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Legendary frybread drive-in : intertribal stories
Book
2025
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Genre
Fiction
Magic realism
Collection
Short story
Topics
Identity
Family
Grief
Love
Healing
Cultures
Friendship
Tradition
Music
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Trade Reviews
Publishers Weekly Review
The magical titular food truck of this reverent compendium provides the setting for 17 loosely linked stories about Indigenous teens navigating evergreen concerns about love, life, and identity. Featuring works by authors such as K.A. Cobell, Jen Ferguson, Cheryl Isaacs, and more, the assemblage, edited by Smith (Harvest House), centers Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In, a food vendor outside of time and space that seemingly appears wherever and whenever a teen requires wisdom. In genre-hopping selections spanning varying narrative formats and international locales, characters meet at Sandy June's to spend time with deceased grandparents and estranged cousins, as well as confront situations of abuse and reconciliation. Byron Graves's amorous story "Love Buzz" follows a musician hoping to woo his crush with a special Valentine's Day performance; Brian Young's tale "I Love You, Grandson" sees a grieving teen finding comfort in communing with the food truck's staff. 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, including frying bread, sipping sweetgrass tea, and "jammin' to Redbone./ Uncles tunin' sharp fiddles." A glossary concludes. Ages 13--up. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Aug.)
Horn Book Review
This anthology edited by Muscogee author Smith includes eighteen stories by North American Indigenous authors including Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache), Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Byron Graves (Ojibwe and Lakota), Eric Gansworth (Onondaga, Eel Clan, Tuscarora Nation), David A. Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation), Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation), Brian Young (Navajo Nation), and many others. 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. Elders are featured in every story, often teaching younger people about traditional cooking, crafts, or storytelling but always in tribally specific and character-driven ways that steer clear of cliches. Some topics recur (first love; grief at the death of a grandparent; overcoming fear, jealousy, or loneliness), and grappling with the meaning of Native identity is a common theme. Although many stories mention historical events and all of them touch on family heritage, they also feel quite of-the-moment: plots incorporate smartphones, DMs, social media, and online role-playing games. The short-story format keeps character arcs brief, but some characters appear in multiple stories, linking them and making for cohesive world-building. Story glossaries, notes, and author bios are appended. Lara K. AaseSeptember/October 2025 p.77 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The titular food truck's imagined travels link the entries in this anthology by celebrated and up-and-coming Native authors. Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In feels both familiar and original--a mystical community space that can appear anywhere, serving as the perfect liminal meeting space for Indigenous people across North America. From Oklahoma to Alaska, Hawai'i to Manitoba, the stories cross our borders. In the 18 entries, which encompass both poetry and prose as well as different genres, readers meet a variety of Native people--gamer, athlete, musician--from a diverse range of communities, including Black Natives. The emotional core of the book feels deftly balanced, ranging from touching moments of magical connection with loved ones to emotional explorations of feelings like grief, and regular teenage awkwardness and crushes. A date goes awry, there's a tornado to deal with alone, and a cousin to reconnect with. Across the board, the authors write lifelike characters; even when the setting is fantastical, the well-wrought characterizations are rooted in realism. A major strength of this collection is that it offers the perfect gateway to discovering the writing of noted authors, including Eric Gansworth, Darcie Little Badger, Andrea L. Rogers, Cheryl Isaacs, Brian Young, Jen Ferguson, Byron Graves, Angeline Boulley, David A. Robertson, and editor Smith, among others. Obvious thought and care went into the crafting and arranging of the stories, with expertly executed callbacks to previous entries. Superlative. (glossary, contributor bios)(Anthology. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Summary

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.

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