A Snake Falls to Earth

I don't think I was the ideal audience for this book so I'm rating it for what it is.

It's a bit juvenile and cute, it's filled with endearing characters and simple morals. If you're looking for a cute fantasy type book for a young teen I would warmly recommend it, if you're looking for something fairly simple to keep your mind off of something for a couple of hours this book could also be a good pick.

I had such a wonderful time with this story! I alternated between the ebook and audiobook, both borrowed from the library. Other than some swearing, the story is suitable for all ages. 

The two POV characters are Nina and Oli. Nina lives in our world. Oli lives in a connected world of animal people. Nina is a girl. Oli is a cottonmouth snake person. Nina is on a quest to translate a story her great-great grandmother told her on her deathbed. Oli, when we meet him, is looking for a place to call home. 

Oli finds a near perfect place, and lots of good friends, as well. His best friend is a toad named Ami. When a species goes extinct in our world, they second and die in this other world. One day Ami becomes sick, and Oli decides to travel to our world in order to discover why and save his friend. 

The book contains a villain, and there's some violence, and a lot of discussions of natural disasters. But at the center of the book is friendship, and kindness, and sacrificing for someone you love, and that's what I enjoyed the most. What opened the most doors for Oli, what brought him the most help, was simply saying he wanted to help his friend. 

There are lots of great characters, with possibly the stars being coyote sisters, Reign and Risk. Or is it the hawk, Brightest? 

I think the author intends there to be more books in the series, and I'll for sure read them! 

Darcie Little Badger draws on traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure in this book, which follows the life of Nina, a Lipan Apache teenager, and Oli, a cottonmouth snake that has the ability to shapeshift. The book follows the two characters as they try to find their place in the world. It is slow-paced, and you might need a lot of patience to read this book, but it is worth it to take the time to enjoy the beauty of the narrative and the lovely characters as they are learning to navigate the world they inhabit.

The author does an excellent job of creating well-developed characters, and the relationships between them are beautifully portrayed. The friendships and family relationships are particularly endearing, and the animal side characters add a delightful charm to the story.

It should be noted that this book is YA and I haven't been enjoying YA for a couple of years now, so if you're like me, this book might not be for you. But I would still recommend everyone to at least give this book a try, as it manages to be both entertaining and thought-provoking.

The author has chosen a very unique way to tell this story. Dear reader, you must practice patience. I was completely confused for the first 50%. I literally said out loud “I've been paying attention. What the heck is going on? How do I not know what is going on?” I refused to give up on the read though. Trust that it all comes together in the end and it is a beautiful story.


Nina's tenacity in piecing together stories, learning a language that many have worked so hard to destroy and make disappear, and keeping that language alive inadvertently and purposefully.

Our people are in a constant cycle of resistance in every way.

Big Library Read: this was a freebie on my library app and I'd have been unlikely to read it otherwise. However it was such an enjoyable read that I'll be looking out for the author's other work.
Stories within stories and worlds within worlds. It pulled me into a place I'd never visited before and made me care.
Towards the end things got a little too muddled, but that didn't really detract from the pleasure I got from the overall read.