{{Short description|2021 novel by Darcie Little Badger}} {{Infobox book | author = [[Darcie Little Badger]] | isbn = 9781646141142 | pub_date = November 9, 2021 | publisher = [[Levine Querido]] | awards = {{plainlist| *[[Andre Norton Award]] (2021) *[[Ignyte Award]] (2022) }} | image = A Snake Falls to Earth.jpg | caption = First edition cover (pub. [[Levine Querido]]) }}
'''''A Snake Falls to Earth''''' is a 2021 [[Speculative fiction|speculative]] novel by [[Darcie Little Badger]] marketed to readers aged 12–18. It falls into the distinct genre of [[Indigenous Futurism]], which includes narratives regarding "the process of 'returning to ourselves', which involves discovering how personally one is affected by [[colonization]], discarding the emotional and psychological baggage carried from its impact, and recovering ancestral traditions in order to adapt in [a] post-Native Apocalypse world."<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Alex |date=2022-02-21 |title=Alex Brown Reviews A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/02/alex-brown-reviews-a-snake-falls-to-earth-by-darcie-little-badger/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207185152/https://locusmag.com/2022/02/alex-brown-reviews-a-snake-falls-to-earth-by-darcie-little-badger/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The novel follows two characters: Nina, a [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]] girl, and Oli, a [[Agkistrodon piscivorus|cottonmouth]] kid who lives in the land of spirits and monsters. Although they initially have no knowledge of one another, events in their individual worlds bring them together. Throughout the novel, Little Badger incorporates the traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to craft a narrative filled with monsters, magic, and the importance of family.
''A Snake Falls to Earth'' won the 2021 [[Andre Norton Award]] and the 2022 [[Ignyte Awards|Ignyte Award for Best Young Adult Novel]]. It was also a [[Newbery Medal|Newbery Honor]] book and was longlisted for the [[National Book Award for Young People's Literature]].
== Plot == ''A Snake Falls to Earth'' follows the lives of Nina, a 16-year-old [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]] girl, and Oli, a 15-year-old [[Agkistrodon piscivorus|cottonmouth]] kid from the land of spirits and monsters, known as the Reflecting World. Because the human world and the Reflecting World have not interacted in centuries, the characters do not initially know about one another.
Nina is deeply entrenched in traditional stories and begins to learn more about the Reflecting World. Her grandmother inherited some healing powers from her Reflecting World ancestors, and her father, a bookstore owner, provides books to individuals from the Reflecting World who visit Earth in human form. Nina has also taken on the task of dictating and translating a Spanish and Lipan Apache oral story from her great-great-grandmother, who passes away, as well as trying to figure out why her grandmother becomes ill whenever she leaves the home.
In the Reflecting World, Oli is forced from his home and finds a space to live near the bottomless lake. There, he befriends two coyote sisters, Risk and Reign, as well as a frog named Ami. When Ami falls ill because his Earth-equivalent species is nearing extinction, Oli knows he must travel to Earth to find a cure.
When Nina and Oli eventually meet, they unite to "deal with a trickster mockingbird; an untrustworthy internet influencer; severe weather; and the threat of violent, cultish followers of a power-hungry 'King' ... who aims to be the only immortal left on Earth. They also use magic and learn why Nina's grandmother's health mysteriously declines whenever she leaves the family's land."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Gall |first=Elisa |date=2021-11-16 |title=Review of A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger |url=https://www.hbook.com/story/review-of-a-snake-falls-to-earth |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[The Horn Book]] |archive-date=2022-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814194930/https://www.hbook.com/story/review-of-a-snake-falls-to-earth |url-status=live }}</ref>
The novel shifts perspective between Nina and Oli in alternating chapters. Throughout the novel, the reader receives "smaller, nesting narratives, off shoots from the main storyline, as frequently seen in oral story telling traditions when peripheral characters are given a little backstory too, as they pop in and out of the main plot lines."<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Murad |first=Mahvesh |date=2021-11-23 |title=Book Review: A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger |url=https://www.tor.com/2021/11/23/book-reviews-a-snake-falls-to-earth-by-darcie-little-badger/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=Tor.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202231104/https://www.tor.com/2021/11/23/book-reviews-a-snake-falls-to-earth-by-darcie-little-badger/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Key themes include "perceptions and understandings of space, time, identity, environmentalism, communication, and “the rightness of home.”<ref name=":1" />
== Critical reception == ''A Snake Falls to Earth'' was generally well received by critics, including starred reviews from ''[[Booklist]]'',<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Syed |first=Mahjabeen |date=2021-10-15 |title=A Snake Falls to Earth |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/A-Snake-Falls-to-Earth/pid=9750524 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Booklist]] |archive-date=2023-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220164704/https://www.booklistonline.com/A-Snake-Falls-to-Earth/pid=9750524 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'',<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-12 |title=A Snake Falls to Earth |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/darcie-little-badger/a-snake-falls-to-earth/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |archive-date=2023-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212162250/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/darcie-little-badger/a-snake-falls-to-earth/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2021-08-18 |title=A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781646140923 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Publishers Weekly]] |archive-date=2023-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608105255/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781646140923 |url-status=live }}</ref>
''Kirkus'' referred to the novel as "a coming-of-age story that beautifully combines tradition and technology for modern audiences,"<ref name=":0" /> and ''Publishers Weekly'' called it "fun, imaginative, and deeply immersive."<ref name=":4" />
''[[The Horn Book Magazine]]'''s Elissa Gall highlighted how "the characters’ worlds skillfully delineated and stories [are] masterfully woven together," further noting that "modern dialogue, which offers further depth to characterization, intermingles with elements of traditional storytelling and family history, creating an imaginative and multilayered work of speculative fiction."<ref name=":1" />
''Booklist''<nowiki/>'s Mahjabeen Syed also discussed how the dialogue and perspectives added to characterization, writing, "Nina's third-person perspective is beautifully ruminative compared to Oli's faster first-person point of view."<ref name=":2" /> Syed also noted that "it's the writing on the whole that resonates most, singing like poetry with lyrical, literary wisdom."<ref name=":2" /> They ultimately called ''A Snake Fall to Earth'' "magical, stunning, and wholly original."<ref name=":2" />
Writing for ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'', Alex Brown noted, "In a novel full of remarkable things, one of the most remarkable is the narrative itself," highlighting the ways Little Badger's writing reflects both traditional novel structures while also using Indigenous storytelling techniques.<ref name=":5" /> Brown writes, "The way Little Badger jumped between Oli and Nina, between first and third person, between mainstream and traditional narratives, is really quite something. It should feel jarring and disjointed, but it doesn't. It flows seamlessly while also letting the structure act almost like a third main character."<ref name=":5" /> They concluded by stating, "If ''[[Elatsoe]]'' was a ten out of ten, then ''A Snake Falls to Earth'' is a solid 11. This book could have been twice as long and I still would have begged for more. Although aimed at a young-adult audience, it has the kind of easy appeal and heartfelt tone that will entice younger kids and older adults as well."<ref name=":5" />
[[Tor.com]] reviewer Mahvesh Murad wrote, "''A Snake Falls to Earth'' is an undeniably charming story, with a variety of fully realised, relatable and fun characters, each with their own authentic voice. There is no pretension in the writing, no forced attempts at being on trend, and yet it is completely relevant" and reminds readers of "the power of stories, and community."<ref name=":6" />
''[[School Library Journal]]'' also reviewed the novel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bongiorno |first=Elissa |date=November 2021 |title=A Snake Falls to Earth |url=https://www.slj.com/review/a-snake-falls-to-earth |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[School Library Journal]] |archive-date=2023-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712181950/https://www.slj.com/review/a-snake-falls-to-earth |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Awards and honors == ''A Snake Falls to Earth'' was included on several "best of" lists. [[Chicago Public Library]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Teen Fiction of 2021 |url=https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/list/share/200121216/2000650519 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Chicago Public Library]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922103137/https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/list/share/200121216/2000650519 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'',''<ref name=":0" />'' [[Locus (magazine)|''Locus'']],<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-02-01 |title=2021 Locus Recommended Reading List |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/02/2021-recommended-reading-list/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401202722/https://locusmag.com/2022/02/2021-recommended-reading-list/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[New York Public Library]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Books for Teens 2021 |url=https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/teens |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[The New York Public Library]] |language=en |archive-date=2023-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308034810/https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/teens |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Books 2021 |url=https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2021/young-adult |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Publishers Weekly]] |archive-date=2023-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327212927/https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2021/young-adult |url-status=live }}</ref> named ''A Snake Falls to Earth'' one of the best books of 2021. ''[[Booklist]]'' included it on their 2022 list of the top ten books for tweens,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reagan |first=Maggie |date=2022-02-15 |title=Top 10 Tween: 2022 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9760240 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Booklist]] |archive-date=2023-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327152053/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9760240 |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as the year's "Best Fiction for Young Adults" list.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-15 |title=Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2022 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9761208 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Booklist]] |archive-date=2023-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404225429/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9761208 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Autostraddle]]'' included ''A Snake Falls to Earth'' on their list of the "Best Queer Books of 2021."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casey |date=2021-12-13 |title=75 of the Best Queer Books of 2021 |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/best-queer-books-2021/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Autostraddle]] |archive-date=2023-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413213105/https://www.autostraddle.com/best-queer-books-2021/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
''A Snake Falls to Earth'' was also an [[Association for Library Service to Children]] Notable Children's Book of 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-15 |title=Notable Children's Books: 2022 |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9760612 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Booklist]] |archive-date=2023-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220170213/https://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=9760612 |url-status=live }}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" |+Awards for ''A Snake Falls to Earth'' !Year !Award ! !Result !Ref. |- ! rowspan="4" |2021 |[[BSFA Award]] |Book for Young Readers |Finalist |<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-04-18 |title=2021 BSFA Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/04/2021-bsfa-awards-winners/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326095435/https://locusmag.com/2022/04/2021-bsfa-awards-winners/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |[[Los Angeles Times Book Prize|''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize]] |[[Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Novel|Young Adult Literature]] |Finalist |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schaub |first=Michael |date=2022-02-23 |title=Finalists for 'LA Times' Book Prizes Are Revealed |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/finalists-for-la-times-book-prizes-are-revealed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311235427/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/finalists-for-la-times-book-prizes-are-revealed/ |archive-date=2022-03-11 |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-04-23 |title=2022 Ray Bradbury Prize Winner |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/04/2022-ray-bradbury-prize-winner/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207190658/https://locusmag.com/2022/04/2022-ray-bradbury-prize-winner/ |archive-date=2023-02-07 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |[[National Book Award]] |[[National Book Award for Young People's Literature|Young People's Literature]] |Longlist |<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Snake Falls to Earth |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/books/a-snake-falls-to-earth/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=National Book Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608061512/https://www.nationalbook.org/books/a-snake-falls-to-earth/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-09-15 |title=Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature |url=https://www.slj.com/story/longlist-announced-for-the-2021-national-book-award-for-young-peoples-literature |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[School Library Journal]] |archive-date=2023-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330130345/https://www.slj.com/story/longlist-announced-for-the-2021-national-book-award-for-young-peoples-literature |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |[[Nebula Award]] |[[Andre Norton Award]] |'''Winner''' |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nebula Awards 2022 |url=https://www.sfadb.com/Nebula_Awards_2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405203659/http://www.sfadb.com/Nebula_Awards_2022 |archive-date=2023-04-05 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Science Fiction Awards Database]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-05-22 |title=2021 Nebula Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/05/2021-nebula-awards-winners/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130233025/https://locusmag.com/2022/05/2021-nebula-awards-winners/ |archive-date=2022-11-30 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US}}</ref> |- ! rowspan="7" |2022 |[[Cybils Award]] |Young Adult Speculative Fiction |Finalist |<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-02-14 |title=2022 Cybils Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/02/2022-cybils-awards-winners/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215003635/https://locusmag.com/2023/02/2022-cybils-awards-winners/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |[[Dragon Awards|Dragon Award]] |Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel |Finalist |<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-09-07 |title=2022 Dragon Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/09/2022-dragon-awards-winners/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907180719/https://locusmag.com/2022/09/2022-dragon-awards-winners/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |- | [[Ignyte Awards|Ignyte Award]] | [[Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novel - Young Adult|Young Adult Novel]] |'''Winner''' |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asher-Perrin |first=Emmet |date=2022-09-18 |title=Announcing the Winners of the 2022 Ignyte Awards! |url=https://www.tor.com/2022/09/17/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2022-ignyte-awards/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Tor.com]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305233803/https://www.tor.com/2022/09/17/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2022-ignyte-awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |[[Locus Award]] |[[Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book|Young Adult Book]] |Finalist |<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-06-25 |title=2022 Locus Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/06/2022-locus-awards-winners/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[Locus Online]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717134614/https://locusmag.com/2022/06/2022-locus-awards-winners/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |[[Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book|Lodestar Award]] |— |Finalist |<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-07 |title=2022 Hugo Awards |url=https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2022-hugo-awards/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=The Hugo Awards |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411174235/https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2022-hugo-awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |[[Newbery Medal]] |— |Honor |<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Engelfried |first1=Steven |last2=Mroczek-Bayci |first2=Emily |date=2023-03-08 |title=Newbery Surprise: A Look at 2023 Winner |url=https://www.slj.com/story/Newbery-Surprise-A-Look-at-2023-Winner-Freewater-and-10-Seminal-Titles-in-the-Awards-History |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=[[School Library Journal]] |archive-date=2023-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327081752/https://www.slj.com/story/Newbery-Surprise-A-Look-at-2023-Winner-Freewater-and-10-Seminal-Titles-in-the-Awards-History |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |[[Ursula K. Le Guin Prize]] |— |Shortlist |<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2022-07-28 |title=Announcing the Shortlist for the Inaugural Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction |url=https://electricliterature.com/announcing-the-shortlist-for-the-inaugural-ursula-k-le-guin-fiction-prize/ |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=[[Electric Literature]] |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024230720/https://electricliterature.com/announcing-the-shortlist-for-the-inaugural-ursula-k-le-guin-fiction-prize/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Andre Norton Award}} {{Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novel – Young Adult}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snake Falls to Earth}} [[Category:2021 children's books]] [[Category:Novels set in Texas]] [[Category:Native American children's literature]] [[Category:Novels about Native Americans]] [[Category:Children's books set in Texas]] [[Category:Children's books about Native Americans]] [[Category:Children's books about snakes]] [[Category:Andre Norton Award–winning novels]] [[Category:Newbery Honor–winning works]] [[Category:Lipan Apache]] [[Category:Apache in popular culture]]