Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Searching for Savanna in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster ALC
Published: April 25, 2023
Summary:
A gripping and illuminating investigation into the disappearance of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind when she was eight months pregnant, highlighting the shocking epidemic of violence against Native American women in America and the societal ramifications of government inaction.
In the summer of 2017, twenty-two-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind vanished. A week after she disappeared, police arrested the white couple who lived upstairs from Savanna and emerged from their apartment carrying an infant girl. The baby was Savanna’s, but Savanna’s body would not be found for days.
The horrifying crime sent shock waves far beyond Fargo, North Dakota, where it occurred, and helped expose the sexual and physical violence Native American women and girls have endured since the country’s colonization.
With pathos and compassion, Searching for Savanna confronts this history of dehumanization toward Indigenous women and the government’s complicity in the crisis. Featuring in-depth interviews, personal accounts, and trial analysis, Searching for Savanna investigates these injustices and the decades-long struggle by Native American advocates for meaningful change.
My thoughts:
I am a big true crime fan and so when I saw this one, it definitely piqued my interest. It’s a topic I haven’t read much about and after a little research, it seems these cases apparently don’t get the attention they deserve.
This book takes a hard look at the disappearance of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a Native American woman who was eight months pregnant. But not only does it do that, it also focuses on the disproportionally high number of missing and murdered indigenous women and how not much is done about it. It’s an epidemic that often gets overlooked or brushed aside and that made me quite angry.
My only complaint about the book is that it did jump around a lot and that made following along a bit confusing at times. Other that that, I did appreciate the different points of view that were included in the story – the detectives, the police report, the trial, the husband-to-be – it added a depth that I found to be quite engaging and kept the story from being too dry.
I learned quite a bit from this book and that is always what I look for when I pick up these types of books. It’s somethings I was not familiar with before reading and this is why I picked it up to begin with.
Audio thoughts:
I love listening to nonfiction on audio and this one was no exception. I was thrilled to see that this was narrated by Cassandra Campbell as she is one of my favorite narrators and I thought she did a great job with this one. It was easy to listen to, even the difficult parts. She kept her tone even and infused just the right amount of emotion when necessary.
