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A review by samanthampg
Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones
3.0
I had a hard time rating this book because I think that it was an important novel that touched on a lot of important themes but it did take me a while to read it and I felt like not much happened plot wise. There were obviously plot developments but it felt stagnant for most of the novel. That being said there were a lot of important discussions within this novel about religion, sexuality, the treatment of indigenous communities in Canada, family, depression and suicide. On top of that I did personally love the character development we got.
Shane was not the most likeable main character in my opinion and that literally only stems from the fact that he was cheating on his girlfriend and didn't see a problem with it. Shane has a lot of hardships in his life and I was able to sympathize with him, losing a loved one, struggle to make ends meet, seeing your future slip through your grasp. Those are all terrible injustices that Shane had to shoulder himself, so while I wanted to see him succeed and I felt bad for him I was also not okay with his moral choices. The author did a good job of making him a complex character, somebody that was relatable because he was prone to human error but also somebody that I wanted to shake and tell him to stop acting foolish. Tara on the other hand was done SO dirty. She kind of annoyed me at first because I got definite 'quirky girl' vibes from her but she really got the short end of the stick in life. I wished we had been able to see more of her struggle because she was going through so much.
What I did like about this novel was that none of the characters were morally correct. They were all wrong in their own ways because life is like that. Not only were they fighting the pitfalls of life but they were also fighting against racism and prejudice. Shane so casually talked about the women and children who went missing from his community because it was just part of his world and it was startling to me. Shane was upset by it obviously and didn't brush past it, but the amount of missing and murdered people in his community was a lot. The the discussion surrounding what it meant to be Indigenous in this world was interwoven into every plot line of this story, through tradition, through celebration, through death, through Shane's desire to seek higher education. I enjoyed being able to read about a culture that I am obvious unfamiliar with because it opened my eyes to many of the issues I never even thought of because I am white. And I hope that's what the author was trying to do, because I think he managed it well.
As well there is the romance plot line. Like I stated Shane is dating Tara but he's really in love with David, who he has been secretly with for months. I know that being two spirited wasn't accepted in their community but I don't think that means Shane had to lead Tara on like that. I literally don't care about the situation cheating is cheating and I hate it. Shane was in the wrong for what he did and therefore I always held a but of a grudge against him throughout the novel. Besides that, I liked David and Shane i was rooting for them. I felt like there could have been more discussion around what it means to identify as two spirited and how that played a part in their religion because it wasn't discussed too much and I feel like it would have helped Shane and David to talk about it.
This book was not a happy one per say but it was given a satisfactory ending that I felt rounded out all of the stories that the author was trying to tell and paved way for Shane and David to grow in the future.
Shane was not the most likeable main character in my opinion and that literally only stems from the fact that he was cheating on his girlfriend and didn't see a problem with it. Shane has a lot of hardships in his life and I was able to sympathize with him, losing a loved one, struggle to make ends meet, seeing your future slip through your grasp. Those are all terrible injustices that Shane had to shoulder himself, so while I wanted to see him succeed and I felt bad for him I was also not okay with his moral choices. The author did a good job of making him a complex character, somebody that was relatable because he was prone to human error but also somebody that I wanted to shake and tell him to stop acting foolish. Tara on the other hand was done SO dirty. She kind of annoyed me at first because I got definite 'quirky girl' vibes from her but she really got the short end of the stick in life. I wished we had been able to see more of her struggle because she was going through so much.
What I did like about this novel was that none of the characters were morally correct. They were all wrong in their own ways because life is like that. Not only were they fighting the pitfalls of life but they were also fighting against racism and prejudice. Shane so casually talked about the women and children who went missing from his community because it was just part of his world and it was startling to me. Shane was upset by it obviously and didn't brush past it, but the amount of missing and murdered people in his community was a lot. The the discussion surrounding what it meant to be Indigenous in this world was interwoven into every plot line of this story, through tradition, through celebration, through death, through Shane's desire to seek higher education. I enjoyed being able to read about a culture that I am obvious unfamiliar with because it opened my eyes to many of the issues I never even thought of because I am white. And I hope that's what the author was trying to do, because I think he managed it well.
As well there is the romance plot line. Like I stated Shane is dating Tara but he's really in love with David, who he has been secretly with for months. I know that being two spirited wasn't accepted in their community but I don't think that means Shane had to lead Tara on like that. I literally don't care about the situation cheating is cheating and I hate it. Shane was in the wrong for what he did and therefore I always held a but of a grudge against him throughout the novel. Besides that, I liked David and Shane i was rooting for them. I felt like there could have been more discussion around what it means to identify as two spirited and how that played a part in their religion because it wasn't discussed too much and I feel like it would have helped Shane and David to talk about it.
This book was not a happy one per say but it was given a satisfactory ending that I felt rounded out all of the stories that the author was trying to tell and paved way for Shane and David to grow in the future.