Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

103 reviews

katiescott's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious 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: Gun violence, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Racial slurs

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

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

Sometimes when I read a book I have a super unpopular opinion on, I have to wonder if either I or everyone else got a bugged copy of some kind (or if I'm just that much of a hater). Because no matter how hard I try, I just really, genuinely cannot understand the average/majority rating of this book?

The writing ranges from dry to pointedly (in other words, unnaturally) quotable, and the dialogue is somehow even more stilted and unrealistically grammatically flawless than the narration. A few spoken lines toward the end literally go on uninterrupted and with no stuttering or backtracking for 100+ words; virtually no one, let alone who's suffered recent repeated physical trauma, is that eloquent. Information is revealed in stilted blocks and repeated ten times over. I don't think any teenager -- or person at all -- in the history of cell phones has ever texted like the teenagers in this book are written as doing.

In terms of substance, there's a lot left to be desired as well. All of the individual narrative threads -- or at least most of them -- would make interesting stories, but here they're all kind of crammed into one unbalanced mess. Is the central plot supposed to be Daunis's complex relationship with her family members and community? Her desire to pursue a career in medicine/science and unite traditional and more modern "scientific" practices? Her recovering from and learning about the factors leading up to her best friend's sudden, tragic death? Her role as an undercover informant in an FBI investigation involving meth and her community (as much suspension of disbelief as that requires)? Her and Jamie's relationship? A general critical overview of the treatment of Indigenous women in American and Canadian society? It's never really decided, and so we jump awkwardly from one to the other without more natural transitions or better multitasking, leading to really overall odd pacing.

The general emotional pacing never quite hits either. A significant medical detail about the protagonist is made explicit for the first time 70% in and never serves any real relevance (and is outright contradicted or ignored at other times). Major traumatic events like the murder of Daunis's best friend and

her being raped by a friend's father

are brushed off like minor hindrances -- there's no "right" way to react to trauma, but it feels so strange for the plot to just trudge on with no in-depth reflection, as though these things (particularly the latter) have been carelessly thrown in just to add to Daunis's hardships.

The characters -- including, perhaps especially Daunis -- lack depth, whittled down to one trait (not even one that is shown, but told... multiple times). The supporting cast especially kind of blends together as a result of that weird pacing and unrealistic, stilted dialogue. I couldn't get a real sense of any of their motivations, so the culprit reveal and relationships all feel more than lackluster. In that regard, the romance is particularly egregious, even putting aside the core issues with

a relationship between a 22-year-old government agent (as much questionable as that is in and of itself) and an 18-year-old college student he's directly supervising in an investigation

.

Overall, quite disappointing execution of multiple interesting premises, and I remain bewildered by the overwhelmingly positive response. Perhaps it was a great book for many others, but nothing about it ended up clicking or sitting well with me.

(Also, urine, even your own, is not actually sterile! Please do not use it as a substitute for hydrogen peroxide. I know this is set in 2004 -- as little as there is to solidly ground it there -- and a lot of people believe that myth even today, but it just feels... irresponsible to include in a book like this, especially framed as an objective valuable fact.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infidelity, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Car accident, and Child abuse

deepcurvesahead's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Racial slurs, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Rape

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Misogyny, and Sexual content

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Colonisation, Rape, and Racism

Moderate: Vomit, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Car accident

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Fire/Fire injury

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.75

I enjoyed this book on a lot of levels--the plot, the characters, the mystery, what I learned about Ojibwe culture and traditions--and definitely found it suspenseful and engaging. I wouldn't say the writing itself is my favorite (I felt like it did a lot of telling rather than showing), but it wasn't bad by any means and didn't distract from the story. I couldn't tell how it was going to end and I felt pretty satisfied with the ending

(especially that it didn't force a HEA for the romance when that would have been unhealthy)

. Overall I'd definitely recommend this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Addiction, Death, Grief, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Suicide, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Fatphobia, Car accident, Vomit, and Xenophobia

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Racial slurs, Torture, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, Ableism, and Alcoholism

kenzers8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Death, Violence, Rape, Addiction, Car accident, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Excrement, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Medical content, Mental illness, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Vomit

math_scooter's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

Virkeligt en gribende bog der både fik mig til at græde flere gange og være så sur at jeg var nødt til at fortælle alle omkring mig om handlingen. Selvom jeg havde på fornemmelse at jeg havde gættet slutningen kom den stadig med flere twist og handlinger jeg ikke havde set komme på lang afstand på samme måde. Jeg vil virkeligt anbefale at alle læser denne bog, men specifikt at man hører den som lydbog hvis man kan fordi oplæseren (Isabella Star LaBlanc) er virkeligt god og gav en  følelse og forståelse af historien jeg ikke havde opnået ved at læse selv. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, Confinement, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Addiction, Medical content, Death of parent, and Racism

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Stalking, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Homophobia

sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual assault

tagau's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.5

This was a difficult book for me to get into, it wasn’t until I was ½ way though that I really became invested in the story.

Once I was hooked though that was it. I finished the book in a matter of hours because I just had to know how it ended and if Justice was served. There are many lessons to be learned from this book. Lots of little tidbits of information that I can remember my grandmother telling me that I had almost forgotten. If nothing else, it’s a good read for those tidbits alone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Murder, Hate crime, Racism, Drug use, Car accident, and Addiction

Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence

Minor: Rape and Homophobia