Sisters of the Lost Nation

By: Nick Medina

Narrated by: Elva Guerra, Nick Medina

Named a Most Anticipated Book by Barnes and Noble ∙ BuzzFeed ∙ GoodReads ∙ Book Riot ∙ CrimeReads ∙ Ms. Magazine ∙ SheReads ∙ Amazon Editor's Pick ∙ Tor.com ∙ and more!

A young Native girl's hunt for answers about the women mysteriously disappearing from her tribe's reservation leads her to delve into the myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself, in this atmospheric and stunningly poignant debut.

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation’s casino…and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step—an ancient tribal myth come-to-life, one that’s intent on devouring her whole.

With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she’s sure lies in the legends of her tribe’s past.

When Anna’s own little sister also disappears, she’ll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation—both ancient and new—are strong, and sometimes, it’s the stories that never get told that are the most important.

Part gripping thriller and part mythological horror, author Nick Medina spins an incisive and timely novel of life as an outcast, the cost of forgetting tradition, and the courage it takes to become who you were always meant to be.

©2023 Nick Medina (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Nick Medina’s debut is at once compassionate, heartbreaking, and gripping.”—Barnes and Noble

"Medina’s debut is a stunning, tense read. I can’t wait to read more from him.”—BuzzFeed

"With the excellent Sisters of the Lost Nation, Nick Medina expertly balances Native mythology, a grounded coming of age story, and a modern, all too real and terrible mystery of Native girls going missing. Gripping, heartbreaking, and vital, this is a novel you won't soon forget, and Anna Horn will no doubt become one of your most cherished fictional characters."—Paul Tremblay, national bestselling author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearers Club

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Awareness

Excellent book, thanks for creating more awareness of MMIW.

The book is so captivating with Elva Guerra narration of the story, you touched my heart deeply. Love her in Reservation Dogs too ❤️ keep shining young Warrior ❤️

Phenomenal debut novel

Took me by surprise, the way each element of this story was so effectively intertwined. Part coming of age, horror, mystery, YA, thriller, current events-inspired, deeply emotional, character-driven and yet rooted in a specific, compelling setting, SISTERS comments on past and ongoing issues of poverty, addiction, identity, feminism, colonialism, misogyny, violence towards marginalized communities, capitalism, sovereignty, and more.

Read/listen. You’ll be glad you did. Also Elva Guerra’s narration is great!

Devastatingly beautiful story

Mr. Media's writing might be the best descriptive narrative I've ever had the pleasure to read in my lifetime. His sharing of Native Stories expertly woven into suspense illuminated a way of thinking beyond the obvious, allowing this reader to imagine a different solution, an "easier" outcome.
Set on a reservation, the characters move among their families and members in a chronic state of depression. A Casino provides employment but offers little else to sustain a people without a sense of destiny.
But the crux of the story is the hazards of being a Native Woman. These risks & vulnerabilities are threaded into the context of daily living with such nuance, that it is only in hindsight that you recognize the injustice.
The story was enhanced by an expert reader, who seemed native herself, but also who read in such a way, that the coming of age of the protagonist was easily experienced.
I loved this story telling and look forward to reading more from Mr. Medina.

Love the book, strongly disliked the narrator

I found it hard to listen to the audible version. There was no passion or inflection I’m her reading. Plus her voice sounded like she needed cold medicine.

Bringing out the issue of MMIW

It took me a little while to get used to the narrator’s voice, but I ended up loving it - especially for this story.

Gripping story

Loved the narrator and the story. Never I have been so outraged and sad reading/listening a book, what a story!

Review

Giving 5 stars to help raise awareness of the murder rate/disappearances of Native American women, that's been going on as of late. This book does a good job at raising the social commentary as well. The first half with the jumping around the timeline wasn't great. I did like how both the main character in this book and the audiobook narrator, Elva Guerra, are Two-Spirit

An important book

So glad I added this to my library. An important story that highlights an important problem that’s been happening for a very long time.

Some of the reviews didn’t like the readers voice. I found the voice to be engaging and authentic to how I would imagine the main characters voice.

Elva Guerra was amazing!

This was a great story brought life by A great narrator! Thank you for bringing more light onto yet another atrocity done to the Indigenous people. To forget the names of those lost is not an option.

Everyone read this book!

Okay, the narrator at first seems like not the best choice but as you listen on the rawness in their voice lends to the story being told. There could not have been a better fit in my opinion. The story is heartbreaking and yet so important for all of us to hear. It is something that does not get enough attention and we all need to do better and advocating for these types of horrors to stop.