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daniellekat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Colonisation, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Grief, Suicide, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs, Outing, Animal death, Racism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual content, Murder, and Pregnancy
sandyrabanana's review
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Grief, Torture, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and War
kelly_e's review
- 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
Author: Danielle Daniel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: March 8, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Haunting • Moving • Illuminating
📖 S Y N O P S I S
1657. Marie, a gifted healer of the Deer Clan, lost her first husband and her children to an Iroquois raid. In the aftermath of another lethal attack, her chief begs her to remarry for the sake of the clan. Marie honours the ways of her people, and Pierre, the green-eyed ex-soldier from France who wants her for his bride, is not the man she would choose. But her people are dwindling, wracked by white men's diseases and nearly starving every winter as the game retreats away from the white settlements. If her chief believes such a marriage will cement their alliance with the French against the Iroquois and the British, she feels she has no choice. Though she does it reluctantly, and with some fear--Marie is trading the memory of the man she loved for a man she doesn't understand at all, and whose devout Catholicism blinds him to the ways of her people.
1675. Jeanne, the first child born of the new marriage, neither white nor Algonkin - caught between worlds. As she reaches adolescence, it becomes clear she is two-spirited. In her mother's culture, she would have been considered blessed, her nature a sign of special wisdom. But to the settlers of New France, and even to her own father, Jeanne is unnatural, sinful - a woman to be shunned, and worse.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Daughters of the Deer was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and it did not disappoint! A work of historical fiction inspired by the author's family history. I was transported into the story from the very first page.
In this delicately told novel, Danielle Daniel reaches back through the centuries to touch the very origin of the long history of violence against Indigenous women and the deliberate, equally violent, disruption of First Nations culture. It paints a portrait of how French colonization and religion tore apart families and communities, and attempted to eradicate culture and ways of knowing in the Trois-Rivières region of Quebec during the 1600s. Additionally, it touches on differences in cultural perspectives to two-Spirited individuals.
Despite the heartbreaking nature of the story, the mother/daughter relationship between Marie and Jeanne was so wholesome and genuine. It was just so beautiful to watch unfold, as was Jeanne and Josephine's relationship. It's so well written that it moved me to tears, while at other times igniting such anger. And had me hoping that everything work out.
An outstanding debut novel and tribute to the author's ancestors! This beautiful, powerful novel honours women who have literally fallen through the cracks. It's not often I'd re-read a book, but this is one I can see myself re-reading down the road. I will definitely be keeping my eye on what this author's releases next.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• historical fiction lovers
• anyone wanting to educate themselves on the impacts of French colonization in Quebec
• readers who like mother/daughter relationships
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"They take without asking and speak of this land being new. But how can it be new if we have always been here?"
Graphic: Racism, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child death, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, Hate crime, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Addiction, Miscarriage, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal death
genocide, death, death of partner, colourism, drowningivybaggs's review
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, Grief, Homophobia, Genocide, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Rape, Murder, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Outing
Minor: Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Domestic abuse
hntrthmpsn31's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Outing, Racial slurs, Violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Murder, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Torture
kindredbooks's review
- 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
Danielle Daniel is a master storyteller and she's proven to be so versatile in what she writes - children's books, middle grade novels, and now historical fiction. In Daughters of the Deer, Danielle Daniel transports readers to the 1600s, where we follow the lives of the women in the Algonquin territories. The story is inspired by her own family's ancestral link to this time period - where a young girl was murdered by French settlers. In this story, we first follow Marie of the Deer Clan who finds herself considering marriage to a French settler in order to strengthen the relationships between the settlers and her tribe in order to protect them from the Iroquois raids. Marie has many suspicions and doubts about these settlers and their beliefs but she does what is best for her people. Years later, her daughter Jeanne is struggling to find her place in this society where she is told what a woman can and must do. While who she is would be celebrated by her mother's people, the church and the settlers find her sinful. This beautiful, tragic and sorrowful story about Marie and Jeanne is one that shows how the abuse and violence against Indigenous women has been present ever since the beginning of the interactions between the settlers and the Indigenous peoples.
Daniel Danielle continues to weave her magic in storytelling and I felt that I was there with Marie and Jeanne as their stories unfolded. I wanted to root for them so badly even as I knew that this story would end tragically. It is a story that continues to add to my education as a settler here on traditional lands - in understanding the culture, beliefs and lives of the Indigenous peoples, and seeing it juxtaposed with those of the settlers who sought to assimilate them.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Child death, Racism, Homophobia, Animal death, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Infidelity, and Kidnapping