Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

20 reviews

readingwithcata's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Se me hizo un poco extenso, pero me parece un muy buen libro. No sé cómo explicarlo de otra forma que decir que no era del todo para mí, pero pude reconocer mientras lo leía que a la gente le puede encantar

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment

thepaperwitch's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a great read. It is richly detailed with Native culture that invites you in to learn more about it and the people who still keep their traditions alive despite all the harm that has been done to their communities. It is insightful, relevant, and has a good mystery plot that blends together pretty well. There are a number of modern issues that affect Native communities that the author addresses, such as substance abuse, the exceptionally high rates of violence towards Native females, tribal laws, per cap money, blood quantum, distrust and weariness of police and Federal agents,  the destruction that the government has caused Native families and their struggle to be made whole and maintain their traditions. I thought these were well balanced with the overall story. 

I will say that towards the middle, I felt like it was a little slow and somewhat bogged down by Daunis' slightly repetitive internal monologue, but once it moved past that, I couldn't put it down. Daunis felt like a well built character with flaws, strengths, struggles, and triumphs. I think everyone should read this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Cultural appropriation

meat_muffin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Death of parent

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark 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

1.5

Sometimes when I read a book I have a super unpopular opinion on, I have to wonder if either I or everyone else got a bugged copy of some kind (or if I'm just that much of a hater). Because no matter how hard I try, I just really, genuinely cannot understand the average/majority rating of this book?

The writing ranges from dry to pointedly (in other words, unnaturally) quotable, and the dialogue is somehow even more stilted and unrealistically grammatically flawless than the narration. A few spoken lines toward the end literally go on uninterrupted and with no stuttering or backtracking for 100+ words; virtually no one, let alone who's suffered recent repeated physical trauma, is that eloquent. Information is revealed in stilted blocks and repeated ten times over. I don't think any teenager -- or person at all -- in the history of cell phones has ever texted like the teenagers in this book are written as doing.

In terms of substance, there's a lot left to be desired as well. All of the individual narrative threads -- or at least most of them -- would make interesting stories, but here they're all kind of crammed into one unbalanced mess. Is the central plot supposed to be Daunis's complex relationship with her family members and community? Her desire to pursue a career in medicine/science and unite traditional and more modern "scientific" practices? Her recovering from and learning about the factors leading up to her best friend's sudden, tragic death? Her role as an undercover informant in an FBI investigation involving meth and her community (as much suspension of disbelief as that requires)? Her and Jamie's relationship? A general critical overview of the treatment of Indigenous women in American and Canadian society? It's never really decided, and so we jump awkwardly from one to the other without more natural transitions or better multitasking, leading to really overall odd pacing.

The general emotional pacing never quite hits either. A significant medical detail about the protagonist is made explicit for the first time 70% in and never serves any real relevance (and is outright contradicted or ignored at other times). Major traumatic events like the murder of Daunis's best friend and

her being raped by a friend's father

are brushed off like minor hindrances -- there's no "right" way to react to trauma, but it feels so strange for the plot to just trudge on with no in-depth reflection, as though these things (particularly the latter) have been carelessly thrown in just to add to Daunis's hardships.

The characters -- including, perhaps especially Daunis -- lack depth, whittled down to one trait (not even one that is shown, but told... multiple times). The supporting cast especially kind of blends together as a result of that weird pacing and unrealistic, stilted dialogue. I couldn't get a real sense of any of their motivations, so the culprit reveal and relationships all feel more than lackluster. In that regard, the romance is particularly egregious, even putting aside the core issues with

a relationship between a 22-year-old government agent (as much questionable as that is in and of itself) and an 18-year-old college student he's directly supervising in an investigation

.

Overall, quite disappointing execution of multiple interesting premises, and I remain bewildered by the overwhelmingly positive response. Perhaps it was a great book for many others, but nothing about it ended up clicking or sitting well with me.

(Also, urine, even your own, is not actually sterile! Please do not use it as a substitute for hydrogen peroxide. I know this is set in 2004 -- as little as there is to solidly ground it there -- and a lot of people believe that myth even today, but it just feels... irresponsible to include in a book like this, especially framed as an objective valuable fact.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

jessthanthree's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Fatphobia, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

4.75

I enjoyed this book on a lot of levels--the plot, the characters, the mystery, what I learned about Ojibwe culture and traditions--and definitely found it suspenseful and engaging. I wouldn't say the writing itself is my favorite (I felt like it did a lot of telling rather than showing), but it wasn't bad by any means and didn't distract from the story. I couldn't tell how it was going to end and I felt pretty satisfied with the ending

(especially that it didn't force a HEA for the romance when that would have been unhealthy)

. Overall I'd definitely recommend this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation

lportilla's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Rape, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Suicide

hotbitch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

alybwrites's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

This book was absolutely gripping: it was “just one more chapter, and then I’ll go to bed.” I went to bed listening to it, woke up with half of it still to go, and lied to myself: “I’ll just listen to a chapter and then do other stuff.” I did not do other stuff. I listened to this book until it was done. 
Much of the book is set within a Native community, but the unique experiences of what it means to be Native is portrayed through a wonderfully diverse cast of characters that each experience what that means in a different, but equally real and authentic way. 
Fire Keeper’s Daughter masterfully navigates the struggles and tensions of wanting to honor heritage in a modern world that leaves little room for history or indigenous tradition. We see this immediately in our MC, who is constantly trying to balance  facts, science and the scientific method that she has a deep seated passion for and the community and tradition that she loves and finds immeasurable comfort in. Figuring out how to make room for both, learning that they do not have to be in opposition, but learning not to let one blind her to the other is our character’s journey, beautifully executed. 
Also had a lot of respect for the very real examination of how society at large consistently damages and hurts  marginalized communities, even after making demands on members of those communities. 
Definitely be aware of CWs: I would say this is a mature YA. (Additional props for showing respect, communication and consent as sexy, ongoing and working both ways.)
But if you want a book that is going to absolutely suck you in and give you a new perspective on everything, I cannot recommend this highly enough. I cannot wait for the author’s upcoming Warrior Girl Unearthed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Classism

Most of the content is handled well, addressed and explicitly processed in a healthy way. But still something to be aware of.

voxelbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? N/A

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Vomit, and Stalking