Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

427 reviews

cindys3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, Kidnapping, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Rape, and Drug use

lawbooks600's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Representation: Biracial (half white and half Native American,) Native American and Black side characters
Score: Eight out of ten.

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angelline Boulley circled my recommendations for months till now, and I thought no library would ever get it until a library got it. The book sat there on a display shelf till I picked it up, glanced at the blurb and headed in with high expectations, and when I closed the final page, it was thrilling. Where's Warrior Girl Unearthed?

It starts with Daunis living like she's split between her home and the Ojibwe reservation, where nothing happens in the opening pages save for her recounting her life in 2004, but everything changes after those pages when her best friend dies from a murder. Daunis joins an FBI investigation, but she starts hers as more deaths happen, and that is where the story shines in many ways. The pacing is mostly engaging and suspenseful as I see Daunis trying to discover who is the murderer, unintentionally stumbling upon another mystery on who is smuggling drugs in the Ojibwe community. Still, Boulley could've trimmed filler pages, of which there are around 100, to tighten her creation. There are not one, but two plots, adding to my enjoyment without being overwhelming or disjointed, but the narrative falters with its characters with their lack of relatability and the sheer number of them. Boulley could've removed them. The writing style is mostly okay but sometimes there are information dumps (which I found detracted from the central plot) and Boulley could've held back and instead improved the flow. I liked learning about Native American (is that the right term?) culture and medicines (no appropriation here,) a far cry from Indigenous Australian ones and the climax and conclusion ties everything on a high note.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, Car accident, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Death, Suicide, Grief, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Drug use, Blood, Sexism, and Addiction

Full trigger warnings: Death and murder of a friend, another person by suicide from a gun shot in the past and a grandmother, blood, grief and loss depiction, car crash, gun and axe violence, physical assault and injury, fire, racist and sexist slurs, racism, sexism, cheating, pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, abuse and addiction, hospitalisation

aheroux_24's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, Grief, and Rape

linneak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Colonisation, Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

kendrasreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious

5.0

Loved this one. I understand others feeling that it was a bit lengthy or had some rushed parts and I can see that. Overall this was such a wonderful dive back into YA contemporary for me.

So glad I listened to it and got to hear pronunciations that I likely would’ve otherwise botched on my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Addiction, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Racial slurs

jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

This is the first book in a long time to have me full on sobbing through most of it. Angeline Boulley has a talent unlike anyone else; knowing this was her debut makes me think I'm not at all prepared for the emotions I will have reading the follow up in the series. 

Representation is never a monolith, but the representation in Firekeeper's Daughter is not only lived but also a look at the horrors caused by settler colonialism in America. Daunis's community was at once heartfelt and compassionate and wracked with corruption. 

Y'all when I say this book was chock full with plot twists and surprises. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time reading it. If you're into mysteries, atmospheric writing, and stories that are a gut punch, you should pick up Fire Keeper's Daughter

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Grief, Suicide, Drug use, Death, and Addiction

madeline_schmidt20's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Rape, Addiction, Car accident, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, and Infidelity

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I love when I read a book that is unlike any book I’ve ever read before. This book opened up new worlds because I’ve not really read any contemporary books with Native people as the main characters. Learning about Native culture and customs through this novel was a breathtaking experience. The plot is believable, the characters choose paths that are unexpected, and the ending is sad but gives you a sense of finality as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Car accident, Child death, Dementia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical content, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual violence, and Torture

teajunki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Gun violence

madlyreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Racism, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexism, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Xenophobia, Car accident, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault