A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

 

Nina is a Lipan girl growing up above her dad's bookstore in Texas. She's fascinated by the stories about the Joined Era, a time when humans and animal spirits lived together on earth. When Nina's great-great-grandmother died, she left behind a story...and Nina is determined to unravel it. 

Oli is a cottonmouth spirit from the Reflecting World of animal spirits and monsters. He's found a home on the banks of the bottomless lake, sunbathing and meeting new friends among the animal spirits that live there. 

Though the time when the human world and the Reflecting World were connected is over, earth still has affects on Oli's home. A climate disaster on earth leaves one of Oli's best friends dying, and sends Oli, along with two coyote girls and a hawk, on a journey to earth to find a cure. 

The way Nina and Oli's stories connect will change both of their lives forever...but though Oli has left the land of monsters, that doesn't mean that he or Nina is safe from them. 

I just finished this book, and it was incredible! The storytelling is amazingly well done, and there's just enough conflict to create tension but not enough to make you frustrated or stressed out. It was overall just a really enjoyable read, but also fascinating, especially since I didn't know anything about Lipan legends and stories beforehand. It's set in a slightly futuristic world--there's some inconsequential new technology, and climate change has an even larger grip on the earth. But Nina's time is very similar to our own, so it doesn't have a sci-fi vibe. Definitely recommend!