Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

616 reviews

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

katewithtea's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Racism, Gun violence, Sexual content, Grief, Rape, Drug abuse, Car accident, Colonisation, Sexism, Death, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Vomit

easyintheory's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

A beautifully intricate portrayal of painful realities which so many indigenous communities face. This murdery mystery explores the lived experience of a cast of Indigenous characters experiencing the violence brought by colonization. Definitely check the trigger warnings, but all the pain was countered with immense beauty. The pure radiant survivance showcased in this book brought me to tears many times. This book is an instant classic to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

livyadri's review against another edition

informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Listening to the audiobook read by an indigenous actor brought the Anishinaabemowin language to life for me. I appreciated the way Ojibwe culture and teachings were woven into the story and meant so much to the main character, Dauniss. The story was somewhat interesting to see unravel, however, I felt many of the traumatic events in this book were not absorbed or deeply looked at by the characters. I kept waiting for things to hit the main character with their true weight but it was dropped in the name of moving the plot along. While Dauniss matured in her sense of identity and her self-love, I wish I could have heard from her internal monologue how she felt (or didn’t feel) during this whirlwind of a story. I felt it was missing that reflection. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault

squinch's review against another edition

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

jackiesreadingjourney's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Rape, Drug use, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death

deskeepsreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Racism, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping

comfycryptid's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Miigwech, Angeline Boulley, for this incredible story. I'm fresh off of reading it and completely floored. I grew up on a rez not far from Sault Ste Marie and was constantly in town.  Boulley has such a talent for storytelling I could not recommend this book enough.

The author's note brought me to tears:
"There's an important distinction between writing about trauma and writing as tragedy. I sought to write about identity, loss, and injustice...and also of love, joy, connection, friendship, hope, laughter, and the beauty and strength in my Ojibwe community. It was paramount to share and celebrate what justice and healing looks like in a tribal community: cultural events, language revitalization, ceremonies, traditional teachings, whisper networks, blankets parties, and numerous other ways tribes have shown resilience in the face of adversity.

Growing up, none of the books I'd read featured a Native protagonist. With Daunis, I wanted to give Native teens a hero who looks like them, whose greatest strength is her Ojibwe culture and community. When making decisions for our tribe, we look seven generations ahead, considering the effort on our descendants. My hope is that, in sharing our Anishinaabeg experiences, Firekeeper's Daughter will have an impact on future generations."

Angeline Boulley, I think you did just that. Aho!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Racism

Minor: Vomit

oddballag's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Murder, Violence, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Racism, and Grief

Minor: Dementia

sapphic_in_the_stacks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Child death, and Drug abuse