Redbone was another amazing graphic novel that deals with an underrepresented group in literature: the Native American people. I read Indian No More several days ago which makes it two books more I’ve read about Native Americans than I read in all of last year. We are getting better about creating books about other cultures, but we can do more.
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Redbone is about the band Redbone from the ‘60s and focused also on the persecution and plight of the Native American people, many stories that aren’t shared in our class history books, which makes it so important for students and adults to continue their education beyond what’s taught in the classroom. I learned so many amazing facts about this group, whom I’ve never heard of before reading this and about the Native American protests, people and causes.
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This YA graphic novel tells truths long forgotten or never shared. Their stories deserve to be told. I wish the book was in a graphic novel format. The wording around the images made it difficult to read/follow. Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. This releases September 22.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I was not expecting a graphic novel and that is not my usual genre. I think this was the first graphic novel I have ever read. I found the story was hard to follow and it was hard to know which person was speaking.

I found the parts that focused on the Native American struggles much more interesting than the parts about the band (I had never heard of them prior to this book).

Did not finish. It didn't download properly on my laptop. It looked interesting, but I don't think I'll purchase it.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I wanted to like this book a lot more, but I think the art and integration of text make this book a lot harder. At times, there was too much text on the page. It is a really intriguing story, I just wish it was a bit better told in this format.

Before reading this graphic novel, the only thing I knew about Redbone was that they did the song "Come and Get Your Love." Pleasant enough party song, but not a favorite, and certainly not a song that by itself motivates me to learn more about its creation. The book's subtitle, "The True Story of a Native American Rock Band," however, provided the hook I needed to want to explore this band's story more. The first third was slow going for me; character design wasn't very distinct, images appeared haphazardly in a visual style that made some of the dialogue confusing to follow, and there was a lot of inside baseball in the story of the band's formation. Short vignettes, with quick expository dialogue between characters who already share enough mutual knowledge of events that they don't unpack a lot of details. However, at about page 30, the story takes off with an overview of Native American history since Wounded Knee, and the band's trajectory gets intertwined with that of the American Indian Movement in the 1970s. The story grammar gets clearer in this section, which carries through the end of the book, and the artwork more expressive. The final portion has a flashback to the childhood and early musical career of the two brothers at the heart of Redbone, which would have worked better to present earlier in the book to give more depth and distinction to the character presentation, and made for a more engaging throughline. In the end, I didn't learn any more about "Come and Get Your Love" than I knew before, but I did come away with more knowledge of the band's role in AIM and classic rock.

Redbone is the story of an all Native American band of the same name that rose to fame in the 1970s and, with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy featuring their hit song "Come and Get Your Love," have experienced a small resurgence of popularity. The story is drawn as Pat Vegas (co-founder and bassist of Redbone) tells his children the story of how the group was founded, the fun they had, the artists they inspired, and the challenges they faced. The story tackles the massacre at wounded knee as well as the Native American civil rights movement and attempts to tie it into the pipeline controversy in South Dakota.

What I appreciated about this graphic novel was the bit of history that was included that I feel many of us don't know about. The reform schools and how children were taken from their homes to be integrated into society is a bit of history that doesn't get mentioned much in schools, if at all. I also enjoyed the artistic style. The artists choice to draw the comics in the time when the story is taking place which added to the atmosphere.

That being said, I do feel that at times the dialog was clumsily written and the connection with the South Dakota pipeline was thrown in almost as a way to simply take a jab at President Trump. I do believe that a proper connection could have been made if more time had been spent on the topic and the dialog wasn't as stiff.

I will say, though, that I have the urge to look up some of Redbone's songs to see if there are any other hits that I recognize that I never knew where performed by them!

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into this one. The pacing and dialogue was really confusing. The story dumps you right in without introducing any characters. It was a lot of names and events right away with zero context. Very bummed as it sounded like a great story.

Love this true story told in graphic novel form about Native American band, Redbone. Two brothers ended up being the core members of a famous band in the early 1970s that was extremely popular. It also gives a look into the AIM movement in the late 60s and on through to a portion of the 70s to fight for indigenous people's rights.

Great book for those who may not have been aware of the AIM movement and the significance of a popular Native American rock band.

Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band artistically weaves the all Native American band’s narrative with the overlooked and often ignored history of Native Americans in the US. The story of Redbone’s musical influence would engage students and lends itself to many teachable avenues- their influence on Jimi Hendrix, changing their names to assimilate, and creating awareness and change through their music. Redbone’s rise and fall mirrors that of other musical groups which would be a further avenue to explore and discuss in class.

The Native American history was fascinating. The occupations at Alcatraz 1969-1971 and Wounded Knee 1973, as well as the support from prominent actors -Marlon Brando and Jane Fonda, connect in many ways to recent protests in the US and the abroad. The story of the separation of children from their families, forced assimilation, and micro aggressions could be addressed and researched for Socratic seminars for older readers. There are countless connections that can be made to current and past and social unrest. And in the classroom, Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band could be a springboard to analyze numerous US historical and contemporary events through a Native American lens.

The structure of the novel needs clarity as I was occasionally confused when reading. A clearly defined storyboard would better the flow and provide a defined reading order. The current layout is not very intuitive.

The artwork is beautiful, and the comic book covers were cleverly used as transitions.

The new graphic novel Redbone is an enjoyable read regardless if you know about the group or not. Not only will you learn about the groundbreaking group, but you will also gain knowledge about some of the injustices Native Americans have had to endure. Prior to reading the book, I was not familiar with the group but was intrigued just to read about an all Native American rock band. Upon reading the novel, I actually found out that I was familiar with their music after all--well at least one song. "Come and Get Your Love" had been one of my favorite tunes on the radio in the 70s. I just never knew who sung it. One of the things I liked about the novel is the way the story is told through a series of flashbacks group member Pat Vegas shares while eating lunch with his adult children. I love how the graphics for the past are in red and blue on a tan background. When he speaks in the present, the background color is white with a mustard color for the graphics. Although the book was about the group Redbone, I actually enjoyed learning and reading about Native American history in this country. Most of the events that occurred in the 1970's I had never heard about. And I was only vaguely familiar with Wounded Knee and the indoctrination boarding schools. My one complaint is that I wish the book had been somewhat longer. At less than 120 pages, there was no way to give more stories or in-depth coverage. And I was left with wanting to know more. However, I am glad that their story was told, and I believe that the graphic novel genre was an excellent way to give them the credit they so deserved.

This is a great book. I enjoyed learning history about the plight the Native Americans in a fun graphic novel format. I think many young adults would be drawn to the rock band aspect of the book and pick up lots of history and a fantastic story along the way. Great graphics that really added to the story. The story of the actual band was interesting in the way that it was told as a story to Pat Vegas's children about his experience. I think it would be great for high school students as well as adults who would remember the civil rights movement and connect to the time period, people and situations mentioned in the book. There were times when I thought it needed more explanation and information but overall great read.

Great artwork. Really enjoyed all the historical information provided. It gives real context to the band and the things they persevered through. Their story is truly fascinating.

Graphic novel that follows the history of the Native American rock band Redbone. This graphic novel also incorporates the past history of the Native Americans and explains the significance of Wounded Knee and the uprising at that some location in 1973. Very informative and eye opening. Great read for the music historian of the 60/70s and for the history of Native Americans.

This is an amazing graphic novel with rich illustrations! I enjoyed learning about the culture and the musical history of the group!

I received an ARC through NetGalley from IDW Publishing. This graphic novel tells the story of the Native American rock band Redone known for “Come and Get Your Love.” We see the band assemble, meet Hendrix, make many albums and slowly change over time. It interweaves the Native American civil rights movement nicely, giving good information and reminding us we still have so far to go. The story is told from Pat Vegas’s perspective as he is speaking to his family and this is where the story gets clunky. The art is ok and the flashback sequences can be hard to follow. I found myself re-reading sections. Overall, I’m glad I read it, but I wanted a smoother story to really make an impact about the importance of Native American civil rights. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars.

This was such a cool way of giving you the back story to Redbone becamean all Native American rock band and the trials and tribulations they faced to get there.

It was interesting to learn that Native American children had to be sent to boarding schools "for Indians" to learn to assimilate into white society. That's so intense and I'd be interested to learn more about that, especially after learning from this book that it's still in affect in some places, in some ways.

I enjoyed the little comic book snippets that flashbacked a bit. That was a quirky way to show things, rather than being told.

I learned so much more than Redbone's beginning, (as well as what the band name means) I learned about the start of AIM (American Indian movement) and lots more about the racism native Americans faced and still do, especially concerning their land being forcefully taken from them and their reservations and culture stripped.

The one thing I would say I struggled with was the direction of speech and little confused by new people introduced, because, for example, I didn't follow very well when band members changed.

The art style also isn't my favourite but I loved the colours and tones used.

This book was at its strongest when weaving in stories about Native Americans’ fight for survival and justice. I had never heard of the titular band before, so the ins-and-outs of who played what when was less interesting to me. However, the beautiful artwork and thoughtful journalistic approach to history made the book a worthwhile read.

This graphic novel is partly a rock & roll history and partly the story of the 1970s civil rights organization AIM and its connection to Native American protests. Redbone was a rock band that was unusual because its members were all Native Americans. They only had a few mainstream hits, but toured with and touched the careers of the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. Today's young adults will recognize their hit "Come and Get Your Love" from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Themes of hard work, family devotion, music industry "rules" and prejudices, and mistreatment of Native Americans run throughout. The water color and ink drawings are artfully done and add to the story. There is an overarching structure that allows the story to be told as if an older man (grandparent) is telling the story to young adults. Characters come and go from the bar/restaurant where the telling takes place. This sometimes detracts from the narrative, but not overly so. The final segment is a flashback to childhood. It seems a bit out of place, almost an afterthought, but it definitely fills in the emotional ties between the Vega brothers who founded Redbone. I thought it might have been better placed early in the story rather than a reminiscence at the end. But, that's just my opinion, and it is an important piece of the tale.

I am a bit curious about the target audience for this book. It's a graphic novel, usually the choice of teens and young adults. There are so many names and references to people and places that will bring back nostalgic feelings for older folks, but may have no meaning to young people. It certainly belongs in high school libraries and YA graphic collections, and its clear explanations of the Indian schools, discrimination, and important movements in Native American history make this a "must read" for anyone interested in the topic. It almost seems to try to do too much for the format. Perhaps this is intended as a gateway to spark interest and spur further investigations.

The narrative is spare, sometimes overly so. There were many, many times where I wasn't sure if I was reading the text in the correct order because there was insufficient through-line between different character's statements. Text blocks seemed to be at times placed at random, which also reduced readability, as did the bleeding of art across pages and columns. While the artwork isn't the most beautiful or compelling, it does lend a hard 70s vibe to the work overall that is intriguing.

The illustrations are wonderfully minimalist and add immensely to the story. The transition from the meta-story to the main story was not quite smooth, but it was definitely worthwhile!