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shuteyessee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
I would give the indigenous aspects of this book fire stars. I feel like some of this book was very unbelievable or details were skipped over to keep the story moving. Some things were way too simple and others outrageously complicated. Overall I did like it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
I would give the indigenous aspects of this book fire stars. I feel like some of this book was very unbelievable or details were skipped over to keep the story moving. Some things were way too simple and others outrageously complicated. Overall I did like itjessikeenan's review
1.5
Truly where to begin with this book. Maybe let’s start with the few good things. First, it is a mystery and I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery and who was behind it. (Of course, one of the culprits was incredibly obvious and it was clear that the hockey team was involved.) Second, I enjoyed the community aspects of the books, especially the relationships between Lily and Duanis and Teddy and Duanis.
That’s basically where it ends. The overall idea of the book was great but I hated the execution a LOT. In part this could be because it is a YA and I am for sure not the intended audience. However, even with this disclaimer, I was really frustrated with a lot of this book. The tone was completely uneven. The book opens with a significant tragedy, centers around drugs, has a ton of violence (sexual and other) and yet every other page has a description of how hot Jamie is????? Like?????? Pretty much the tone was: the tribe is great, Jamie is hot, VIOLENCE/DRUGS/TRAGEDY. This compounded with the extremely shallow way that the tragedies/trauma is discussed, made it feel like trauma porn. Especially therape scene by Grant. This scene totally did NOT need to be included and was definitely only there as trauma porn, to drive home (NOT SUBTLY) that violence is everywhere, especially against women of color and Native Women. My issue with this is that it’s already clear from the book (at this point THREE WOMEN HAVE DIED ) and then the trauma is totally not dealt with, and seemingly thrown is as a side note. It comes up but really feels like trauma porn. I had already felt this (because again, at this point three women, including Duanis’ best friend, have already died and more ink has been spilled about Jamie’s hot bod than the sadness about losing Lily but this totally pushed me over the edge. Additionally I don’t like it when rapes in books are cartoonishly black and white and then trauma is discussed in a totally superficial way. If this is because the book is YA then WHY IS THIS RAPE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST PLACE?? Either make something that traumatic the WHOLE FUCKING SUBJECT OF THE BOOK OR LEAVE IT OUT. It felt like the author just felt like she needed to tick the box of “Native Women are raped at higher rates!!”
I also got annoyed with the main characters decisions, and the superficiality of how the tribe is described. Like, you have tribe members dealing drugs and tearing apart your community but you’re withholding evidence from the FBI??? Everything Native American was really romanticized, which I understand why, but could have still been dealt with better. This is at least slightly more excusable because it is a YA book and intended for a less mature audience. (I think the subject matter totally doesn’t fit with this, but whatever.)
Finally, the writing style. If you took a shot every time the narrator or a character “points their lips at/in the direction of” you would die from alcohol poisoning. What does this phrase even mean??????? Why is it used so often???? We may never know. The characters are also extremely shallow (again, YA) but our MC is for sure a bit of a Mary Sue. Overall would have rated it lower but it is a YA book and not intended for me so I’m leaving it at 1.5 stars because the first half was intriguing but the decisions at the end made me SO MAD.
That’s basically where it ends. The overall idea of the book was great but I hated the execution a LOT. In part this could be because it is a YA and I am for sure not the intended audience. However, even with this disclaimer, I was really frustrated with a lot of this book. The tone was completely uneven. The book opens with a significant tragedy, centers around drugs, has a ton of violence (sexual and other) and yet every other page has a description of how hot Jamie is????? Like?????? Pretty much the tone was: the tribe is great, Jamie is hot, VIOLENCE/DRUGS/TRAGEDY. This compounded with the extremely shallow way that the tragedies/trauma is discussed, made it feel like trauma porn. Especially the
I also got annoyed with the main characters decisions, and the superficiality of how the tribe is described. Like, you have tribe members dealing drugs and tearing apart your community but you’re withholding evidence from the FBI??? Everything Native American was really romanticized, which I understand why, but could have still been dealt with better. This is at least slightly more excusable because it is a YA book and intended for a less mature audience. (I think the subject matter totally doesn’t fit with this, but whatever.)
Finally, the writing style. If you took a shot every time the narrator or a character “points their lips at/in the direction of” you would die from alcohol poisoning. What does this phrase even mean??????? Why is it used so often???? We may never know. The characters are also extremely shallow (again, YA) but our MC is for sure a bit of a Mary Sue. Overall would have rated it lower but it is a YA book and not intended for me so I’m leaving it at 1.5 stars because the first half was intriguing but the decisions at the end made me SO MAD.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, and Murder
lizzy1806's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
caitlinmchoi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Death of parent
greatexpectations77's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.25
I really enjoyed this book, and I think I would actually put it between a 4.25 and 4.5, like a 4.4. It did get a little bit long for me in parts, and I also either missed or there wasn't a main moment where Daunis and Jamie kind of transitioned from not making out to making out. Excited to read the second one in this series, and I'll be keeping an eye on this author. I did feel like a little bit in the beginning that Jamie was kind of playing the second podcast seat who just asks questions so that the main speaker can fill in the audience on the answers, specifically about Native information. But I understand that that's a technique of learning that's more natural than Daunis just explaining everything like narrator breaking the fourth wall. Also, this is aimed at younger folks than me, and I may not have noticed it as much if I didn't know of the information already. I think this book leaves the reader with a WEALTH of knowledge about Indigenous people in a way that isn't teachy, and that's super valuable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Grief, Car accident, and Classism
Minor: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rmljacob39's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Outing
jess_all_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
I LOVED Firekeeper's Daughter. I highly recommend it to anyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Car accident, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
megaan10's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
alrisney's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder
ronitamohan_louisskye's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
As others have mentioned, the beginning is very slow and gives no indication of the mystery that follows. So much time is spent on setting up the central romance that I almost gave up. But then there’s a huge twist and the actual mystery plot kicks in. The entire tenor of the story changes that point forward.
However, I really, really need books to include content warnings in the case of sexual assault. I have given up on books that include sexual violence without warning but I continued with this one. I don’t think the sexual assault was needed at all in this story. It added nothing to the plot or the character development. Having said that, the author uses the incident to underpin how rarely Indigenous women and girls get justice for being assaulted. That’s an important message to send. I still would have liked some warning.
The best part of the book was the in-depth details of the rituals that the Anishinaabe perform, to grow together as a community, and every day to connect with ancestors and the world around them. Those scenes were beautiful and moving and I could definitely have done with loads more.
This book required some editing to bring the plot into focus. It deals with a lot of very difficult subjects so I’m not really sure how it would work for its intended YA audience. But it’s engaging and educational.
However, I really, really need books to include content warnings in the case of sexual assault. I have given up on books that include sexual violence without warning but I continued with this one. I don’t think the sexual assault was needed at all in this story. It added nothing to the plot or the character development. Having said that, the author uses the incident to underpin how rarely Indigenous women and girls get justice for being assaulted. That’s an important message to send. I still would have liked some warning.
The best part of the book was the in-depth details of the rituals that the Anishinaabe perform, to grow together as a community, and every day to connect with ancestors and the world around them. Those scenes were beautiful and moving and I could definitely have done with loads more.
This book required some editing to bring the plot into focus. It deals with a lot of very difficult subjects so I’m not really sure how it would work for its intended YA audience. But it’s engaging and educational.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual assault