Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

46 reviews

reasek's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Abandonment

greatexpectations77's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this book, and I think I would actually put it between a 4.25 and 4.5, like a 4.4. It did get a little bit long for me in parts, and I also either missed or there wasn't a main moment where

Daunis and Jamie kind of transitioned from not making out to making out.

Excited to read the second one in this series, and I'll be keeping an eye on this author. I did feel like a little bit in the beginning that Jamie was kind of playing the second podcast seat who just asks questions so that the main speaker can fill in the audience on the answers, specifically about Native information. But I understand that that's a technique of learning that's more natural than Daunis just explaining everything like narrator breaking the fourth wall. Also, this is aimed at younger folks than me, and I may not have noticed it as much if I didn't know of the information already. I think this book leaves the reader with a WEALTH of knowledge about Indigenous people in a way that isn't teachy, and that's super valuable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Grief, Car accident, and Classism

Minor: Chronic illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sometimes_ready's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense

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

5.0

Be prepared for a nonlinear experience that may at times trick you into thinking you missed a page. But dive in. 

I have so much love for the authors that pull off streams of consciousness throughout a plot, and Boulley did it well.  

Not a light read, but so worth the weight.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Death of parent

guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Rape, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sgksoccer5's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Suicide and Abandonment

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

kendrasreads's review

emotional mysterious

5.0

Loved this one. I understand others feeling that it was a bit lengthy or had some rushed parts and I can see that. Overall this was such a wonderful dive back into YA contemporary for me.

So glad I listened to it and got to hear pronunciations that I likely would’ve otherwise botched on my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I love when I read a book that is unlike any book I’ve ever read before. This book opened up new worlds because I’ve not really read any contemporary books with Native people as the main characters. Learning about Native culture and customs through this novel was a breathtaking experience. The plot is believable, the characters choose paths that are unexpected, and the ending is sad but gives you a sense of finality as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

alexiconic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

a perfect mixture of real life events and impact with a fictionalized time, place, and community. the echoes of events in our world are omnipresent, but the story never felt like it “had” to match anything, or like it suffered from a need to attach to the present. 

this book had everything. good twists, a wonderful hero with her own demons and dilemmas, intricate and difficult family relations, friendship and community, and an articulation of that time of life where we try to find our purpose on earth. oh, and a thrilling crime-y plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation