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A review by creationwing
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This review is based on the audiobook.
This book is a coming of age story that reminds us that sometimes wisdom comes in the harshest of ways. I appreciated the very real depictions of how grief relating to death and "lost ones" manifests in different ways for different people.
While knowledge of histories such as residential schools (or, as the book calls it, "boarding schools") and the Sixties Scoop is not necessary, it's clear that the history informs the actions of many characters, including Daunis and her elders. I highly recommend looking into these histories before or as you are reading this book.
Overall, I think it was a well-written book with important themes. Boulley did a good job of leaving hints and foreshadowing as the book went along. My only real issues were with pacing and the ending. It was hard at times to know if months, days, or merely hours had passed in the narrative. This may have been an issue with listening by audiobook, however. As for the ending... it felt like it was merely there to tie loose ends in the plot, like the ending screen in a documentary stating what happened after filming ended. The knowledge was satisfying, but the way it was written wasn't.
This book is a coming of age story that reminds us that sometimes wisdom comes in the harshest of ways. I appreciated the very real depictions of how
While knowledge of histories such as residential schools (or, as the book calls it, "boarding schools") and the Sixties Scoop is not necessary, it's clear that the history informs the actions of many characters, including Daunis and her elders. I highly recommend looking into these histories before or as you are reading this book.
Overall, I think it was a well-written book with important themes. Boulley did a good job of leaving hints and foreshadowing as the book went along. My only real issues were with pacing and the ending. It was hard at times to know if months, days, or merely hours had passed in the narrative. This may have been an issue with listening by audiobook, however. As for the ending... it felt like it was merely there to tie loose ends in the plot, like the ending screen in a documentary stating what happened after filming ended. The knowledge was satisfying, but the way it was written wasn't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Murder, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Classism, Car accident, Alcohol, Addiction, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Excrement, Bullying, Vomit, Blood, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Torture, Child death, and Homophobia
Daunis is 18 years old at the start of the book, which means this book really skirts the line of adult/minor relationship, in my opinion .