Legendary Frybread Drive-In - (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Michael L. Printz Award Winner
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner
Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world's best frybread.
The road to Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June's serves more than food: it hosts live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again.
That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most.
Features stories and poems by: Kaua Mahoe Adams, Marcella Bell, Angeline Boulley, K. A. Cobell, A. J. Eversole, Jen Ferguson, Eric Gansworth, Byron Graves, Kate Hart, Christine Hartman Derr, Karina Iceberg, Cheryl Isaacs, Darcie Little Badger, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Brian Young.
In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

Review Quotes

"17 Indigenous writers create a web of entertaining, intertwined stories in this uplifting and unusual anthology, ideal for the YA reader who longs for connection and authenticity. Themes of displacement and loneliness, as well as the importance of connection to family, friends, and tribe, permeate the entries, making the collection relevant and accessible for teen readers of any background. As Cheryl Isaacs says in "Heart Berry," "One way or another, Sandy June's never fail[s]." - Shelf Awareness

"Welcome to the best-kept secret on Turtle Island! A mixture of award-winning authors and new voices use this liminal space in surprising and inventive ways, creating a microcosm of the interconnectedness of modern Indigenous life, one in which community and family, past and present, encourage its young visitors to inhabit their truest selves as they look toward the future. It is also simply a terrific collection of entertaining stories--full of laughter, music, delicious food, friendship, and romance--that will appeal to teen readers across age ranges, identities, and interests." - Booklist (starred review)

"The literary conceit that unifies these stories is a magical "NDN Country" frybread drive-in that serves up Native comfort food and wisdom, a "collective dream" where young people in need of connection or healing find themselves among an intertribal community of all ages...many stories mention historical events and all of them touch on family heritage, they also feel quite of-the-moment." - Horn Book Magazine

"There's a lot of warmth and gratitude to revel in...Various characters thread through each other's stories, allowing many of the players more depth and nuance had they only been in one tale, and encouraging the readers to make the thematic connections in cultural identities that are both individually specific and community-wide." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Superlative." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This reverent compendium provides the setting for 17 loosely linked stories about Indigenous teens navigating evergreen concerns about love, life, and identity. Smith's uplifting poem "Open Mic at the Drive-In" closes this liminal-feeling collection, which pays tribute to the Native traditions and intergenerational relationships preserved by the "run-down, neon" drive-in." - Publishers Weekly

"As readers take in the stories, they will be transported time and time again to Sandy June's, where the protagonists get more than just frybread. Each teen gets exactly what they need--and readers do too. Hand this collection to any reader who is looking for a place made for them; they will find it between these pages." - School Library Journal (starred review)