The Storyteller
by Brandon Hobson
Intermediate, Middle School    Scholastic    224 pp.
5/23    9781338797268    $17.99
Paper ed.  9781338893281    $7.99

Hobson (Cherokee Nation Tribe of Oklahoma) combines elements of classic Western literature, Cherokee culture, pop culture, and the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Two-Spirit People to forge the thematic backbone for this fantastical adventure across the New Mexico desert. Ziggy Echota, a socially awkward Cherokee middle schooler with anxiety, is convinced that the key to finding his mother (missing since he was a baby) is somewhere in a secret desert cave. He enlists the help of classmate Alice, who claims that she’s familiar with the caves and the Nunnehi (immortal spirit people) that inhabit them. The surreal journey kicks into high gear one night when Alice arrives at Ziggy’s house with a talking coyote who calls himself Chupacabra. Along the way, Ziggy encounters, questions, and escapes from an assortment of offbeat characters—including an armadillo possessed by Andrew Jackson, a fortune-telling snake, and murderous shapeshifters. Each interaction leaves Ziggy with a morsel of wisdom, leading to a difficult conclusion about his mother. The fast-paced narrative is episodic and character-driven, channeling Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a central reference point. It is Ziggy’s eccentric Grandma Moses who provides clarity at the tale’s end: “Storytellers have power…We find the meaning in what’s happened, and then we convey that meaning to others.” A significant story full of delight and dimension.

From the July/August 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.