"This story of survival shines brightly." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A Council of Dolls reached out, grabbed me and did not let go. Power's ability to make language sing, cry, scream, and laugh illuminates this heartstopper of a book that shines a light into the dark corners of America's history. I wanted the generational journey I was taking with these unforgettable characters-and their dolls-to never end. Read it--and be healed." - Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of The Evening Hero
"A Council of Dolls absorbs through the skin, enters the bone, and disperses through the psyche-it perfectly captures the internal roots of the Native experience. Through the lives of three Dakota women, we grapple with the emotional, psychological, and spiritual toll on Indigenous peoples enduring an often brutal system and, moreover, how strength, healing, and love reverberate down each passing generation to dispense hope and resiliency. I cannot more highly recommend Power's newest masterpiece." - Oscar Hokeah, PEN/Hemingway award-winning author of Calling for a Blanket Dance
"Mona Susan Power's new novel is an honor song to the love and strength of Native families and our stories, to our brilliant selves. I couldn't have known how much I needed the wisdom and offerings of these pages." - Kelli Jo Ford, author of Crooked Hallelujah
"This tender and magical novel will stay with me for a long time. Mona Susan Power writes with dazzling empathy. The result is a heart-rending and many-layered narrative, a captivating story which is also a thrilling testimonial to the power of stories." - Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field
A resplendent novel about the spirited lives of three inspiring women who endure significant change and hardship. Each story so deeply compelling I wanted to read quickly but was magnetized by the transformative power of each voice. A mighty, dazzling whirlwind of storytelling. These stories lift from the page. Prepare to stay up all night. A Council of Dolls is mesmerizing. Take a deep breath! Mona Susan Power can peer into darkness and transform it." - Debra Magpie Earling - Debra Magpie Earling
"A work of exquisite beauty and courageous truth-telling, and an unforgettable homage to ancestral suffering and strength." - Sheila O'Connor, author of Evidence of V
"A talent like Susan Power comes along once in a lifetime, and lucky for us she's arrived. Here is a debut so stunning, so extraordinary in its depth and passion, you will swear there's a miracle on every page." - Alice Hoffman, on The Grass Dancer
"The Grass Dancer is astonishing, and not simply because it's Susan Power's first book. It is pure and potent magic, with storytelling that encircles you like wisps of tribal ghosts." - Amy Tan
"This is a wild river of a book. Susan Power writes with a headlong energy and a force that are nothing less than thrilling. The Grass Dancer is painfully authentic, and Anna Thunder one of the most compelling female characters in contemporary fiction." - Louise Erdrich
"Captivating...a healing vision that goes to the core of our humanity." - New York Times Book Review on The Grass Dancer
"Stunning...Power steeps us in the traditions and culture of contemporary Indian life." - San Francisco Chronicle on The Grass Dancer
"Every new book by Susan Power is cause for celebration. This vibrant work is no exception. Her vision is intact: vivid, telling, honest, and transcendent. Power is a treasure and a true artist." - Luis Alberto Urrea, on Sacred Wilderness
Mona Susan Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. She is the author of three previously published works of fiction, The Grass Dancer, Sacred Wilderness, and Roofwalker. Her short stories have been published by The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, The Best American Short Stories, and more. Mona is a graduate of Harvard and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. She lives and teaches in Saint Paul, Minnesota.