Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

56 reviews

modernmatilda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Firekeepers Daughter was 🔥🔥🔥
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Wow, what a gorgeous, gorgeous book. And frankly my review of it doesn't matter (go read some reviews by Indigenous readers!!), but I want to nudge anyone who has had this book on their TBR to pick it up asap.
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I'm thankful that this book exists because we need so many more voices on our bookshelves, for those who need mirrors and those, like me, that need to be humbled by windows. Our book discussion group talked long past our meeting time about the topics in this one. Cannot recommend it enough.
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Give your heart the prep it might need by looking up content warnings before cracking this book open and tread with kindness for yourself. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, and Cultural appropriation

filipa_maia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

This cover is amazing! This story is amazing! I know that we are just half through the year, but I know that this is going to be my favorite book from 2022. This story starts kinda slow, but when it gets momentum, is a very fast read until the end.

I love Daunis, the girl that is between worlds, she is strong, stubborn and knows exactly what she wants. Stepping up to defend a community that don't look at her as equal, she does everything to take care of everyone, even to her own costs. The story is brilliantly written, the bad is very well balanced with the good. For every bad action committed by a character, there is a act of love somewhere else. For every heartbreak that Daunis is put through, there is a act of kindness to even out.

More than the story, this book brings us knowledge about (some) Indigenous culture, and that was my favorite part. I went online to learn the meaning of words, specific dances and prayers and I took a lot of notes. Angeline Boulley also writes about some troubles faced by this Indigenous communities: drugs, death and the non-stoping sexual violence towards native women. But she doesn't do it in a "let's shock readers" way... the fact is that things like the ones Angeline's writes about keep happening, and seems like no one (outside the communities) cares that much.

I learned so much from this book! I want to read it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Death of parent

snipinfool's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad 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? Yes

4.0

This book was very good. It was a little slow to start, but once it did I was completely pulled into the story. Daunis has lived her life as one living in two parts There is the white part from her mother and the Ojibwe Indian part from her father. She is preparing to begin her first semester of college when her life starts throwing curves at her. Her beloved uncle mysteriously dies, her grandmother nearly dies, and she worries about bad things happening in threes. She learns that a meth problem has taken hold in the Ojiibwe community. Daunis is asked help the FBI with their case.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Addiction and Classism

isleoflinds's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Genocide, Medical content, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

parkyparkpark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

rwmccormic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism, Police brutality, Medical content, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Torture, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Car accident

ekmook's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

creationwing's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy

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

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walkie_check's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail