An intense and thrilling look into an Ojibwe community
The writing of this book is incredible. It sucked me in and the tension and pacing made it hard to put down. Daunis is an Ojibwe teen who builds community throughout this coming-of-age novel an works to help her town overcome a drug epidemic, uncovering unwanted truths about people she thought she knew, and more. The setting was completely immersive, and I loved how Daunis actively engaged with her elders and neighbors, even when working through her own feelings about belonging.
There were a few things that pulled me out of this work. For example, I had to keep reminding myself to suspend my disbelief with some parts of the investigation and interaction with federal agents. I'm also curious why Boulley set this book in 2003. At least in my community, cell phone use was not that common in the early 2000s, no teenagers were getting bank statements to personal email addresses, and genealogical DNA tests weren't widespread. When references to 2000s pop culture were mentioned, they jerked me out of the story because the rest didn't feel like that time period to me. While the "Not Like Other Girls" vibe was huge in the early 2000s, I wish we could have seen more of Daunis growing out of that attitude, especially with the hockey players' girlfriends.
There were also a few plots that I wish were either cut or more thoroughly developed. The violence against women in this book was intense, so it was confusing to me why the idea of "blanket parties" was introduced without coming back after the murders and assaults the story goes through.
The romance also felt creepy, which might have been lessened to me if we were given more about how Daunis was struggling with falling in love while grieving so much, but instead it felt like a shallow insta-love on her end and the 22-year-old FBI agent seemed predatory. I really wished TJ would have come back as a love interest at the end, or even better... Daunis not falling for any cops at all.
All that said, I had a hard time putting this book down, and really enjoyed it.
There were a few things that pulled me out of this work. For example, I had to keep reminding myself to suspend my disbelief with some parts of the investigation and interaction with federal agents. I'm also curious why Boulley set this book in 2003. At least in my community, cell phone use was not that common in the early 2000s, no teenagers were getting bank statements to personal email addresses, and genealogical DNA tests weren't widespread. When references to 2000s pop culture were mentioned, they jerked me out of the story because the rest didn't feel like that time period to me. While the "Not Like Other Girls" vibe was huge in the early 2000s, I wish we could have seen more of Daunis growing out of that attitude, especially with the hockey players' girlfriends.
There were also a few plots that I wish were either cut or more thoroughly developed. The violence against women in this book was intense, so it was confusing to me why the idea of "blanket parties" was introduced without coming back after the murders and assaults the story goes through.
The romance also felt creepy, which might have been lessened to me if we were given more about how Daunis was struggling with falling in love while grieving so much, but instead it felt like a shallow insta-love on her end and the 22-year-old FBI agent seemed predatory. I really wished TJ would have come back as a love interest at the end, or even better... Daunis not falling for any cops at all.
All that said, I had a hard time putting this book down, and really enjoyed it.