The writing of this book is incredible. 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. 
However, 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 the Midwest community I grew up in, 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 being 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.

“In fact, it must be difficult not to sprout a head of snakes in a society that constantly hisses at you.”

It's been a long time since a nonfiction book has made me cry, and I'm so grateful that this one was written as beautifully and movingly as it was. I can't wait to read more from Robin Wall Kimmerer, I'm already looking forward to reading this book again. While I know and have been previously taught that humans are not separate from nature, and that we are just as much part of the environment that we live in as wild animals and plants and microorganisms there, the pervasive attitude around me insists that we're above it. This book was the perfect reminder that we are responsible for the Earth, and that the Earth needs us just as we need it.

So glad my library had this audiobook, the narration really enhanced the reading experience. 

While I generally love anything that gets me back into the world of Pride & Prejudice, this book felt almost like a betrayal of that place. Charlotte becomes seriously unlikeable, Mr. Darcy apparently forgets all the self improvements he made by the end of P&P, and the same of Mr. Bingley who’s back being cowed by Caroline. The book was also just too long, it took too much time retelling P&P, and then every point after that was stretched out. That said, it was nice to see Mary as the star and to imagine how the other Bennets ended up. 

Very annoying that Caroline got her wish in the end though. If Tom was a real friend he would have shown the note Caroline sent him to Ryder and at least tried to dissuade him from having anything more to do with her.  Ryder deserves a better ending than being stuck with Caroline, and she deserves worse

Beautiful and heartbreaking. The Fig Tree chapters were sometimes hard to get through, despite being interesting, but I feel like this is a book I’ll be coming back to.