Reviews with content warning for Racism - Firekeeper's Daughter

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

695 reviews

ekidow02's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional 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? No

3.75

Content Warnings

arielbianca's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It took me a while to get into the story and the audiobook came through. Daunis was annoying with her back and forth with Jaime (like yall have a mission to complete) and she also was giving “not like other girls” at times. Also, I expected more thriller than romance. I also wanted more about Daunis’s biracial identity. Her routine also became repetitive with her daily run.

BUT it was giving with the cultural aspect and writing style. I also loved the author’s voice and storytelling.
I felt immersed into the setting and the world. Also the story was set around 2003-2004, which is interesting. (I was likely watching Disney Channel and coloring still so idk if it was realistic, lol).

I did enjoy the Native American culture and learning how the tribe works and their culture. Then, the romance got me in the second half. The relationship between Daunis and Jaime broke my heart but hopefully Someday. 😩😭 BUT I respect their decision.

Overall, 4 stars. The last like 25% was when it picked up and gave the story a boost. I was feeling 3 stars the majority of the book.

Content Warnings

memjacks's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

theobeanz's review

Go to review page

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

megnotmargaret's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I just finished Firekeeper’s Daughter, a YA thriller/mystery/crime drama(?) by Angela Boulley! While there were a few nitpicks I have with it, overall, I thought it was a really great read and was beautifully written.

Book content warnings: substance abuse and drug addiction, death and murder, sexual content (non graphic) and sexual assault/rape (non graphic)

The book follows Daunis Fontaine-Firekeeper, an 18 year old who has never really felt a part of any one world, as a biracial girl living in a town near an Ojibwe reservation with strong pulls on both sides of her family. After a family tragedy alters her post-high school plans, Daunis is feeling a little lost but finds comfort in the routine of her life. Things are uprooted once again after tragedy strikes her community, and Daunis is faced with some difficult decisions regarding how she can help her tribe and community while still staying true to her values.

While I enjoyed the book, there were a few things that stuck out to me as pain points (spoilers ahead):

- Daunis as a protagonist is written to be very perfect, which at times was a bit much. She falls into the YA trope of Not Like Other Girls, and comes off as a lot of internalized misogyny, which isn’t addressed in the book as a negative thing— the other girls are written to be exactly how Daunis perceives them. While it can be justified by her background, it felt a little much at times and didn’t feel like a big enough plot point to justify so much “screen time” to me.

- the romantic elements felt underdeveloped to me and didn’t develop at a reasonable rate (in my opinion). Jaime is a very one-dimensional character and as he isn’t the focus of the story, he doesn’t grow or change much… at all.

- I’ve been out of the genre for a while, but I felt that the ends of chapters were needlessly cliffhangy and nearly always fell flat once you got two paragraphs into the next chapter. Boulley’s writing was captivating enough to me thah I didn’t need a comically large worm on a hook to keep me reading, and it felt a little patronizing (however, I am not the target audience for YA, so maybe that’s just my cynical, grown-up perspective.)

- There was a LOT going on in the story, and while it touched on important topics, I feel that some elements may have landed better had they been given more space and time to resolve. The big one I feel was Daunis’ sexual assault, and it’s tough because I can understand why it was written in the way it was, but feel that it added a layer to the story that didn’t have the appropriate fall-out. On the one hand, life keeps moving on after traumatic events, something we see played out in the story time and time again— why should this one be any different? However, if it was a point that the author wanted to address in the same way that other topics were, it may have been better in a different story or with more time to process and develop, the way the other topics were given.

Things I loved about the book:

- Boulley paints a very rich image of the location and culture, and I love that things aren’t always just handed to you to understand. The words are written the way they need to be, and aren’t dumbed down to be more readable or palatable for readers outside of the culture.

- the mystery of the story felt well-paced to me, though I see a lot of other people complaining about the contrary. It was believable, I was able to figure out the who and the what before Daunis as the omniscient reader that has the time to pick up on all the clues. I think that makes a mystery good!

- This book explored identity and belonging in a really beautiful way and touched on a lot of important topics regarding life as a Native American in the 21st century, and how our country can and should do better to support the communities affected by colonialism.

- I also thought that the book handled and represented grief and the different ways it manifested very well. There are a lot of heavy topics in the book and the way the characters respond to them all feel very real.

- I really like how Boulley humanized victims of addiction and the characters who made “bad choices” because it is always more complicated than that. Lots of media takes the other stance and this was a refreshing, raw, sad, and unfiltered look at what addiction and substance abuse can do to individuals, their loved ones, and their communities.

All-in-all, I think I’d give this book a flat 4/5. It isn’t the type of book I usually read, but it was impactful and beautiful and got me thinking a lot, and I look forward to reading more from Boulley.

Content Warnings

calebhjs's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Content Warnings

ebardon's review

Go to review page

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

al99's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

Gorgeous narration of the audiobook by Isabelle Star Lablanc. I can't imagine reading this myself now that I've heard her version.

Content Warnings

feralhousewitch's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

kimchiandco's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

This book is everything I hoped it would be, and more, with a great audio version narrator. A poignant, emotional, but uplifting story that shows both the ugly side of the world as it is, alongside the hope and joy still to be found. The beauty and wisdom of the Anishinaabe people and culture, and the strength to be found in community, identity and heart.

Content Warnings

More...