firekeeper’s daughter by Angeline Boulley

44th book of 2021

Reading period: Apr 21st 2021/May 17th 2021 – May 22rd 2021

Summary

Eighteen-year-old Daunis’s mixed heritage has always made her feel like an outsider, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When she witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to be part of a covert FBI operation into a series of drug-related deaths.

But the deceptions – and deaths – keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. Now Daunis must decide what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

Rating

Review

I’m so disappointed by this read; for me, it was a five prediction, but I can’t give more than three stars to this book.

I am going to start with the element that I like. The main thing was the discovery of the Ojibwe community. You learn about their tradition, culture, customs and language. For the last one, it was at the beginning not easy, but it immerses you so much more in this story. Also, the Elders! I like them so much, and they were my favourite characters. The themes reached by this book are essential, and the fact that it’s not underplayed but show and talk about was a big plus for me.

Nevertheless, there are some elements that I struggled with—first, the ton of Daunis. Even if her age is mentioned multiple times, I always forget it and thought she was a lot younger. I would have given her easily 14 instead of 18 years old, which is, for me, a problem that brought me out of the story.
Second, some scenes are happening to talk about a real issue but aren’t link to the story. They don’t have any consequence, or they change nothing in the story. It’s nearly like it’s happening, and we don’t talk about it later in the story.
Third, the romance. I didn’t like it from the beginning. It didn’t make sense as the chemistry wasn’t there, and it’s not just because they are different. It’s more due to their interactions around each other; for me, this relationship was doomed from the start.
Finally, this is a big book for a thriller/mystery, and I am not used to that for this genre. The story has so many details about all the community and the plot in itself. It was like having too many details about elements of the story and that the less interesting are still here because nobody wanted to remove them, which create a book that is more than 400 pages. This also doesn’t help with the pace of the book. I found it strange as you start with a medium one, then slow and finally fast.

I am sad not to like that book, and I am quite jealous of those who love it. Read it and see if you like it or not.

Liz.