Tilly and the Crazy Eights

 

My Thoughts:

The fifth star is for books that I continue to think about and lose sleep over. But a four star read is just as powerful. The four star book is one that I have a visceral reaction to. This is solidly a four star fabulous book. I finished it on the plane where the eight elders are finally at the world Pow Wow. The ending is so powerful I found myself crying silently in first class.  If you are traveling, this is a great travel companion, but be ready to have all the feels. And if you are having all the feels, I hope you are in the first row of first class.

This is a road book, not just about bucket list road tripping but also about the fact that no matter how old you are or how much life has thrown at you, there is still time to love and discover. There is also still time to heal together and recenter ancestral knowledge. 

This story can only be told by an indigenous author and even for fiction pieces we need to normalize this idea of indigenous stories by indigenous authors. That is the only way we can just tell a road story without wallowing in victimry and stereotypes and what has been lost. It is the only way to resist with hope and love. 

This book is better for middle level readers, but if they are ready for more complex adventure, there are several on this blog and there will be more. If they want to keep learning about native perspective, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults is a great read, in addition to the fact that Monique Gray Smith (this author) actually did this adaptation from Robin Wall Kimmererʻs original text. 

From the Publisher:

When Tilly receives an invitation to help drive eight elders on their ultimate bucket-list road trip, she impulsively says yes. Before she knows it, Tilly has said good-bye to her family and is on an adventure that will transform her in ways she could not predict, just as it will for the elders who soon dub themselves “the Crazy Eights.” The Crazy Eights each choose a stop―somewhere or something they’ve always wanted to experience―on the way to their ultimate goal, the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque. Their plan is to travel to Las Vegas, Sedona, and the Redwood Forests, with each destination the inspiration for secrets and stories to be revealed. The trip proves to be powerful medicine as they laugh, heal, argue, and dream along the way. By the time their bus rolls to a stop in New Mexico, Tilly and the Crazy Eights, with friendships forged and hearts mended, feel ready for anything. But are they?

Publication Information:

Author: Monique Gray Smith

Publisher: Second Story Press (October 9, 2018)