It falls into the distinct genre of Indigenous Futurism, which includes narratives regarding "the process of 'returning to ourselves', which involves discovering how personally one is affected by colonization, discarding the emotional and psychological baggage carried from its impact, and recovering ancestral traditions in order to adapt in [a] post-Native Apocalypse world.
Throughout the novel, Little Badger incorporates the traditional Lipan Apache storytelling structure to craft a narrative filled with monsters, magic, and the importance of family.
A Snake Falls to Earth follows the lives of Nina, a 16-year-old Lipan Apache girl, and Oli, a 15-year-old cottonmouth kid from the land of spirits and monsters, known as the Reflecting World.
Nina has also taken on the task of dictating and translating a Spanish and Lipan Apache oral story from her great-great-grandmother, who passes away, as well as trying to figure out why her grandmother becomes ill whenever she leaves the home.
When Nina and Oli eventually meet, they unite to "deal with a trickster mockingbird; an untrustworthy internet influencer; severe weather; and the threat of violent, cultish followers of a power-hungry 'King' ... who aims to be the only immortal left on Earth.
[6] Kirkus referred to the novel as "a coming-of-age story that beautifully combines tradition and technology for modern audiences,"[5] and Publishers Weekly called it "fun, imaginative, and deeply immersive.
"[6] The Horn Book Magazine's Elissa Gall highlighted how "the characters’ worlds skillfully delineated and stories [are] masterfully woven together," further noting that "modern dialogue, which offers further depth to characterization, intermingles with elements of traditional storytelling and family history, creating an imaginative and multilayered work of speculative fiction.
"[1] Tor.com reviewer Mahvesh Murad wrote, "A Snake Falls to Earth is an undeniably charming story, with a variety of fully realised, relatable and fun characters, each with their own authentic voice.