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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
La Ballona Creek by Brant Vickers follows Jorma, Yogi, and Sonny after discovering a hidden world through Tomer, a Tongva descendant, and their involvement in a conflict over the protection of Tongva ancestral lands. They undertake a mission to retrieve the Tongva ancestors' remains from a construction site, only to be caught in a violent confrontation, leading them to be swept away in a storm drain. The group later wakes up, having been transported in time to a Tongva village before the Spanish colonization. They adapt to village life, learn survival skills, and assist with resistance efforts against the Spanish encroachment. As the group becomes more entrenched in the conflict, they must come to terms with their role in a past they can’t alter and a time they might be stuck in, as they struggle to find their place in a world they don’t fully understand.
Brant Vickers’ La Ballona Creek is a fantastically rendered time-travel novel that emphasizes the impact of violent colonialism through the lens of 20th-century Jorma Nevala’s eyes. Vickers’ writing is simple, straightforward, and detailed, and it is clear that his research into the Tongva tribe was exhaustive. I love his mix of the practicalities of living in the environment and the weight of that moment in history. The pacing captures both the slow rhythm of life within the village and the sudden, violent interruptions of the Spanish incursion. Many times when I read time-travel fiction, it feels like the story just dumps facts to get them out of the way, but Vickers uses restraint here and makes the history accessible, all while leaning into the strength of Indigenous lives in the face of colonial forces. La Ballona Creek is a thoughtful, fresh perspective in a well-written coming-of-age story. Recommended.
