Synopses & Reviews
In The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories, Stacie Shannon Denetsosie confronts long-reaching effects of settler-colonialism on Native lives in a series of gritty, wildly imaginative stories. A young Navajo man catches a ride home alongside a casket he’s sure contains his dead grandfather. A gas station clerk witnesses the kidnapping of the newly crowned Miss Northwestern Arizona. A young couple’s search for a sperm donor raises questions of blood quantum. This debut collection grapples with a complex and painful history alongside an inheritance of beauty, ceremony, and storytelling.
Review
“The Missing Morningstar effortlessly exudes power and charm in equal measure. Denetsosie appears on the page fully formed. A feat of voice, texture, heart, and an absolute thrill to read.” Tommy Orange, author of There There
Review
“Denetsosie debuts with a bracing and poignant collection portraying the rugged lives of her Diné characters and their complex family bonds... A potent display of modern Navajo life.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“The Missing Morningstar is full of voices that reveal grief and redemption. This collection is a compelling compendium of family, truths, loss and love. Denetsosie’s voice is a wonderful addition to contemporary fiction that explores Indigenous lives. I loved it.” Brandon Hobson, National Book Award finalist and author of The Removed
Review
“Denetsosie’s characters are tied to the land and one another in ways that nurture and sometimes hurt. They’ll have you laughing, crying, and, sometimes, singing alongside them.” Kelli Jo Ford, author of Crooked Hallelujah
Review
“Two thirds heartbreak, one third redemption, these stories of contemporary life in and around the Navajo Reservation bear all the generational trauma of colonialism and all the hope and humor of the people who live between the four sacred peaks.” Pam Houston, author of Air Mail and Deep Creek: Finding Hope In The High Country
About the Author
Stacie Shannon Denetsosie is a member of the Navajo Nation and her clans are Todích'íí'nii (Bitterwater) and born for Naakaii Dine'é (Mexican). Her work has appeared in Yellow Medicine Review, Scribendi, and Phoebe. She holds an MFA in Fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts and is a contributor to the Torrey House anthology Blossom as the Cliffrose: Mormon Legacies and the Beckoning Wild. She lives in Logan, Utah.