A Cherokee tween searches for his missing mother.Ten years after his mother's disappearance, Ziggy Echota hasn't given up hope. The anxious sixth grader becomes convinced that the Nunnehi, trickster spirits who reportedly live in desert caves outside his small New Mexico town, hold answers. Ziggy's classmate Alice, who wears a hearing aid, shows up in the middle of the night to take him to them. His older sister, Moon, secretly follows. Talking animals and humans alike appear along the dreamlike quest, from a coyote and a buzzard to a fortuneteller and a Shakespearean actor. Will Ziggy find answers among the stories? This middle-grade debut from National Book Award finalist Hobson (the Cherokee Nation Tribe of Oklahoma) offers a frank look at anxiety and loss balanced with moments of wonder and levity. The book's opening epigraph from Jefferson Airplane draws a clear link to Wonderland, but the evocative desert setting and infusion of Cherokee history, language, and culture ground the fantastical in tradition while exploring contemporary subjects such as missing Indigenous women. The kaleidoscopic structure imparts plentiful messages among its substories, always with a light hand. Ritualistic behaviors, catastrophizing, and insightful conversations with a therapist add authenticity to Hobson's depiction of anxiety. The multigenerational, majority-Native cast establishes a strong sense of community as well as a reverence for Native storytellers. Although a White side character joins the adventure, the novel refreshingly focalizes Native perspectives.A captivating testament to the healing power of stories. (author's note) (Fiction. 9-12)

Gr 3–7— Ziggy is a member of the Cherokee nation living with anxiety and still processing the grief of his mother's disappearance when he was a baby. Determined to find clues about her, Ziggy teams up with school misfit Alice to explore caves his mother once explored. Alice claims these caves are home to the Nunnehi, spirit people who may be able to offer guidance. What unfolds is a series of encounters with various magical creatures. Once Alice and Ziggy, accompanied by Ziggy's sister Moon and friend Corso, start their adventure, the novel moves at a quick pace. In each chapter readers are introduced to a new magical creature or character, but the story does not feel fragmented. On the contrary, this narrative style is reminiscent of a folklore anthology, woven together with the overarching hero's quest. In one of the final chapters, Ziggy reflects on the lessons he learned from the characters he met along the way. This reflection comes off expositional; readers will have already drawn conclusions and noted the lessons learned through his travels. VERDICT Hand to tweens who enjoy magical realism and quest stories. Ziggy's experiences with anxiety and loss will likely resonate with many.— Katharine Gatcomb

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.

A Cherokee tween searches for his missing mother.Ten years after his mother's disappearance, Ziggy Echota hasn't given up hope. The anxious sixth grader becomes convinced that the Nunnehi, trickster spirits who reportedly live in desert caves outside his small New Mexico town, hold answers. Ziggy's classmate Alice, who wears a hearing aid, shows up in the middle of the night to take him to them. His older sister, Moon, secretly follows. Talking animals and humans alike appear along the dreamlike quest, from a coyote and a buzzard to a fortuneteller and a Shakespearean actor. Will Ziggy find answers among the stories? This middle-grade debut from National Book Award finalist Hobson (the Cherokee Nation Tribe of Oklahoma) offers a frank look at anxiety and loss balanced with moments of wonder and levity. The book's opening epigraph from Jefferson Airplane draws a clear link to Wonderland, but the evocative desert setting and infusion of Cherokee history, language, and culture ground the fantastical in tradition while exploring contemporary subjects such as missing Indigenous women. The kaleidoscopic structure imparts plentiful messages among its substories, always with a light hand. Ritualistic behaviors, catastrophizing, and insightful conversations with a therapist add authenticity to Hobson's depiction of anxiety. The multigenerational, majority-Native cast establishes a strong sense of community as well as a reverence for Native storytellers. Although a White side character joins the adventure, the novel refreshingly focalizes Native perspectives.A captivating testament to the healing power of stories. (author's note) (Fiction. 9-12)

An anxious Cherokee sixth grader finds the courage to pursue the truth behind his mother’s disappearance in this supernatural adventure by Cherokee author Hobson (The Removed, for adults). Eleven-year-old Ziggy Echota lives in Poisonberry, N.Mex., with his father, grandmother, and older sister Moon. Ever since his mother went missing 10 years before this book’s start, Ziggy has been seeing a therapist to help him manage his anxiety, which he believes is exacerbated by his mother’s disappearance: “Native Women go missing all over the country. Nobody seems to be doing much about it,” he explains. When new friend Alice, who is Cherokee and uses a hearing aid, tells him they might be able to find clues about his mother in secret desert caves said to be occupied by mischievous spirits called Nunnehi, who can take human form, he endeavors to set aside his fears to uncover the truth. Hobson weaves complex emotional elements such as Ziggy’s relationships with Alice and Moon and his experiences with his anxiety alongside ethereal fantasy tropes, plentiful Cherokee cultural nuance, and educational conversation surrounding the United States’ historic prejudiced treatment of Indigenous peoples to craft an atmospheric and meditative read. Ages 9–12. Agent: Bill Clegg, Clegg Agency. (May)