-Kaya's collection 1-6
-Kaya's short story collection (5 stories)
-Mystery: The Silent Stranger
Kaya has one of the most action-packed and tragic story collections. I don't know if I've ever not cried over Swan Circling's death. This is a character we only really just meet in that same book and her loss is still painful and poignant. Kaya endures much loss in her 6-book collection. She loses her sister, her horse, her hero. She is captured and held captive, albeit briefly. She holds the effects of that capture with her from Book 2 through Book 5, when she's reunited with Speaking Rain.
Kaya is a strong character. She's dutiful and genuinely wants to be a good person. But her biggest flaw is holding onto her mistakes too firmly. Her nickname, earned in Book 1, bothers her until Book 6. I hated that aspect of her story because it's so utterly unbelievable that none of the other kids did something wrong in that entire time, so the band of bullies could switch their taunts to that person. No, they're still teasing Kaya for fucking up once. And they're really nasty about it! Like aside from Kaya and Speaking Rain, most of the younger characters are total assholes. Not Two Hawks completely, but he's still got quite a few jerk moments. Raven was okay and the guy who taught Two Hawks how to make and play a flute. But where are the adults who should be teaching their jerkface offspring to be nice to others? Where is Kautsa with a story on how not to be a douche? These brats never get reprimanded! And why are Kaya's little brothers never reprimanded for not listening? Nope, it's always just Kaya who gets in trouble. The brothers are much better in the Beaver short story, but it's pretty much too little too late. What I really wanted was another kid to fuck up and get a nickname, so Kaya could bond with him/her and actually have a friend. She would make a point never to use this kid's horrible nickname. That's something that should have happened. Like the whole lesson is basically "Yeah, names hurt, but they go away in time, so just suck it up" when it should be "Don't fucking call people names in the first place."
Aside from that annoying aspect, the main fault I have with Kaya's stories is the lack of well-developed, likeable characters. Her father is a typical Native American Dad. Her mother is a typical Native American Mom. Kautsa (Wise Grandma) spouts off story after story. Brown Deer, the older sister, is pretty cool and I enjoyed her storyline with being courted and how that works, and I love Speaking Rain, the blind adopted sister. Swan Circling was fabulous, but she's barely there, and the same goes for the good characters that appear in the short stories, like Spotted Owl. Until the Beaver short story, the little brothers are either Brats or They Want a Story. Fox Tail is a Douche always. The books are great on developing Kaya and putting her in intense emotional scenes as well as action scenes, but if you move too far away from her, the characters are all stereotypes, boring, just plain mean, or there all too briefly. Like really, her horse and dog have more personality than her parents. That's not so good.
Her mystery always annoyed, because yeah, traumatized lady, but I hate when people make kids give up things. The whole "keeping your dog would have made you a child" bullshit pisses me off. Kaya has loss after loss. Don't take yet another thing away from her. Also, the mystery should be read before the Injured Dog and Grandmothers short stories.
I'm glad they kept Kaya in the BeForever line, but I wish they'd DO something with her. I want her to go on her vision quest and meet her wyakin. I want to know what happens to her! She, Addy and Josefina have I think only one mystery each, while the others have multiples, and yet the three new mysteries were Caroline, Kit and Samantha. I can see including Sam, because she's back from retirement, but it should have been two of the three I listed in place of Caroline and Kit. Start using your non-white girls more, AG.
No comments:
Post a Comment