Rating: 3/5
What It’s About:
Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories.
Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he’s been cast from home. He’s 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, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries.
And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.
Goodreads
The Review
A Snake Falls to Earth was definitely a unique book. It does require patience because the story takes a while to gain momentum. The biggest flaw for me was the way that the story was told. We experience the story from the points of view of Nina and Oli. The flow of time from their viewpoints was erratic and were slightly off chronologically. Things didn’t finally click into place until about 60% of the way through. Luckily, I read some other reviews that prepared me to work through it.
I enjoyed the whole aspect of the Lipan Apache culture in this book. Nina’s determination to continue the storytelling and folklore of her heritage was interesting. It was probably my favorite part about her character. Sadly, the rest of her character development just wasn’t enough for me. The chapters from Oli’s point of view in the Reflection world overall outshone Nina’s chapters. I got very attached to Oli, his group of friends, and all the other characters in the spirit world. I could see them having an adventure book of their own!
Final Thoughts
A Snake Falls to Earth definitely has an appeal to the younger side of the YA audience. Probably more for ages 12-16. The magical realism and folklore in this book were fascinating. Those elements reminded me of two other books that I’ve read, The Last Cuentista,and Bless Me, Ultima. They have very similar themes of folklore, mythology, and storytelling. I also purchased Little Badger’s other book, Elatsoe, and am looking forward to reading it.