Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

41 reviews

theobeanz's review

adventurous emotional informative mysterious 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? No

4.5

I’d check out the trigger warning first. This book was really interested in the topics it covered. I was a very personal display of how indigenous women don’t receive the justice they deserve for the traumas they experience. I really liked how the community and elders supported in un-static ways. I feel like grief was addressed fairly appropriately. I didn’t anticipate the twists of this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

himpersonal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was a powerful story. From all I’ve read, learned, and heard between books and my Indigenous friends, the themes in the story ring true, sadly and tragically, especially those of addiction and missing and murdered Indigenous women. Not sure how much FBI actually care, but I would like to think that regardless of if they do, there are people like Daunis whose courage is enough to bring healing to these tribes, which are and will continue to suffer from the generational trauma of forced colonization. My heart is heavy for every single one who has died as a result and live in destitution and despair today due to the generations of pain that cause people to turn to drugs and alcohol.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

baponthecob's review

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, and Colonisation

ms_read's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

vincentpriceisright's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

a perfect book. literally everything about it. wonderful.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Genocide, and Homophobia

I would say the two biggest CWs/TWs to be aware of are drug abuse/addiction and rape/sexual harassment

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lizziaha's review

3.25

This is hard to rate because there were parts that I really enjoyed. All of the parts about Daunis’s native identity were really interesting, and I thought the book did a good job of covering issues that plague native communities. I loved all the different characters in the community, *especially* the elders. The role they play in the story is so fun, but also empowering. 
However. I think I got caught up in the logistics of the investigation. I was constantly wondering if things being done in the name of the investigation were actually legal. Looped into that, the power imbalance in the romance was offputting and distracting to me. Daunis was in over her head, and it shows. Because of Daunis’s inexperience the pacing of the book is off. The plot goes from slow paced small town life with small potato problems to huge fast-paced life or death situations. It felt jarring. 
Despite the somewhat messy jumble of plot threads, the ending surprisingly wraps things up in a way that resolves some of my issues with the book. I thought it was a good ending that couldn’t do quite enough to compensate for the inconsistencies of the rest of the book. I’d be interested in reading a lit fic from the same author, instead of a thriller type plot like this one. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicide

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jacquelynjoan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

A million stars! This large book went so fast! I was not expecting some of the not-quite-twists, but surprises later in the book. I was deep in and then could not resist staying up past 4 am to find out what would happen next. 

This is a wonderful book full of love of community and culture and family, but in a complicated, real-feeling way. There is a lot of tragedy and saddness there, but it doesn't totally overwhelm you because there is balance and the main character is rooted in her values and has a support system. 

I live in the USA, so on Native land, and I really appreciate any opportunity to learn more about the land I live on and the people who have cared for it for centuries before my great grandparents moved here from Italy. Especially when the author makes it so fun to learn! 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

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.)

---

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