Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

41 reviews

sahra_till_rose's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Minor: Confinement

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.

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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

alyssadorn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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

From the first page, I was hooked. This book makes me want to write an essay about it, that’s how compelling it is in how it invites readers to explore the themes, learn the characters, and investigate the intrigue! The characterization is vibrant, the cultural nuance captivating, and the traditions poignant. The worldbuilding is top-tier, and every character feels real (with the possible exception of Jamie, but the juxtaposition of Jamie and his lack of a firm identity with Daunis and her exploration of all her identity facets came together in a really fully-fleshed-out way). 

The first 90ish pages are a little slow, but after something intense happens (I don’t want to spoil it), I was fully immersed as the plot just gets more and more intense while existing within the context and nuances of racism, tribal politics, relative privilege, science and traditional medicine, storytelling traditions/earning someone’s story, the persistence of violence against native women, and more all shown within our FMC and her community in a compelling and unique voice that highlights a community surviving in the face of adversity and grief— current and ancestral. 

The way absolutely everything is shown, not told, with nuance and a smooth melding of traditional teachings and contemporary realities is part of why I was shocked to learn this is a debut novel; it’s just so good! 

The ways in which so many of the themes and stories come full circle in this book, connecting and meaning growing from the connection, is masterful— I especially liked the moment where we see her in her dance regalia and we know her because we now know the story of how she gained each piece of that regalia. 

And the way the book begins and ends with the East! “Where all journeys begin.” 

And the definition of a lee lee being trilled mostly to honor someone but “other times there’s more to it. Something else. But I’m not sure what.”

and how later lee lees are trilled and she recognizes them more deeply— “it means we faced worse than you and we are still here. It is our survival song.”

Plus, I enjoyed the friends to enemies to reluctant allies to lovers of it all, though the romance really took a back seat for me; what really shown was the community. 

I would definitely recommend this book for older teenagers to adults, not younger teens, even though it’s listed as YA. 

I will say the “guy lies” arc could’ve been done better— less black and white thinking or show her adjusting her view to more shades of grey as more information comes to light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Terminal illness

v_____'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

 

Ich stehe als Statue von einem Mädchen erstarrt im Wald, nur meine Augen bewegen sich...

- Firekeeper's Daughter, 1%

🎧 als Hörbuch gehört

Es sind schon mehrere Wochen vergangen, seid ich mit diesem Hörbuch fertig geworden bin und ich warte immer noch auf die große Eingebung, wie ich dieses Buch jetzt finden soll... Der Hype hat mich noch immer nicht erfasst.

Was ich mochte:
+ das Setting in Michigan an der kanadischen Grenze, die Seen, die Natur... das Setting war meine liebste Rolle
+ Native Tribes! Als erstes Werk aus dem Genre First Nations Literature bin ich jedenfalls sehr erpicht noch weiter einzutauchen
+ die Protagonistin Daunis war super sympathisch
+ die Geschichte war spannend, nimmt gegen Schluss nochmal richtig Fahrt auf und entwickelt sich zu einem richtigen Thriller
+ allgemein, der Schreibstil sehr angenehm
+

sie sind am Schluss NICHT zusammengekommen!!! Wird oft in Romance dann über alle Lügen und sonstigen Verletzungen hinweggesehen, zu Gunsten des Happy Ends, ist das hier nicht so, and I love everything about it!

Was mich davon abhält 5 Sterne zu geben:
- es war stellenweise soooo zäh, dass ich gar nicht Lust hatte weiterzuhören, einfach viel unnötige Nebenhandlungen, um noch ein paar Seiten mehr zu füllen... dadurch hatte man das Gefühl es passiert hier nichts, furchtbar langatmig.
- Es waren für meinen Geschmack zu viele Charaktere und es war mir nicht so ganz klar, wer da jetzt wichtig ist, wen man sich jetzt merken soll. Und ich glaube manche wurden mehrmals erwähnt, wurden von mir aber dann später wieder als jemand anderes (neues) wahrgenommen. Mir ist klar, dass es hier auch um die Community geht, und da sind halt mehrere Personen erforderlich, aber verwirrt hat es mich trotzdem. 😃 Vielleicht lag es auch daran, dass ich das Hörbuch gehört habe, vielleicht wäre es mir beim Lesen nicht so gegangen.
- Idk, irgendwie fühlte ich Daunis Verlust von Lily gar nicht, außer das sie oft an sie denkt... Aber gut, jeder trauert anders 🤷‍♀🤷‍♀
- mein größter Kritikpunkt (TW Vergewaltigung):

meine Notizen: Omg the rape scene, I can't 😱😱😱 - or more the scenes after!!! -- Ich fand diese Szene so unnötig, da sie im großen Ganzen der Handlung keine allzu große Rolle gespielt hat, außer das Daunis Vermutungen über Motive von diversen Personen anstellen konnte. Mal abgesehen davon, dass ich diese Szene als krass traumatisch und triggernd empfand und wahrscheinlich die schlimmste Rape Scene war, die ich je gelesen hab (vor allem das direkt danach!!), hat sie nur den Trope "I'm strong because of that" bedient, den ich hasse. Femmes sind stark von sich aus, es ist nicht nötig eine Vergewaltigungsszene reinzupacken um sie NOCH stärker zu machen.

Diese Szene hat mich dazu gebracht dem Buch einen ganzen Stern abzuziehen. Geht einfach gar nicht. 

... wenn unsere geliebten Menschen sterben, lebt die Liebe in der Gegenwart weiter...

- Firekeeper's Daughter, 95%

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting

mximlay's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

5.0

It’s rare for a book to make me cry, this book is one of those rare books.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

camrich's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

Yea this book absolutely WRECKED me in the best way possible. Absolutely no notes. It was BEAUTIFULLY written and I learned so much about Indigenous American culture and the specific struggles they face (especially with the government), a lot of which I found to be very relatable as a POC. The coming of age story being told in this context is so unique and insanely well-developed, and I loved how everything wrapped up in the end. Will 1000% be picking up the sequel/spin-off book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Grief

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Classism

Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness

oddballag's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Dementia

_minucelli's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, and Sexual harassment

deepcurvesahead's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Alcohol