassion, rage, and hope all at once.

When I see campy murder mysteries, I immediately add to cart. This one was so exception as I immediately sent a request in. Thank you so much for allowing my early access to this amazing book. It’s a short read that I devoured in one sitting.

I requested and received this book for consideration for the Printz award. Thank you for sending the book!

I cannot provide a review or rating per the committee rules, so I will not be able to provide one here. I will rate it five stars, as I do for all Printz books, because I am required to do so for Netgalley's feedback system. Please note that this does not reflect my actual rating for the book.

Thank you!

This book was just absolutely heartbreaking at times. This is a debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This book is about the disappearance and murders of several indigenous women and the fight and investigation to find out who killed them. I feel like the author did a great job of shedding light onto the ongoing problem of indigenous women going missing and being killed.

This book grabbed me from the very beginning and my heart was breaking for these girls and their families. This was definitely a 4.5 star read for me.

What an amazing and thrilling summer read! This book addresses several sensitive topics in an informative and respectful way and masterfully intertwines mystery and the pressing reality of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Woman movement. The multiple points of view in this story slowly reveal the secrets of this tight-knit community and will have you gripping the edge of your seat.

This book focuses on the MMIW, or Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, issue faced by Indigenous girls, women and two spirit people. A Blackfeet teen goes missing, and the tribal police don't take the investigation seriously, until a missing second native is found, and the FBI steps in.

KA Cobell brings in her own indigineity into the story, with deft characterization of each of the several narrators who are caught up in the investigation. She also weaves in the toll of drugs on the reservation, as well as poverty, the justice system, and beautiful depictions of Indian Days celebrations.

Excellent work; will recommend for high school library acquisition.

Actual Rating 4.5

First off, congratulations to the author for writing such a wonderful debut! The characters were well written, and I enjoyed Mara as a protagonist. Through her we got to explore themes relating to identity including being caught between cultures and fitting in. I also enjoyed that it was told from multiple POVs, as this was a great way to explore the grief of other characters and rounded out the plot well.

There are excerpts from a podcast included between some of the chapters throughout the book. This was an excellent addition as the author used these to smoothly include important background and history that was relevant to the plot without relying on info-dumping. Similarly, the podcast was used to highlight the dangers that Indigenous women face and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Organization beyond how these topics came up in the primary plot. Again, this was really well done and managed to be quite informative without bogging down the plot or detracting from the tension. There were also a few short chapters included from the POV of an unknown character, which added to the tension. I only had one little complaint – there was something about the antagonist and their reveal that just didn’t quite work for me or wasn’t as impactful/satisfying as I wanted it to be. I couldn’t tell you what though, so don’t let this deter you from checking this one out.

It was honestly so satisfying to read a YA mystery that included meaningful information and topics and wasn’t just trying to get in as many twists as possible. And this book would probably even be enjoyable for readers who don’t typically seek out YA, as it avoided many of the pitfalls of the genre. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This review is based on an uncorrected E-proof ARC, courtesy of Netgalley.

Mara Racette lives on the Blackfeet Reservation with her parents, but she's never quite fit in as anything but an outsider. When a classmate's older sister goes missing, Mara is asked to participate in a traditional Blackfeet giveaway ceremony in honor of the missing girl. The ceremony goes awry when another teenage girl is found murdered, and Mara finds herself embroiled in finding the truth alongside new tentative friendships with Loren, Brody, and Eli. The MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement is brought to the forefront in this gorgeous YA novel. Two missing and murdered Blackfeet women bring local conflicts and suspicions to a frenzy. Can the local authorities be trusted to objectively investigate the cases?

The novel uses shifting first person accounts to tell the story; I'm not sure it was the most effective method for this particular book. The chapters are very shortThis review is based on an uncorrected E-proof ARC, courtesy of Netgalley.

Mara Racette lives on the Blackfeet Reservation with her parents, but she's never quite fit in as anything but an outsider. When a classmate's older sister goes missing, Mara is asked to participate in a traditional Blackfeet giveaway ceremony in honor of the missing girl. The ceremony goes awry when another teenage girl is found murdered, and Mara finds herself embroiled in finding the truth alongside new tentative friendships with Loren, Brody, and Eli. The MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement is brought to the forefront in this gorgeous YA novel. Two missing and murdered Blackfeet women bring local conflicts and suspicions to a frenzy. Can the local authorities be trusted to objectively investigate the cases?

The novel uses shifting first person accounts to tell the story, which I'm not sure was the most effective method for this particular book. The chapters are very short, which makes the plot somewhat choppy. I also never felt really connected to any of the characters, but I'll admit that may be the slow pace at which I read this one. There is beautiful imagery describing the ceremonies and rituals of the Blackfeet people, which play a very active part in this mystery/thriller. I've read more engaging thrillers that center the MMIW movement, but this is an excellent YA novel in the canon. Family ties run deep and loyal, and even in the close-knit community of the reservation, everyone has secrets.

Waiting for the audiobook to become available was a good idea. I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Looking For Smoke reads somewhat similar to The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, Both are really well done and bring up conversations about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women that most people don't talk about. Where this book differs is there are several more POVs that are connected to the characters that were murdered. I think those POVs and the radio stories interspersed between bring the story together.

I was NOT expecting the reveal at the end of this book! 😱

Now, I felt like this was a bit slow for a mystery/thriller. There were a lot of side plots going on, but it’s YA so we have to have a little romance and some family drama.

There were also a lot of POV and sometimes that was hard to keep track of. We get like four people’s POV throughout the novel.

The ending though? Solid. At first I thought they were going to leave us hanging with a loose thread but nope, wrapped up in a perfect bow.

This was well written and had me guessing the entire time. The reveal threw me cause like I said, I was NOT expecting it.

If you like thrillers I recommend picking this one up!

What a great debut that wanted to shed light on what happens to missing indigenous women. The story does start out slow, but as the ball gets rolling you become engrossed in each of the four teenager's lives. It's crazy to hear what they had to go through, and even though this was a fictional story I'm sure some of these things truly do happen! I'd highly recommend, especially if you want to read more about indigenous peoples.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This thriller was a compelling page-turner that I thoroughly enjoyed. The detailed setting and the timely discussion about missing Indigenous girls added depth and relevance, making it both enlightening and moving. This is a must-read for fans of the genre, combining an engaging mystery with a critical social issue.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an egalley of Looking for Smoke! This was a very well written mystery. I usually have some idea of what happened but I honestly had no clue what happened or who did it. My interest was held the whole time as the story unfolded.

I am aware of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women but did not know the full extent of the stats and while Looking for Smoke is a work of fiction the issue itself is very real.

I definitely recommend reading Looking for Smoke.

Looking for Smoke is fiction but is based on the very real the epidemic of missing Indigenous women and girls. In 2020, there were 5,295 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, according to the National Crime Information Center. The murder rate of Native women is three times that of white women.

Author KA Cobell is a member of the Blackfeet Nation and set Looking for Smoke in the Blackfeet Nation reservation in Montana. Cobell hopes Looking for Smoke will bring attention to the epidemic. She says in her author’s note that this was a story that needed to be told without trivializing or sensationalizing the pain many Native people are enduring. She wanted to send a message that was not easily forgotten.

And it’s hard to forget Looking for Smoke.

Cobell’s choice to make Mara an “outsider” gives non-Native readers an entry point. She then fills in with Loren, Brody and Eli, going deeper into many of the issues that face their community. But it’s not just the issues she delves into, but the sense of extended family, their community, their traditions. You gain a deep understanding of how devastating and far-reaching the consequences.

The story unfolds from the four points of view, with plenty of twists and turns and lots of atmosphere along the way. Looking for Smoke is a complex thriller that does, in fact, stick with you. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I get so excited for new authors when they hit it out of the park with their debut novels! Pop off K.A. Cobell! This story was powerful and truly demanded my attention from the first page. Although it is considered a YA novel, it is smartly written and incredibly informative. As an OwnVoices author, Ms. Cobell has written a murder mystery with heart and substance. I learned so much about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement, which advocates for the end of violence against Native women. The data shared in this novel is staggering: 𝙁𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙄𝙉 𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀 Native women have experienced violence, and their murder rate is 𝙏𝙀𝙉 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀𝙎 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙍𝘼𝙂𝙀!!! Can we just take a moment to digest that? That is absolutely horrifying and unacceptable. Thankfully, more light is being shed on this tragedy: President Biden selected May 5th as Missing Murdered & Indigenous People day, and more and more people are recognizing the seriousness of these crimes happening right here in our backyard. We can not just stand by and allow this to happen to these women, and must spread awareness in any way we can.

Many thanks to partners, Harper Collins and NetGalley for this gifted review copy. What an important read!