Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

25 reviews

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

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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

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

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

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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

micaelamariem's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Going into this book, I had no idea this was a thriller, so that was definitely a surprise. But despite my aversion to mysteries, this book sucked me in.
Each chapter left me hungrily wanting more and there were deep scenes that evoked strong emotions from me. The representation of grief I thought was done really well as well as the PTSD the character was experiencing; though it wasn’t named that, the symptoms were visceral and evocative, and it felt believable, not a laundry list from WebMD. I’m not indigenous, so I can’t speak to the representation of a native tribe, though I think I learned more about tribe systems and laws. And with the ending, that wasn’t quite happy or sad, we got just a taste of the injustices indigenous tribal members face to this day.
Though I felt empathy for the main character, there were times I didn’t like her. I felt like she slipped into the “not like other girls” category like a lot of YA protagonists have a tendency to do. She acted like she wanted to speak up for women, but she called other girls dating her brother’s friends “angler fish” and judged them way too harshly. 
I also think the pacing was slightly off. The first two thirds of the book was slow to medium paced, but still enjoyable. In the last third, lots of action came seemingly out of nowhere and it felt like we were racing to keep up until the end. If the pacing could’ve been evened out a little more, I think it would’ve made for an even more enjoyable read.

However, I did love this, and I do recommend it! It kept me on my toes and taught me a few lessons, while being mostly believable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shlymiller's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

lawbooks600's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Representation: Biracial (half white and half Native American,) Native American and Black side characters
Score: Eight out of ten.

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angelline Boulley circled my recommendations for months till now, and I thought no library would ever get it until a library got it. The book sat there on a display shelf till I picked it up, glanced at the blurb and headed in with high expectations, and when I closed the final page, it was thrilling. Where's Warrior Girl Unearthed?

It starts with Daunis living like she's split between her home and the Ojibwe reservation, where nothing happens in the opening pages save for her recounting her life in 2004, but everything changes after those pages when her best friend dies from a murder. Daunis joins an FBI investigation, but she starts hers as more deaths happen, and that is where the story shines in many ways. The pacing is mostly engaging and suspenseful as I see Daunis trying to discover who is the murderer, unintentionally stumbling upon another mystery on who is smuggling drugs in the Ojibwe community. Still, Boulley could've trimmed filler pages, of which there are around 100, to tighten her creation. There are not one, but two plots, adding to my enjoyment without being overwhelming or disjointed, but the narrative falters with its characters with their lack of relatability and the sheer number of them. Boulley could've removed them. The writing style is mostly okay but sometimes there are information dumps (which I found detracted from the central plot) and Boulley could've held back and instead improved the flow. I liked learning about Native American (is that the right term?) culture and medicines (no appropriation here,) a far cry from Indigenous Australian ones and the climax and conclusion ties everything on a high note.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Full trigger warnings: Death and murder of a friend, another person by suicide from a gun shot in the past and a grandmother, blood, grief and loss depiction, car crash, gun and axe violence, physical assault and injury, fire, racist and sexist slurs, racism, sexism, cheating, pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, abuse and addiction, hospitalisation

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

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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! 

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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

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Infidelity, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Fire/Fire injury

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