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emily_mh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was… incredible. I don’t think I’m going to stop thinking about this read for a very long time, much like I’ve never stopped thinking about Boulley’s debut (and the companion to this novel), Firekeeper’s Daughter.
In her Author’s Note, Boulley states that: “Ultimately, Warrior Girl Unearthed is about the need to control Indigenous bodies - both in the past and today.” I genuinely cannot think of a better way to describe the story here. The narrative is based on both the fact that 108,000 ancestors remain stolen across the U.S. alone (and those are just the reported cases), and the fact that there is a crisis of MMIWG2S.
Through her summer internship, Perry learns about how museums and universities have been resisting the repatriation of Native American ancestors, as well as cultural items, despite legislation (NAGPRA) being made to enforce repatriation. Instead, these institutions find loopholes which they use to avoid this process, which the less-than-watertight NAGPRA allows for. Another massive issue with NAGPRA is that it cannot hold to account private U.S. “collectors”, or public and private “collectors” overseas! It really disgusted me how academics here (reflecting their real-world counterparts) treated the ancestors and the cultural items as monetary assets, as “things” that belonged to them and that they had a right to. It shone a light on the white supremacy inherent in academia, and in particular challenged my view on archaeology. A striking quote found in the book is “one person’s archaeologist is another person’s grave robber.” It made me question how old a grave needs to be before it turns from grave-robbing to academic study - or perhaps a more apt question is, who the grave belongs to? Is it ever okay to place academic study over respect for a human’s burial? Where is that line drawn and why? I’m coming at these questions from my POV as a Classics student; these questions obviously have clear answers when it comes to Native American ancestors.
The same racism, fetishisation, and control that informs the attitude of museums and universities towards repatriation is also behind the epidemic of MMIWG2S that the book includes. Here I learnt about VAWA (the Violence Against Women Act); I don’t know why I didn’t remember this from Firekeeper’s Daughter. It is another piece of legislation that is supposed to protect Native Americans, but its massive blindspot renders it ineffective. Essentially, non-Indigenous folk have a very low chance of prosecution over harming Indigenous people on tribal land due to how jurisdiction is set up by VAWA. This is just such a glaring oversight and enables non-Indigenous people to harm Native Americans without consequence - as is detailed in the story here.
Please don’t go into this expecting a fast-paced thriller. You will do yourself and this book a disservice. There are definitely mystery and thriller elements that propel the story forward, but the focus is on Perry as she learns about and experiences the issues her community is facing, figures out what she can do about it, and takes action. It is slow-paced, but this fits the story well as Boulley uses the space to realistically show an MC learning, growing, acting, and finding her purpose.
Perry’s character development is significant. She does not begin as directionless per se, but there is such a difference in her at the end of the book where she has found something that she is wrapped up in, that drives her, that gives her actions meaning. Perry was a great MC to follow in other ways too. I loved how headstrong and determined she was, how committed she was to her community and ancestors. I liked how she wasn’t perfect, instead a little messy, but her heart was always in the right place.
I cannot wait to be able to read a new Angeline Boulley, whenever that might be!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Cursing, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Car accident, Death, Rape, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Addiction, Slavery, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Animal death, Excrement, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Abandonment, Ableism, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, War, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Child abuse
Major: theft, missing loved one, MMIWG2S Moderate: trichotillomania, blackmailing Minor: menstruation, childbirth, grooming, one use of the anti_Inuit e-slur, blood quantum, residential schools, loss of a loved onecookiecat73's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
wow. this book was really good.
I loved the characters and the themes, thought they were very well handled. The prose was easy to read, flowed well, the sort I'm able to fly through and read lots at once. The only thing stopping me from doing that was how heavy the book was, and even despite that I read it in 2 and a half days.
Some books like this have some sort of emotional climax that I have to pause the book at to cry. That didn't really happen to me with this book. Instead I found myself tearing up at what felt like every other chapter.
I read the blurb for this book when I was around the half-way mark, thinking that it was unlikely to spoil anything that far in. It absolutely did. I guess I'm more spoiler-sensitive than most people, but wow, did they really need to tell you that in the blurb? the thing you're meant to read before trying the book? oh well.
Some thoughts about something that is kind of spoilery: The whole thing with Cooper Turtle felt exactly like it was setting up to be the trope of the quirky old guy who no one really likes and everyone judges and the teen mc hates at first but grows to love and maybe he says something she doesn't like but turns out he was right all along! So I kept that trope in mind while reading. But then the story progressed and I though maybe I was wrong and that although Perry has grown to respect him much more than initially, Cooper Turtle isn't going to be proven right all along, and the message would be that you do sometimes have to go outside the rules to things that are important if going inside the rules won't work. But then later Perry seems to "learn her lesson" that Cooper was right. So it does fit into that trope I thought it would? I'm a little confused at what the message around that is. The main growth of Perry is to be a little less impulsive, as she doesn't always know the full effects of her words and actions - which I generally like as a message, although it skirts the edge of feeling as though it's critising her bluntness at the start, and since being blunt is often an autistic trait, feels a little ehhhh... (btw Perry does feel kind of Autistic coded to me, though I don't know if it was intentional) it only skirts the edge though, I hope that's not the intention. [back to my main point] but it also doesn't seem to condemn Perry breaking the rules at some points, which could make it feel like a good nuanced take, but in my opinon it comes out as just being a bit confusing, I'm not really sure of the intention of the message.
There isn't really anything in this book that I feel able to critisize. There's nothing I want to take out or completely do over. But there are a lot of moments where I think something could be added. In general I just wanted more from the book. I loved following these characters and their lives, and there are so many times when the narrative skips a few days and all we hear about them is a quick summarry from a character. I would have loved some of those days to have been included in the book. It feels like a lot happens off-page, and I know the book is fairly long already, but personally, I would have loved it longer, to have it include those days and moments it skims over. I think seeing some of that would have made the story feel more real and whole to me. (not that it felt not real or not whole! I loved the book, I mean just as an improvement.)
The other main thing I would add is more time for the emotions. Again, there are no descriptions of emotions that I would do differently or take out, but I want more. So many traumatising things happen, there are so many moments when our characters are clearly very shaken up and struggling, and personally, I think the narrative could have done with giving the emotional impact more time and space. Sometimes giving only the bare minimum in describing the characters reactions and feelings feels like a great intentional choice, but I think here we needed a bit more. We are told our main character cries a lot (which is good!) but I would have liked more descriptions of her feelings in those moments. And again it's where we skip over hours or days and processing happens off-page. I think that can work great if it's because the character barely remembers it because of how traumatising it was, but again, I think too much was left out and skimmed over in this case.
The ending and resolution too, feel a bit too fast and rushed for my taste. And I'm left a little confused over some of the things that happened, though I'm not sure if that's something the book did wrong or if not understanding was on me here.
[the "critism" about emotions is the one I stand by here the most, the others I think are very much personal taste, as it's something I've noticed happen quite a bit with books I read. my reviews are always about my personal enjoyment of books though, so I'm still mentioning them!]
Overall though, I loved this. I will absolutely be reading FIrekeeper's Daughter and probably any more books that the author writes if they look like the sort of book I like
I loved the characters and the themes, thought they were very well handled. The prose was easy to read, flowed well, the sort I'm able to fly through and read lots at once. The only thing stopping me from doing that was how heavy the book was, and even despite that I read it in 2 and a half days.
Some books like this have some sort of emotional climax that I have to pause the book at to cry. That didn't really happen to me with this book. Instead I found myself tearing up at what felt like every other chapter.
I read the blurb for this book when I was around the half-way mark, thinking that it was unlikely to spoil anything that far in. It absolutely did. I guess I'm more spoiler-sensitive than most people, but wow, did they really need to tell you that in the blurb? the thing you're meant to read before trying the book? oh well.
Some thoughts about something that is kind of spoilery:
There isn't really anything in this book that I feel able to critisize. There's nothing I want to take out or completely do over. But there are a lot of moments where I think something could be added. In general I just wanted more from the book. I loved following these characters and their lives, and there are so many times when the narrative skips a few days and all we hear about them is a quick summarry from a character. I would have loved some of those days to have been included in the book. It feels like a lot happens off-page, and I know the book is fairly long already, but personally, I would have loved it longer, to have it include those days and moments it skims over. I think seeing some of that would have made the story feel more real and whole to me. (not that it felt not real or not whole! I loved the book, I mean just as an improvement.)
The other main thing I would add is more time for the emotions. Again, there are no descriptions of emotions that I would do differently or take out, but I want more. So many traumatising things happen, there are so many moments when our characters are clearly very shaken up and struggling, and personally, I think the narrative could have done with giving the emotional impact more time and space. Sometimes giving only the bare minimum in describing the characters reactions and feelings feels like a great intentional choice, but I think here we needed a bit more. We are told our main character cries a lot (which is good!) but I would have liked more descriptions of her feelings in those moments. And again it's where we skip over hours or days and processing happens off-page. I think that can work great if it's because the character barely remembers it because of how traumatising it was, but again, I think too much was left out and skimmed over in this case.
The ending and resolution too, feel a bit too fast and rushed for my taste. And I'm left a little confused over some of the things that happened, though I'm not sure if that's something the book did wrong or if not understanding was on me here.
[the "critism" about emotions is the one I stand by here the most, the others I think are very much personal taste, as it's something I've noticed happen quite a bit with books I read. my reviews are always about my personal enjoyment of books though, so I'm still mentioning them!]
Overall though, I loved this. I will absolutely be reading FIrekeeper's Daughter and probably any more books that the author writes if they look like the sort of book I like
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Car accident, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Murder, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Biphobia, Colonisation, Gore, Homophobia, Medical content, and Outing
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Animal death, Sexual violence, Bullying, Cannibalism, Dementia, and Police brutality
rape is discussed more than just in passing but is not showngetlitwithamy_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The long-awaited companion novel of FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER did not disappoint!
It was great to see some of the characters from the previous book but for this one to focus on other characters and have a separate storyline. Perry Firekeeper-Birch is so determined and I loved her as a protagonist. Angeline Boulley did such a good job showing Perry's resourcefulness as she is placed in situations she hadn't planned on being in for the summer.
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED is definitely character-driven, but there is still a strong plot to the story. It is a mix of both, as where FIREKEEPER felt like a mix but with more plot development than character development.
I also loved learning more about Indigenous culture! One example is the use of Ojibwemowin and English in this book. While I didn't know some of the terms that weren't translated into English, Boulley was able to place them in sentences that offered easy context for non-Ojibwe people to understand.
What was also interesting to learn more about is the repatriation process of the ancestral remains of Indigenous people. WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED deals with the topic of the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement which is rarely covered in mainstream media that has Missing White Women Syndrome. The mishandling and theft of the remains of Indigenous people is a devastating occurrence since it is yet another example of white people taking something that wasn't theirs to begin with.
The light and dark parts of this book made it such a fantastic read. I loved it so much and hope that Angeline Boulley comes out with more books in the near future.
It was great to see some of the characters from the previous book but for this one to focus on other characters and have a separate storyline. Perry Firekeeper-Birch is so determined and I loved her as a protagonist. Angeline Boulley did such a good job showing Perry's resourcefulness as she is placed in situations she hadn't planned on being in for the summer.
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED is definitely character-driven, but there is still a strong plot to the story. It is a mix of both, as where FIREKEEPER felt like a mix but with more plot development than character development.
I also loved learning more about Indigenous culture! One example is the use of Ojibwemowin and English in this book. While I didn't know some of the terms that weren't translated into English, Boulley was able to place them in sentences that offered easy context for non-Ojibwe people to understand.
What was also interesting to learn more about is the repatriation process of the ancestral remains of Indigenous people. WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED deals with the topic of the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement which is rarely covered in mainstream media that has Missing White Women Syndrome. The mishandling and theft of the remains of Indigenous people is a devastating occurrence since it is yet another example of white people taking something that wasn't theirs to begin with.
The light and dark parts of this book made it such a fantastic read. I loved it so much and hope that Angeline Boulley comes out with more books in the near future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Racism
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Violence, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Hate crime, Medical trauma, Genocide, Rape, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
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