Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

12 reviews

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

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

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

madlyreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, 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

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

math_scooter's review

dark emotional funny 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? No

4.75

Virkeligt en gribende bog der både fik mig til at græde flere gange og være så sur at jeg var nødt til at fortælle alle omkring mig om handlingen. Selvom jeg havde på fornemmelse at jeg havde gættet slutningen kom den stadig med flere twist og handlinger jeg ikke havde set komme på lang afstand på samme måde. Jeg vil virkeligt anbefale at alle læser denne bog, men specifikt at man hører den som lydbog hvis man kan fordi oplæseren (Isabella Star LaBlanc) er virkeligt god og gav en  følelse og forståelse af historien jeg ikke havde opnået ved at læse selv. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Medical content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Cultural appropriation

cutlet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment

hamstersinmypantsters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Child abuse and Colonisation

zombiezami's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.0

I'm originally from Michigan, but I've never been to the Upper Peninsula. Growing up, I never learned much about the Anishinaabe, other than one assembly at school where there was a jingle dress performance. I'm so glad to have this book to have some representation of Anishinaabe people. 

The plot is complex and twisty turny, very mysterious up through the end. I didn't like that

cooperating with the state was seen as the only way of resolving the central conflict

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Genocide, Sexual content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation