Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

76 reviews

taroroot's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

one star off for the love interest being in the FBI

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Drug use, Confinement, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Murder, Grief, and Racial slurs

Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Blood

tatih's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Physical abuse, and Rape

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

teajunki's review

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

summerlyn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative 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? No

5.0

I loved every minute of this book! The investigation was interesting and I loved learning more about another culture. The author highlighted many issues with how the Ojibwe community are treated, especially by the law enforcement/government. Daunis was such a great lead with so many layers. How she worked through problems and situations was so fun to read.The ending was so sad but also empowering for Daunis and extremely realistic. I cannot wait to read the second book in this series!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Addiction, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Torture, Racism, and Racial slurs

mktraxel's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

CAWPILE 9.4

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Racism, Death of parent, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Alcohol, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Racial slurs

michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

I listened to the audio and the narration was excellent. Angeline Boulley does a great job of balancing the informational text about Ojibwe culture and the story and weaving its importance into who the characters are. It felt equal parts new adult, coming of age, family drama, mystery/thriller, and social commentary. I was engaged throughout the whole book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicide, Colonisation, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Racism

squinch's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexism, Car accident, Rape, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Drug use, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Addiction, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Stalking, Suicide, Racism, Homophobia, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Death

ali___cat's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Gun violence, Racism, Car accident, Death, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug use, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse

blueyogi's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Addiction

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, Racism, Drug abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Drug use

Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexism