What a heartbreaking, but vital, story about the resiliency of Indigenous women and the power of community. Each of the women in this story have either been raped or been directly linked to an Indigenous woman who has been raped or murdered. The horror of knowing that this fiction is reality for many women, the utter shame they feel while also pushing themselves to tell this shameful story to a police force that often times does not take it seriously, does not believe, or is just plain racist. There is an element of this book that specifically highlights the injustice in terms of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). In which a member of their family was murdered and the culprit was allowed to get away with it, was given a lenient sentence. I felt sick, appalled, knowing that this is actually all too common. The cops in this narrative are either interested for the wrong reasons or couldn't care less about the young girl who was assaulted. The one officer is an older white man who seems to think that because this took place in a poor neighbourhood it must have been gang related and therefore not worth their time or hard to actually solve. When it is revealed the crime is not gang related he begins to be suspicious of the only Indigenous man involved with the family (Paulina's boyfriend), instead of the area in which the girl was attacked. Whereas, the Métis officer is determined to find out the truth, often at the detriment to the mental health of the young girl who was raped. The story intricately and expertly weaves the story of these women, most of whom are family. From the matriarch, Kookum, who is losing her memory and finding it hard to concentrate. To her daughter Cheryl, who is still mourning the loss of her sister Rain, whose daughter happened to be the witness to the crime (Stella). Cheryl's daughters, Lou and Paulina, have experienced so much pain, from the murder of their aunt, to the misuse of their young bodies by older men, and the gang rape of a good friend as teenagers. They are trying to protect their own children, Lou her two sons after her partner left, and Paulina her daughter while also trying to trust her new boyfriend after years of men letting her down. There is also the perspective of Phoenix, a young Indigenous woman who escaped youth detention and is camping out at her drug selling uncles home. She has secrets, she is alone, her mother is unreliable, and she is filled with pain, hate and rage. She is a powder keg of emotions ready to burst. She too has suffered at the hands of generational trauma, having been born out of rape, and her mother having been severely traumatized by the experience. She is also suffering the loss of a younger sister and has taken to heart the ruthlessness of a system that in no way supports Indigenous youth. Again, this novel is heartbreaking. Just a series of terrible events triggered by an unchecked system held in place by a colonially constructed Government. Stella will for the rest of her life feel guilt at having frozen in fear instead of going to help, as though she is at fault for all that happened. Cheryl and her girls will have a hard time with the fact Stella did not intervene, but will work to understand her fear and embrace forgiveness. Because, in this novel there is still hope. Hope in the form of the community these women are a part of, their strong bond, their roots to each other. They will form a protective barrier for themselves, to rebuild after tragedy.
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