Crazy Horse's Girlfriend

There are many things to love about this book --- but one is the serious, honest gaze Wurth directs at the contemporary West and urban culture. This is a sophisticated, warm, wise book written from a place of love and compassion. It is serious literature--I appreciate authors who help us see our culture/place with renewed clarity by shrugging off the mythos of the West and embracing the true, mature, difficult stories. Bravo. This is a courageous book and I hope to read more by Wurth soon.

No author can tell such a story, so dark, so sad, so almost true. Wurth's work is genuine, raw, and touches deeply hidden places in us all . Can't wait for her next release!

Hugely in need of editing. I gave up halfway through.

Story line never went any where. I felt depressed for the characters. I couldnt wait until I was finished and go on to a more enjoyable book.

The book is in great condition

The writing is mediocre. I couldn't even get through fifty pages.

Margaritte pulled me into the book almost immediately. Her voice is raw and honest as she shares her life and opinions in this excellent coming-of-age novel. Margaritte makes no attempt to hide as a narrator. She shows her vulnerability in the midst of her strength. She struggles through difficult situations and decisions and along the way, she drew me into her life completely. It reminded me a lot of Gabi, A Girl in Pieces and Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kiss Your Ass in that these three young women have voices that will ring in my head for a long time to come. They also share realities that perhaps some people want to ignore. They are realities though, that many young adults may be experiencing.Reading the summary, it is clear that poverty, drugs, and the many difficulties that surround those things permeate this story. It’s also a book that takes on identity, class, addictions, violence, stereotypes and more, but this is not all readers see here. I also found hope, beauty, family ties, friendship, and strength. One aspect that stood out was Margaritte’s relationship with her cousin Jake. Some of their shared activities do lead to trouble, but they have each other’s back – always. Even after Margaritte’s mother was furious with Jake after a dangerous encounter she said, “He loves her, even if they are both screwing up their lives together.” There is no doubt that they make some poor choices, but they also hold each other up through the rough patches of life.Beyond Jake, she has younger twin sisters that she loves and cares for, her mother and father and a small circle of friends. Within her group of friends, many have experienced or are in desperate situations and are looking for any way out through drugs, money, education or other dreams both realistic or fantastical. Loneliness, desperation and addictions lead to many poor decisions, but again, I saw that friendship, love, hope and inner strength also led to positive choices too.Without totally spoiling things, I would say that not everyone that Margaritte loves is helpful or even safe to be around. She has so many things to navigate and she does this with her dry sense of humor. After someone asks about the black eye she is sporting, he says, “No one should hit someone with a face like yours.” Her instant response is, “No one should hit someone with a face.”In the publishers summary, the final sentence addresses another big plus for this book. It, “…shakes up cultural preconceptions of what it means to be Native American today.” There are so many ideas about what it means to be Native American and many of them are not even close to reality. In Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend, there are characters that show many faces of Native America and the majority do not live on a reservation. Margaritte’s family is Apache, Chickasaw, Cherokee and white. Her cousin Jake was adopted and is Nez Perce, Arapahoe, Cheyenne and Black. Megan and Will are from the Oglala reservation. There were characters involved that were from other Nations too. Not only are characters from different Nations, but there are other distinctions like religion, language, beliefs and priorities. It would be difficult to finish reading this book and have a single picture of Native Americans.Recommendation: Buy it now for many reasons that I am not even sure I can communicate. Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend shares a deep look into life. There are no easy fixes or answers, but the people in this story are striving and enduring. Most are working towards a positive future even when things may look futile. This is certainly not a Disney movie, but it’s a story of strength and beauty.

I had heard Erika read recently and so went to look for some of her work. This came up and I grabbed the chance. I sat down on Friday evening and started it, stayed up late, finished in on Saturday evening. I couldn't put it down. The protagonist is one messed up urban Native American, selling drugs, falling in love, and all the family dramatics of a drunk dad and faithful mom. The way this story plays out is truly engaging, the people felt real, the dialogue individual to each one, the setting realistic. Yes, a great read.

Dark, devastating and a vivid slice of a coming of age story from the perspective of the lost generation of indigenous girls. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. The voice that came through the prose in this was my nieces, my younger cousins -- trying so hard to make something of themselves when the colonial deck is so obviously stacked against us. The grim realities expressed in this book bear witness to the helplessness and hopelessness of a people disconnected from land and culture and left in a twilight of disenfranchised hopes and dreams. An important indigenous writer to watch.