What a powerful and poignant read. This book was so well written, the story eloquently crafted, every moment propelled the reader along with Daunis. She is a woman suffering, she lost her father young, but more recently she lost her beloved uncle to an apparent drug overdose. Now, she clings to her family and her best friend, desperate to save all of them while placing her life on hold. She is also such an amazing member of her Ojibwe community, even as they refuse to officially recognize she is her father's daughter. She has a strong connection to the elders and helps them when they need it, listens when they talk, respects their wisdom, and cherishes the time she has with them. Her half brother, whose mother is a member of the Ojibwe community, is recognized and held up as the golden son. But, Daunis does not begrudge him, because she too loves and respects him. Their relationship could be contentious, but Daunis is more about connecting with those around her and less about distancing herself from the community that shuns her. This book speaks to the injustices that Indigenous communities face everyday. The overt and subtle racism that insidiously tries to destroy their community from both outside and within. The way that their white neighbours belittle and abuse them, only to turn around and try to claim heritage for the rights to casino money. Gross! And while the F.B.I. works to bring down the drug operation, they too hold little regard for what their interference will do to the survivors and the community once they leave. The amount of pain and suffering that the women endure in this book broke my heart. The fact they must enact their own system of reparation, because the law never seems to act on their behalf or in their favor. Awful, evil, but absolutely true to our world. I cried with Daunis for all she lost and continues to lose, but I also felt her triumph when she was able to overcome, resist, to actually make sure that something was done. The character growth in this book, especially in both Daunis and Jamie, was impeccable. Daunis at first is a bit naive and trusting, while also being tough and loyal to her friends and family. But, as the book goes on she begins to see the underside of her world, the awful moments that get overshadowed or overlooked. The traps that she inevitably falls into at the expense of her own innocence and happy world view. Daunis is strong, but her strength only increases as she is faced with difficult and almost impossible situations and decisions. She has to reconcile herself to the facts that most times Indigenous women go unheard, that they are swept away. Even as they host a hockey game in honour of an Indigenous female player who died, they seem to lose focus on her and simply focus on the game and those playing. Everything Daunis goes through only brings her closer to her community and solidifies her need to do what she can to help it to thrive and to help the women within the community to survive and endure. Jamie, on the other hand, begins to learn what it truly means to be Indigenous and is beginning to see the effect that being a part of a community can have. The ability to be more, to have more, to have meaning and learn about your past and those who came before. He also has to reckon with his role in the story and how it could possibly shape him. Is this who he wants to be, or does he want to be someone who eventually could have a family with a strong Indigenous woman like Daunis, who could fully embrace his heritage and be more himself? Jamie learns that to truly heal, he must find himself and his culture. Okay, but my truly favourite part were the elders. How much they actually help Daunis throughout the book. Both in terms of her becoming a member of the tribe, and in terms of the drug investigation (sort of unknowingly). They act as the protection and acceptance that Daunis desperately needs. She loves and admires them, but they do the same for her, they accept her as part of their community even when others would not. I liked how they also added some humour when it was needed, helping to ease how deep the book was becoming. (Slight ending spoiler) Even though, in the end, one person who should truly face justice might have escaped. And another person did not have to face the law for what he did to Daunis. The book felt genuine, sadly it felt more real because of the way it ended and how all the pieces fell into place and how justice was inevitably served. I also liked that the ending was not so neat, that the characters left still have more things to work on and therefore it's not a completely happy ending, but one that instills hope for a better future, for Daunis and for her community.
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