Synopsis
Summary
Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there, and still believes in the old stories. Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Cast out from his home, he has found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake. Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists, but a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries. But there are some who will kill to keep them apart.
Notable Achievements
Newbery Honor Winner; National Indie Bestseller; National Book Award Longlist; Minneapolis Star Tribune Best of the Year; Publishers Weekly Best of the Year; Kirkus Best the Year; Apple Best of the Year; Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best; New York Public Library's Best of the Year; Autostraddle's Best Queer Books of the Year
Reviews
Publishers Weekly: "Fun, imaginative, and deeply immersive, this story will be long in the minds of readers."
Kirkus Reviews: "A coming-of-age story that beautifully combines tradition and technology for modern audiences."
Booklist: "It’s the writing on the whole that resonates most, singing like poetry with lyrical, literary wisdom. Magical, stunning, and wholly original."
The Horn Book: "Modern dialogue, which offers further depth to characterization, intermingles with elements of traditional storytelling and family history, creating an imaginative and multilayered work of speculative fiction."
Link to Review
Educator Guide
This author study, created by Lakota writer and educator Andrea Page in association with Levine Querido, guides students through two books by Darcie Little Badger, A Snake Falls to Earth and Elatsoe. It includes discussion questions and journal prompts for both books.
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