young adult
I was blown away by Angeline Boulley's debut novel,
Firekeeper's Daughter. Taking place 10 years after the events in
her first novel, Warrior Girl Unearthed takes the reader back to Sugar
Island and, although Daunis, the protagonist from the first novel is a
character along with other familiar names, the story focuses on the next
generation of Firekeepers- Daunis' twin nieces Perry and Pauline, as
well as a few other tribe members who come together during a summer
internship for the tribe.
Once again, Boulley has a lot to say in this novel and much of it is important. Unfortunately, this is where some of the problems also start. Juggling Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the sad reality of the many missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW), and trying to keep a young adult audience interested is a lot to ask of anyone. While Boulley handled all of the topics well and shared a TON of information with readers- many of whom no doubt learned a lot between the pages- the plot suffered at the hands of knowledge.
A murder mystery is solved in the blink of an eye. The romances are sub-sub-plots to the point that I never was invested in whether or not the couples would become couples at all. Because of all of this, while I wanted to find out what happened (particularly to supporting character Shense who turned out to be one of my favorites in the book), I ended up reading this book slooooooowly because I was never really invested. The times I really cared were when Daunis was on the page. I found myself craving information about who she had become in those 10 years since we last saw her. I also felt that neither the NAGPRA plot nor MMIW plot were explored quite as much as they could have been if they weren't competing with one another for pages and the attention of the teens. There was one point in the book where I had to stop and think about whether, as a reader, I was trying to figure out a murder mystery, a heist, or a kidnapping and trying to decide if any of them were related.
Would I read another book by Boulley and revisit Sugar Island? Absolutely. I would also love to hear her speak about Indigenous issues. I hope she writes a lot more books, though, so she doesn't feel that she has to fit all of the issues into one book.
Once again, Boulley has a lot to say in this novel and much of it is important. Unfortunately, this is where some of the problems also start. Juggling Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the sad reality of the many missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW), and trying to keep a young adult audience interested is a lot to ask of anyone. While Boulley handled all of the topics well and shared a TON of information with readers- many of whom no doubt learned a lot between the pages- the plot suffered at the hands of knowledge.
A murder mystery is solved in the blink of an eye. The romances are sub-sub-plots to the point that I never was invested in whether or not the couples would become couples at all. Because of all of this, while I wanted to find out what happened (particularly to supporting character Shense who turned out to be one of my favorites in the book), I ended up reading this book slooooooowly because I was never really invested. The times I really cared were when Daunis was on the page. I found myself craving information about who she had become in those 10 years since we last saw her. I also felt that neither the NAGPRA plot nor MMIW plot were explored quite as much as they could have been if they weren't competing with one another for pages and the attention of the teens. There was one point in the book where I had to stop and think about whether, as a reader, I was trying to figure out a murder mystery, a heist, or a kidnapping and trying to decide if any of them were related.
Would I read another book by Boulley and revisit Sugar Island? Absolutely. I would also love to hear her speak about Indigenous issues. I hope she writes a lot more books, though, so she doesn't feel that she has to fit all of the issues into one book.
No comments:
Post a Comment