Well, here you have it. This is my final catch-up review of 2024 and then I can turn over a new leaf and pledge to be more on top of things for 2025. I barely made it with this one to get it read in time, and partly it’s because of the book itself. I’ll get into that more in a little bit.

Synopsis

Troubled teen, Cindra, having been convicted in an armed robbery scheme along with her boyfriend, arrives at Camp Challenge, a reform camp for girls located in Montana. A former city girl, she will have to navigate her new world in the American west, a world of cowboys and vast wilderness. While at camp, she meets Lucky Turtle, a native man who works at the camp as a driver. Lucky tells her his Aunt told him they were destined to be together. From that moment on, they are thrown into a love story that will span decades and miles and include unbearable hardships.

Review

This is not a typical book. It’s written in a very unique almost sleepy style with a dreamlike quality that helps accentuate the touch of magical realism Roorbach uses. Of course, this also made this book extremely difficult to finish for me, because it is entirely too long. There are long meandering passages with unnecessary details, sometimes repetitive. At times I loved the lyrical writing and others I just wanted the novel to get to the point. I did think the relationship between Lucky and Cindra was somewhat sweet, though it’s odd and awkward in the way it unfolds. Maybe that helped a little with authenticity, but it could also be kind of uncomfortable. I’ve seen many readers vilify the book for its depiction of “grooming,” as Cindra is a teen when she meets 24 year old Lucky. However, to me it comes across with Cindra being the more seasoned individual with more life experience and Lucky being the one in possession of an innocent naivete. As far as intentions go, he never exhibits anything toward Cindra but tenderness and care, and I think that’s an important distinction. Even at his age, he still seems like a kid. It would have made things easier for there not to have a been a gray area there and Roorbach just made her 18 from their meeting, but we got what we got and have to grapple with it.

Cindra was not the easiest character to like, but this makes her very human and believable. I didn’t really feel the initial attraction to Lucky from her, and it seemed to be based more on convenience and opportunity. It was difficult to grasp exactly why they had such strong feelings for each other considering their conversations were so stilted. The dialogue through the whole book felt very perfunctory. Their relationship seemed so wrapped up in their physical intimacy, and sometimes that even seemed perfunctory. These details contrasted with the long droning passages, and I’m not sure it worked. Many times I found myself speed-reading through just to get to the conclusion, because I was invested in their story.

Thankfully, the conclusion picked things up quite a bit and I thought the novel had a very satisfying ending. It was maybe a little sentimental, but it did feel right and made the patience I forced upon myself worthwhile. Lucky had exhibited so much growth as a human, and I honestly liked him so much better at the end of the novel than the beginning. I feel Cindra did the best she could with the lot given to her in life so I tried to not judge her too harshly for her flaws. Thematically, there are some deep subjects in this book, including sexual abuse, racism, and sexism.

Essentially, I had high hopes for this book and I really did like the plot and the characters, for the most part. I felt the execution and the pacing really detracted from the positive aspects of the novel. I’m glad I read it, but I probably won’t revisit it at a later date.

Published April 26, 2022 by Algonquin Books. ISBN 9781643750972. Hardcover. 416 pages.