FDF's Summer Reading Guide

We can't imagine our summer's without a stack of delectable reads. At Farmer’s Daughter Fibers, our reading lives are deeply connected to the land, history, and people of Montana and beyond. This summer, we’re sharing a curated collection of books that move us: from Indigenous memoir and Montana classics to eerie tales and heartfelt family sagas.

So grab your project bag, a cold drink, and a book that speaks to your soul. Here’s our Summer Reading Guide, organized by mood, memory, and meaning.

Montana Origin Stories

These are the books that whisper with wind off the prairie, that smell like sagebrush and memory. They’re gritty, gorgeous, and full of the complicated truth of this place we call home.

The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
A lyrical and haunting reimagining of Sacajewea’s life, told through the lens of power, resistance, and reclamation. This isn’t the story you learned in school and that’s the point.

Born to Be by Kendra Mylnechuk Potter
A memoir of adoption, identity, and reconnecting with heritage. Kendra’s journey back to her Lummi roots is both personal and universal in its search for belonging.

This House of Sky by Ivan Doig
A Montana memoir that reads like a love letter to place and people, Doig captures the soul of the Big Sky country with aching beauty.

Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling
A gripping novel set on the Flathead Reservation, this book follows Louise White Elk as she navigates violence, agency, and survival in 1940s Montana. This is Candice's #1 book of all time.

The Big Sky by A.B. Guthrie Jr.
A classic frontier novel that still shapes how outsiders imagine Montana. Read it to know what’s been romanticized—and what’s been left out.

Dream State by Eric Puchner
A nostalgic, kaleidoscopic portrait of time passing. Set in California and Montana, this is our June and July book club pick!

Scary Tales

For fans of the macabre, mythical, and mind-bending. These reads are best devoured under a blanket or beside a campfire when the night feels just a little too quiet.

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
Indigenous horror with heart. These interconnected stories span generations, blending the supernatural with the deeply human.

Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
A slasher sequel with smarts and edge. Set in a snowy Colorado town, this one’s for fans of blood, grit, and redemption.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Darkly funny, unsettling, and dreamlike. This novel will twist your expectations of narrative, identity, and reality. The cultural references of this book at spot on.

Indigenous Education

These books confront the legacy of colonization and boarding schools with honesty and grace. They’re not easy reads, but they’re essential ones.

The Round House by Louise Erdrich
A coming-of-age story tangled with grief and justice. This novel explores how trauma echoes through Native families and communities.

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
Told through multiple generations of Dakota women, this novel sows truths about displacement, land, and resilience.

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
A contemporary thriller wrapped around generational trauma and the erasure of Native stories. Harrowing and timely.

Family Stories

Family can be your anchor or your undoing. These novels explore inheritance, memory, and the people we carry with us, even when they’re gone.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
A multi-generational epic connecting daughters across time through inherited pain and strength. A tender unraveling of legacy and hope.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
Myth, migration, and magic mix in this Hawai’i-set novel about a family pulled apart and tethered by both the seen and unseen.

There There and Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
The wildly popular “There There” shattered narratives of Urban Indigenous kids. “Wandering Stars” continues the story, delving into ancestors and the cyclical weight of history. Read them together....then you'll need to sit in silence a good while after.

Non-Fiction

Real stories that read like poetry, reporting that feels like reckoning. These are the books that inform, illuminate, and inspire action.

Return of the Bison by Roger Di Silvestro
A riveting history of conservation and the complex relationship between the bison, the West, and the Indigenous peoples who depended on them.

Girlhood by Melissa Febos
Braided essays on the shaping of the self. Febos unpacks girlhood like pulling apart yarn to find the knots and the pattern beneath.

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
A fierce, fragmented memoir of love, trauma, and healing by a Salish writer. Gutting in its vulnerability and strength.

Path Lit By Lightning by David Maraniss
The story of Jim Thorpe, the greatest athlete of the 20th century and the many ways this country tried to erase him.

The Quickening by Elizabeth Rush
This nonfiction memoir offers so much for those thinking about climate, birth, and future-making.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
A staple in our shop and our hearts. If you haven’t read it yet, now’s the time. A beautiful blend of Indigenous wisdom, botany, and storytelling.

Vacation Reads

Fast-paced, clever, or deeply satisfying, these are the books you’ll want to tuck into your suitcase or devour in one sun-drenched sitting.

The Indian Lawyer by James Welch
A sharp novel about ambition, identity, and the legal system. Set partly in Montana, with Welch’s signature realism and depth.

Old School Indian by Adrian Louis
Gritty, unapologetic poetry and prose. Not for the faint of heart, but perfect for those who like their literature raw and real.

Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
YA with teeth. Ember is a fierce teen navigating grief, cultural identity, and a mysterious conspiracy. Empowering and engaging.

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
Blends Lipan Apache storytelling with sci-fi in a genre-bending tale of connection and survival. A great one for teens or adults craving something fresh.

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty
A novel about family, memory, and escape, from one of the most exciting new Indigenous voices in fiction.