Published: 2024
Author: K.A. Cobell
Genres: YA Mystery, Thriller, Indigenous Fiction
Audience: Grades 10–12, Adult
Number of Stars: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Goodreads Link: Looking for Smoke
Content Warnings: Murder, kidnapping/disappearance, racism, and trauma.
Publisher’s Summary
When local girl Loren includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet Giveaway to honor Loren’s missing sister, Mara thinks she’ll finally make some friends on the Blackfeet reservation. Instead, Samantha White Tail—another girl from the ceremony—is found murdered.
Because the four members of the Giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, they all become persons of interest: Mara, the newcomer; Loren, the grieving sister; Brody, the star athlete; and Eli, the outcast. All of them have a complicated history with Samantha, and all of them are hiding secrets. Despite deep mistrust, the four must take matters into their own hands to clear their names, even though one of them may be a killer.
Full Review
Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell is a strong young adult mystery that explores important emotional and social issues. Set in a small Montana town near the Blackfeet Reservation, the story follows four Indigenous teens connected to a girl’s disappearance and a subsequent murder. The mystery is complex, told through shifting points of view that reveal deep-seated secrets.
From a counseling perspective, this book is valuable because it illustrates how trauma and stress affect behavior and decision-making. The characters struggle with anger, grief, and the need to protect themselves in a system where they often feel they won’t be believed. The story highlights the impact of racism and unfair assumptions, and how those things create mistrust and silence.
The major themes include identity, trust, and emotional survival. The dark, intense cover will likely attract teens who enjoy suspenseful, realistic mysteries. This title is a strong choice for schools looking for diverse YA fiction that addresses real-world emotional challenges.
📍 The Crisis of MMIWG2S
The “smoke” in the title refers to the literal and metaphorical fog surrounding the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) crisis. The novel uses the mystery format to bring attention to the systemic failures that lead to these disappearances.
National Statistics (United States)
According to data from the National Institute of Justice and the CDC, the risks faced by Indigenous women are significantly higher than the national average:
- Murder Rates: In some counties, Indigenous women are murdered at rates more than 10 times the national average.
- Violence: More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women (84.3%) have experienced violence in their lifetime.
- Missing Persons: In 2020, there were 5,203 records for missing Indigenous women and girls in the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), though many activists argue this number is an undercount due to misclassification.
🎒 Classroom & Counseling Connections
- Counseling (Coping & Communication): Use the four protagonists to discuss different Stress Responses. How do Mara (the newcomer), Loren (the grieving), Brody (the athlete), and Eli (the outcast) internalize pressure differently?
- Social Studies (Tribal Sovereignty & Law): Discuss the “Jurisdictional Maze.” Who investigates a crime on a reservation? Explore how overlapping federal, state, and tribal laws can lead to delays in missing persons cases.
- ELA (Perspective & Reliability): Analyze the “Unreliable Narrator.” Since one of the four might be the killer, how does the author use the first-person POV to hide or reveal the truth?
- Social Justice: Facilitate a “Peace Circle” or restorative justice discussion about the impact of “Unfair Assumptions” (racism) in criminal investigations.
