A Snake Falls to Earth

Starred review from August 23, 2021
The second novel by Lipan Apache author Little Badger (Elatsoe) is a smartly intertwined, shifting-perspective story about two characters in worlds that diverged thousands of years ago: Earth-living Nina, who is nine, and Reflecting World–living Oli, 15. With a basis in Apache stories, this sharply told speculative novel details Nina’s lineage from her great-great-grandmother Rosita, who has just passed away; her grandmother, who’s inherited some of her Reflecting World ancestors’ healing powers; and her bookstore-owning father, who distributes books to Reflecting World visitors in human form. Oli, a cottonmouth snake of the Reflecting World, has recently left his mother’s home and made friends in wolf sisters Rise and Reign as well as sweet, silent frog Ami. But when Ami grows ill, Oli knows the cure is on Earth—where he meets and helps Nina with her own problems. Fun, imaginative, and deeply immersive, this story will be long in the minds of readers. Ages 12–up.