Reviews

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

kellymetz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

maggiedoodlez's review against another edition

5.0

This novel is a beautiful exploration of love for individuals and culture, and the complicated relationship that sometimes can emerge between them.

It is also an absolute page turner that honors the tropes of the genre while insisting on reaching for more (what an ending - it reminds me of everything I loved about A Patch of Blue [1965] in a more contemporary, in depth way wherein the main character has the agency).

Daunis. I am so grateful for characters like you. I pray the lessons you teach land in hands who need them.

The beginning is a little slow and the layers of backstory sometimes feel a little too tell-y, but overall this book is excellent. Looking forward to reading the next!

jessiedirtbag's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

taylorbre's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

laurenmaybrown's review

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

4.0

emmabeckman's review against another edition

5.0

I know I would have ABSOLUTELY LOVED this book if I had read it when I was 16, 17, 18. For me now, I think my love was slightly diminished because I’m just not as into some YA things as I once was, but I still really liked it. In particular, I LOVED how this book wrote candidly about periods and having discussions about safe sex with your partner where no one felt scared/ashamed to talk about it. I also loved how the Anishinaabemowin words/speech was included in the narrative with context clues for translation rather than direct glosses. And I loved how this book represents Indigenous identity, Daunis’s mixed identity, complex family structures, average young adult problems in the context of Indigenous young adult problems (especially re: sexual assault and toxic romantic relationships), and everything else about confronting issues in society. So I’m still giving it 5 stars even though there were times when I, the reader, felt the dialogue was a bit stilted, or the clues were too obvious, or the romance was too quick. I was still excited to pick this one up and I sometimes had a hard time putting it down and I really enjoyed the process of reading it.

midwinteraz's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

basicallybisaha's review

adventurous challenging informative 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

echooutside's review against another edition

5.0

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I'm speechless, this book is so moving, powerful, and heartbreaking. I could not put it down; every chapter ended with me wanting more. I highly recommend and suggest this novel to all. A truly beautiful story about Native Tribes.

linneaandspybat's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5