Book Thoughts: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
After I read a book, I generally email my thoughts or notes to a friend. I'm now copying these first emails to this blog since it's easier to revisit.
Original Sent Date: Sept 9, 2024
Seems to be part 1 in a series but I don't think I'm going to read the rest.
It's an indigenous (Anishinaabe, specifically Ojibwe) YA novel centering around a teenage girl who gets wrapped up in a FBI investigation about meth in her community. Apparently the author spent 10 years researching to write this book, which is kind of wild to me because it didn't impress me that much. But arguably I'm not giving it the full attention it deserves, because I listened to it via audio and therefore missed a lot of detail.
That said, it was similar to To Shape a Dragon's Breath in that for much of it I was like, why am I reading this. Very mid. Dragon's Breath was better, though, imo.
This book is also apparently taught in schools, so good for it.
Some notes (not spoiler free):
The book ended up darker than expected, but I much appreciated that because I kind of hated the beginning of it. Felt like I was reading dumb teen romance, even with the initial death. Was super not into her love interest and even at the end I only sort of went "eh, okay" about it. This book has led me to realize that I fucking can't stand romance in fictional writing if it's done tropey. The amount of BS I can stand and enjoy in comic forms ticks me off to no end in text format.
My brain, apparently:
- Comic people are not real people. They exist in comic-verse and are meant to embody the unreasonable ideals of things people want to look at. They exist in a world where you can smack someone over the head with a hammer you pulled out of your pocket for humor's sake, and no one is hurt. Comic people are not real people.
- Therefore when comic people talk about how they'll let anyone with a pretty face get away with anything, or that they can't stop noticing someone / letting someone in even when they know better just because the other person gives them the Hot Face Chemistry Rush, I go "Cool".
- People in books are closer to being real. Naturally, the realest thing is live action, but books are in between. Books force you to slow down and actually think about what's on the goddamn page because they're harder to process, so therefore they shouldn't waste my time on buffoonery.
- People who are closer to being real should stop being stupid in the most stereotypical ways when it comes to romance. I just can't mcTake it, man. Don't date the FBI agent who is lying to you even if he's pretty and seems pathetic. Or if you date him, please be actually interested in his mind foremost and not his body.
- Real people, that is, IRL, should not make stupid decisions about romance on account of it pisses me off. Break up with everyone, forever, I don't want to hear about it, no amount of sex appeal justifies anything in the world.
Nice that this book doesn't shy away from having her be the fatter one.
This book is the first time I've actually seen the negation of the fantasy of the (male) love interest who always somehow knows when you're about to be raped or killed swooping in at the last second to save you. In fact, I was surprised when the narrative let her be victimized like that. It was pretty good rep, though, considering the fact that she was wearing a sexy dress but was in no way "asking for it". That + the vigilante blanket party thing was really interesting. Given that I don't read much downer fiction, this was probably the best I've seen the trauma of rape being portrayed, besides probably Speak, but I barely remember that book and haven't read it in over a decade (also the whole story conceit was about that, so if it missed the mark on that it wouldn't really be a good book).
Honestly the whole thing about "guy lies" and multiple guys lying to her, including her love interest, and then both her friend being killed by a boy and her being raped by an adult man just made me go, And why do any of you even still put up with men then?! The lack of queer experience in this book truly launched me back into my "ackshually let's consider lesbian separatism" kneejerk reaction that apparently still lives in me and rears its bioessentialist (and/or social upbringing-essentialist) head whenever I feel that myself or women are being endangered by men. The fact that women actually are attracted to men and fall in love with them, when I'm in this state of mind, is a horrifying tragedy. But, you know, gotta beat those fallacies off with a stick. It's just like the kind of dumb "how could you like anything I don't like that may potentially be detrimental" kind of bias. The feeling is primal, though.
Similarly, Daunis in general is truly like "this is the limits of cis women's gender," like she's clearly doing some things that aren't necessarily feminine like playing hockey and whatnot, but she's also down and ready for stuff like makeup and dressing up femininely when the occasion rises. I know this is literally like most women in the world. It just feels so damn foreign to me sometimes, and the feeling can ironically be amplified by seeing someone who steps somewhat closer to the boundary of gender-nonconfirmity than I was expecting yet remains firmly in the lines. I guess this is what I get for not actually being a woman.
I don't really like the fact that part of the answer to the mystery is that there are real indigenous spiritual beings, but that is probably a critique I do not get to make. But just personally, because I am not spiritual at all, do not jive with that.
That said, respecting traditions is important. I did not absorb much of any of that because I was reading via audio but there's some good examples in the book. It also makes a distinction between like, actually living it and just doing it for status as Levi did.
The parts about how the community views Daunis vs Levi in terms of who has more claims to indigenous heritage was really good. Especially since most obviously, Daunis is the one who is actually living in line with the spirit of her Ojibwe culture, but she's not afforded the same kind of easy acceptance as someone who's literally ruining their community but has the right parental makeup.
Extremely glad Daunis did not stay together with Jamie. I know he's okay by the end of the book but man fuck that guy. He clearly respected her more than her brother and his whole squad did but this whole book really got my misandry going for some reason. Like I'm glad her ex turned out to be good after all (but he's a cop...) and her dead uncle was obviously good and stuff but my god. The conversation Daunis and Jamie have about their breakup is really good, though, as were their scenes in cooperating when they had been kidnapped. But I don't want them to ever get back together, sorry writer and every reader who is like omg but Jamie is a heartthrob hot man. Yeah whatever.
All in all..... beginning part of book: mid with the sin of committing hetero crimes (to me). last 2 hours of the audiobook: actually interesting. Could probably not survive reading the next book.