Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

154 reviews

micaelamariem's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Going into this book, I had no idea this was a thriller, so that was definitely a surprise. But despite my aversion to mysteries, this book sucked me in.
Each chapter left me hungrily wanting more and there were deep scenes that evoked strong emotions from me. The representation of grief I thought was done really well as well as the PTSD the character was experiencing; though it wasn’t named that, the symptoms were visceral and evocative, and it felt believable, not a laundry list from WebMD. I’m not indigenous, so I can’t speak to the representation of a native tribe, though I think I learned more about tribe systems and laws. And with the ending, that wasn’t quite happy or sad, we got just a taste of the injustices indigenous tribal members face to this day.
Though I felt empathy for the main character, there were times I didn’t like her. I felt like she slipped into the “not like other girls” category like a lot of YA protagonists have a tendency to do. She acted like she wanted to speak up for women, but she called other girls dating her brother’s friends “angler fish” and judged them way too harshly. 
I also think the pacing was slightly off. The first two thirds of the book was slow to medium paced, but still enjoyable. In the last third, lots of action came seemingly out of nowhere and it felt like we were racing to keep up until the end. If the pacing could’ve been evened out a little more, I think it would’ve made for an even more enjoyable read.

However, I did love this, and I do recommend it! It kept me on my toes and taught me a few lessons, while being mostly believable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, Death, Classism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment

gummybearlife's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Death, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Rape and Murder

plumpeony's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Vomit, Gun violence, Colonisation, Rape, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Drug use

tarsharks's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

5.0

Daunis is smart, funny, and determined. It was an amazing story filled with mystery and suspense and a dash of romance and humor. And the plot twists 🤯
Some parts were a little slow but I can't wait to read more from this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Drug use, Rape, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death, Murder, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Racism

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

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

klbreyfogle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

The book is quite dark, and features themes of betrayal, drugs, and sexual assault. It’s also hopeful with strong community themes! Overall, it was quite complicated and I enjoyed it - the twists were somewhat predictable but the writing was compelling. I also appreciated the strong incorporation of Anishinaabe culture and the Great Lakes region. I could’ve done without the romance plot line, but as another commenter pointed out it’s YA and a younger audience probably likes it more than I do - I thought the themes stood up on their own without it. I did appreciate that

they went their own ways at the end and didn’t end up together just for the heck of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Rape, Drug abuse, Violence, Suicide, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Medical content and Colonisation

Minor: Toxic relationship and Death of parent

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

hmetwade's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Death, Car accident, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Grief, Racism, Blood, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Murder, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic relationship

baileyes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Beautiful and emotionally painful. Not the book I intended to read but I’m glad I did

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Racism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Gun violence, Drug use, Addiction, Classism, Car accident, Murder, Violence, Drug abuse, Death, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Grief