Calling for a Blanket Dance -- Oscar Hokeah, Hardcover

A moving and deeply engaging debut novel about a young Native American man finding strength in his familial identity, from a stellar new voice in fiction.

Told in a series of voices, Calling for a Blanket Dance takes us into the life of Ever Geimausaddle through the multigenerational perspectives of his family as they face myriad obstacles. His father's injury at the hands of corrupt police, his mother's struggle to hold on to her job and care for her husband, the constant resettlement of the family, and the legacy of centuries of injustice all intensify Ever's bottled-up rage. Meanwhile, all of Ever's relatives have ideas about who he is and who he should be. His Cherokee grandmother urges the family to move across Oklahoma to find security; his grandfather hopes to reunite him with his heritage through traditional gourd dances; his Kiowa cousin reminds him that he's connected to an ancestral past. And once an adult, Ever must take the strength given to him by his relatives to save not only himself but also the next generation of family.

How will this young man visualize a place for himself when the world hasn't given him a place to start with? Honest, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, Calling for a Blanket Dance is the story of how Ever Geimausaddle found his way to home.

Author: Oscar Hokeah
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 07/26/2022
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.60w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781643751474

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 03/01/2022 pg. 6
Publishers Weekly 05/30/2022
Library Journal 07/01/2022 pg. 58
Booklist 07/01/2022 pg. 12