Reviews with content warning for Death - A Snake Falls to Earth

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A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

29 reviews

tyras_bookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book was so fantastical and moving to me, I really liked it.

Except that in some parts, it felt like it didn’t know what book it was trying to be. There was the toad thread, the hurricane thread, the tornado thread, bunch of AI dumping, all that exposition and backstory about Ollie’s life on the river – – we saw so many worlds and so many scenes, but sometimes it felt disjointed.

They were also several times where I wanted Little Badger to zoom in more on a particular thing. Like the traveling between worlds and that whole science of it – – that could’ve been a whole chapter that was explored more. Or Nina’s background and interests—could’ve gone into more detail about her life, rather than skipping like seven years of it.

It’s a good book, but I still feel like things were missing, like it’s an incomplete story, in a way.

Paul was so incredibly infuriating to me. Hated him the whole book.

All the other characters though – – I rock with them. Even the Bear. Maybe except mockingbird, she got on my nerves too.

Ollie had the best character growth. A scared snake boy having to face the world alone and going through unimaginable lengths to save his friend. He’s still a little fearful in the end but better for the journey.

This was also apparently YA, which I didn’t know so oops sorry book club but pretty creative and I like Indigenous story telling so I’m not that sorry.

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ginalucia's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A Snake Falls to Earth is a slow, winding story that blends Lipan Apache culture, mythology, and storytelling, with modern-day life.

In a two-part perspective, we experience both worlds in an almost cosy mystery. Not a mystery for the characters, but one for the reader.

I’m going to be honest, the story was difficult for me to grip onto at first. I don’t think this is the fault of the story itself, but the medium I was reading in. I read the first half of the book on the app Fable (my phone). This was a major struggle and made the story feel even slower.

As soon as I swapped to audiobook (on recommendation), the story and characters came alive.

If you’re looking for a slow-build story with mythology, modern references, messages about climate change, and found family, give this a go.

For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ginaluciayt

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mreadsbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

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bookedbymadeline's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger was a unique story, unlike any fantasy I’ve ever read before! I listened on audio and liked the narration having two narrators for the two MCs. The narrator for Oli was so funny and he was good at doing voices for minor characters he interacted with!

I also really liked the Lipan Apache stories of nature and animal people! I love learning about other cultures and beliefs so I enjoyed those stories interwoven throughout Nina’s chapters.

A lot of telling over showing, which is a style I don’t like. The writing and humor felt more middle grade, I’m definitely not the audience for this even though I’ve enjoyed other YA and middle grade books, this one just wasn’t my cup of tea.

It’s sooo slow and nothing happened until the second half-Nina and Oli don’t even meet until 65%. I was expecting a faster paced, more focused/plot driven fantasy story based on the synopsis. But it’s more Low stakes, cozy fantasy with found family and little stories scattered throughout. I did enjoy the friendships and characters but it felt like the plot was an afterthought with a rushed climax/ending.

Overall it was still a nice read outside of my comfort zone and I was glad to have read it. I’d recommend for those wanting a cozy, low stakes fantasy about found family, friendship, magic and environmental themes!

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kurumipanda's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

On Earth, Nina is translating a story her great-grandmother told her, hoping it will contain the secret to keeping her grandmother in good health, while also dealing with a neighbour encroaching on her grandmother’s land. Oli is coming of age in the Reflecting World when his friend’s life is imperilled and he must round up his other friends to save him. Gradually you see where their stories overlap. The narrative was definitely more character driven in the first half, but the plot becomes active in the second half too. I personally clicked with the slower pace as it allowed me to settle in with Nina and Oli as characters and understand their situations, making the second half of the novel feel like a natural coming-together.

I loved the ecological theme, specifically how it addressed extinction and how this tied into the plot and world-building, but also how it showed that flora and fauna flourish under indigenous stewardship.

The world-building of the Reflecting World was fantastic. I was particularly interested in how Earth objects lasted, how animal people aged, and how the status of Earth species affected corresponding animal people. The abilities of the animal people were also intriguing.

There was incredible character development in the two MCs. Nina gets to discover her family history, and her faith in her family’s stories is restored. I loved that she was able to connect with this part of herself as well as find a type of storytelling that fit her. Ollie starts off as a timid snake but evolves into one willing to lose his life if it’ll help his friend. He becomes so courageous, and we also see him begin to choose things for himself rather than going with what other people tell him to do.

Darcie Little Badger is an auto-buy author for me for good reason!

Rep: asexual Lipan-Apache MC

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razzberry_pi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

weaves the tales of two characters together across worlds and shows the impacts of colonialism, climate change, and cults without being too heavy handed

story had a bit of wonky pacing at the beginning, but definitely picked up and evened out towards the middle

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iamsammie27's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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therainbowshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

An absolutely delightful read! I loved the narrative structure with Nina and Oli’s stories running parallel like their worlds. The characters are all super fun and the Native American storytelling style of Oli’s adventures adds so much. I enjoyed Darcie Little Badger’s previous book quite a bit, and this one blew it out of the water!

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maresuju's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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