The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Ford, Kelli Jo. Crooked Hallelujah. Grove Press, 2020.

Kelli Jo Ford's Crooked Hallelujah is told from the first and third person points of view of her protagonists Justine and Reney, and members of their Cherokee family and community. The novel adopts a fragmented structure, and vacillates between the past and present tense. The following summary adopts a linear pattern of explanation.

As a young girl, Justine lives in Beulah Springs, Oklahoma, with her mother, Lula, grandmother, Annie Mae, and sisters Dee and Josie. When the girls are young, their father abandons them, making Lula the sole provider. Soon Justine's sisters create their own lives, and she is left with her mother. Restless and craving independence, Justine sneaks out with Russell Gibson one night. Their fun turns sour when Russell rapes her. Not long after, Justine discovers she is pregnant. She keeps the baby, quits school, and separates from her mother's faith. She works tirelessly at the factory in an effort to support Reney.

Reney, however, has trouble understanding her mother's constant work, and incessant dating. She longs for a traditional sense of family, and considers Annie Mae her truest love. Not long after Justine's first marriage to Kenny ends, she marries Pitch. Though Reney likes Pitch, she is reluctant to leave her home in Beulah Springs and move to Bonita, Texas to be near Pitch's parents. She feels better once Justine and Pitch tell her they are making a new home and family. Not long after living there, Pitch and Justine's relationship grows increasingly volatile, and Justine moves them back to Beulah Springs. As Reney grows up, she begins pulling away from Justine. She almost stays behind, when Justine announces she and Pitch are getting back together and they will be returning to Bonita.

Years later, both Justine and Reney are still living in Texas. Reney has married a violent and abusive man named Wes. She takes care of his ranch, works at Dairy Queen, and attends school. She regrets staying in Texas, realizing that the only thing she can truly call her own is her mule, Rosalee. After a series of miscarriages, she decides she does not want to have children with Wes anyway. With the encouragement of her boss, Jack, she leaves Wes and moves to Portland, Oregon. In Oregon, Reney earns her degree in literature, and meets her second husband. She and Justine keep in close contact over the phone.

Meanwhile, Justine struggles with her daughter's absence. Her mother's worsening health conditions inspire her continued travels between Texas and Oklahoma. As she and her sisters stay with their mother in her final days, Justine is compelled to reflect on her past. She makes peace with her mother, and thanks her for her strength. She is finally able to see the cyclical nature of life.

Years in the future, Justine is an elderly woman, and is ready to return to her homeland to die. Reney and her husband make the journey with Justine, traveling through apocalyptic terrain and weather patterns to fulfill Justine's last wish. At their destination, they leave Justine behind. Reney realizes they have always been two parts of the same collective whole. Both women finally understand that their truest sense of home is in one another.