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emjay2021's review
2.0
I requested and received a review copy of this book because it's something we are considering using as a text for our lower literacy students. I had mixed feelings about it; on the one hand, I am glad to see a book about an urgent topic like missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. However, I'm just not sure if this book really does it justice. I need to think about this one a bit more.
ms_read's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Racism, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Drug use
xokristim's review
3.0
At first I was really invested in the main character, but as the story went on I felt myself losing interest, not just in the character but in the story as a whole. I will say the characters were very relateable, which is always a big plus for me.
The story started off extremely interesting and I didn't want to put it down, but I'd say around 25% of the way through I felt the story went flat. It wasn't awful by any means, it just got slow. The air of mystery was there but not quite gripping me, like it had in the very beginning.
I will say that this book was extremely well written, and I would recommend it to others, it just wasn't for me.
The story started off extremely interesting and I didn't want to put it down, but I'd say around 25% of the way through I felt the story went flat. It wasn't awful by any means, it just got slow. The air of mystery was there but not quite gripping me, like it had in the very beginning.
I will say that this book was extremely well written, and I would recommend it to others, it just wasn't for me.
hnagle15's review
3.0
(TW: sexual assault, murder, abuse, child molestation)
I wanted to like this more than I did.
I think it is well written in that it brings to light an issue within Canada for many years and has recently been declared a Canadian genocide. However, the writing was choppy and the characters were flat. I couldn't connect to them and felt like they were too cartoony and stereotypical high school students.
I also felt that there was a lot of victim blaming throughout the book. Much of it was to make a point to accurately reflect how the Canadian criminal justice system/general public feels about missing and murdered Indigenous women - "oh they were drug users/sex workers/runaways/homeless so it was inevitable." And while I appreciate the accuracy of that, I did not appreciate when the victim blaming came directly from a character who was on "their side" the entire novel. Throughout the novel Feather was adamant that it was not Mia and Carli's fault that they disappeared, they were taken and that was that - it was an epidemic. However, at one point she changed her mind, thinking:
"But the sheer number of Aboriginal girls hanging out alone or just with one other girl was mind-boggling. Didn't they know how dangerous it was for them? Hadn't they read the statistics? I wanted to yell, 'Get out of here! We're four times more likely to be killed than that white girl over there!' But I didn't."
I feel like this switch is harmful within the narrative, where we see the shift in mindset from solidarity to victim blaming - which is an incredibly dangerous shift that has led to the genocide in itself. It's easier to blame the victims than to admit there is a problem and while I appreciated what the author was trying to do, I felt like this shift within Feather's mindset hurt the overall message.
Overall I enjoyed the story, it's a quick read that discusses a lot of hard truths in a way that is easy to unpack and get sucked into the story. I do think the writing was weak, but the overall message was apparent: this is a problem that needs to be solved yesterday.
I wanted to like this more than I did.
I think it is well written in that it brings to light an issue within Canada for many years and has recently been declared a Canadian genocide. However, the writing was choppy and the characters were flat. I couldn't connect to them and felt like they were too cartoony and stereotypical high school students.
I also felt that there was a lot of victim blaming throughout the book. Much of it was to make a point to accurately reflect how the Canadian criminal justice system/general public feels about missing and murdered Indigenous women - "oh they were drug users/sex workers/runaways/homeless so it was inevitable." And while I appreciate the accuracy of that, I did not appreciate when the victim blaming came directly from a character who was on "their side" the entire novel. Throughout the novel Feather was adamant that it was not Mia and Carli's fault that they disappeared, they were taken and that was that - it was an epidemic. However, at one point she changed her mind, thinking:
"But the sheer number of Aboriginal girls hanging out alone or just with one other girl was mind-boggling. Didn't they know how dangerous it was for them? Hadn't they read the statistics? I wanted to yell, 'Get out of here! We're four times more likely to be killed than that white girl over there!' But I didn't."
I feel like this switch is harmful within the narrative, where we see the shift in mindset from solidarity to victim blaming - which is an incredibly dangerous shift that has led to the genocide in itself. It's easier to blame the victims than to admit there is a problem and while I appreciated what the author was trying to do, I felt like this shift within Feather's mindset hurt the overall message.
Overall I enjoyed the story, it's a quick read that discusses a lot of hard truths in a way that is easy to unpack and get sucked into the story. I do think the writing was weak, but the overall message was apparent: this is a problem that needs to be solved yesterday.
brandinh's review
5.0
Is this a perfect and beautifully written book with “literary quality?*” No. But it’s not meant to be. This title is referred to as hi-lo (meaning high interest, low readability). The book is written expressly for the purpose of engaging teens in reading successfully and joyfully. So, it’s quite short with simpler language, making it easier to comprehend. There is a lot going on in this book. In less than 200 pages, the author touches on sexual abuse, unhealthy relationships, homelessness, homophobia, alcoholism, racism, and most importantly, the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada (and the US). So yeah, it’s a lot, but this is the ONLY book for teens that I have been able to find that highlights MMIW. This is SO, SO important. Today’s teens are going to change the world, and this is a problem that needs addressing. Combined with relatable characters, the plot will appeal directly to the many teens obsessed with true crime and procedurals like NCIS and SVU. Language, violence, and themes make this more suitable for older teens.
*I don’t subscribe to the idea of “literary quality” as a significant factor in a book’s worth.
*I don’t subscribe to the idea of “literary quality” as a significant factor in a book’s worth.
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review
3.0
A book on a topic whose importance can't be overstated: missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. A Cree teen girl in Winnipeg takes the investigation of her missing friend into her own hands. The first half this book was well done, with intros to characters and building suspicions, but the second half wasn't very well paced. It felt like little happened until the very end, which felt rushed and anticlimactic. Many scenes were left off-screen that would have been good to show (Feather breaking up with her boyfriend, presenting the evidence to free her brother). It also was disappointing that Feather was quite close but never found the killer (although the reader learns who he is at the end). Also, no closure on Mia's mom and abusive step dad? Some loose ends not tied up at all and others very hastily so.
bredmgz214's review
3.0
I received this ARC from netgalley. It was a good read, very interesting but I felt unsatisfied with the ending. I wished there was more, but it represented real life and people dont always get closure and it really reminded me of a lifetime movie. Overall it was a 3.5. I felt like there was a lot of loose ends that were just built up and quickly dealt with.
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