Rating: 2.5 stars

The Sweet: This book wasn't an easy to read. Adam Garnet Jones really bared his soul in order to write this book. The characters are extremely strong and try to do what's best for them, maybe not for everyone, but definitely themselves. Shane has had a difficult life and is trying to make a life for himself but the death of his sister has left him and his mother in disarray.

I like how things weren't easy and Jones does a fantastic job of displaying reservation life. We don't treat Native Americans well, and that should change. They are people.

The Sour: Shane was unbearable at times. He was like a tornado wreaking havoc on everyone. I couldn't really connect with the characters and it was a extremely slow read for me.

The Overview: If you want to read this book because of the representation,then you should. The romance was okay and the characters are pretty brutal towards one another but it is an important read. Representation is important.

Again, thanks to NetGalley. Fire Song is a very good read I only can recommend. I remembered watching the movie so therefore I was familiar with the story. I'd suggest reading the book first though.

This is a well-written story about grief and the questions left behind when someone takes their own life. Since the protagonist is a gay Anishinaabe teen living on a reservation, it provides a different perspective from what most YA readers will be used to. Shane's voice is good, and readers will care about him and want him to be happy even as he makes mistakes and unintentionally hurts other people.

I thought the big event that happened near the end was a bit rushed/forced. It felt a bit like shock for shock's sake. Otherwise, this is a good story with wide appeal.

Overall this book just didn’t hold my attention. I picked it up and put it down so many times that I don’t think I can properly review it. This was possibly a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”.

So the thing about this book is it’s… a good book that doesn’t go very far. I really dark and didn’t give me the emotional payoff I wanted from that darkness.

I hate saying this because this word has gotten emptier by the year, but this is actually a really important story. This story is ownvoices for both mlm representation and Native American representation. Culture and tradition is woven into the very fabric of this novel, along with a heavy focus on homophobia and drug use in these communities.

But I just honestly… didn’t connect enough to the characters to find it very memorable? I kept waiting for long character arcs for Shane and David and they NEVER CAME. Which was weird. And I wanted more from the characters.

I will say the writing was really solid and perfect. And the ending was a really powerful statement on homophobia. There's a lot of interesting stuff here that just... doesn't quite get played around with.

Honestly, I don’t know what to say, as this is a novel based off a movie and really not meant to be played out in book format. Here’s the link to the movie - it’s available on Netflix USA. here it is on netgalley! I was promised an ownvoices story about Native American mlm, and wow if that isn't the best thing ever.

overall: I really wish I had loved this as much as I thought it would, and while I thought it wasn’t an utterly horrible book, it just didn't totally work for me? While I didn't really emotionally connect, it was solidly a good book.

lots of interesting stuff going on here. We have the idea of "two spirits", a term I'd heard before in the context of lgbt people being accepted in native groups (an idea that Jones tells us is fairly isolated), high suicide rates, and barriers to education. We see a system that inherently represses people, sets them up for failure from every angle.
The plot does have some logical failures and believabilty issues. Not a total failure but enough to give one pause.

I offered myself to review this book my mistake. I would not have chosen it but once in was done, I decided to still read and give a review. I actually liked it. I liked how many difficult themes were adapted to the story. I l;iked How it talks about a different culture and the way they relate to the themes in the book. I was pleasently suprised by that book

I loved this book so much. So easy to get into. I love how the author wrote the story plot. It's understandable. So I don't have to read this one twice.

Excellently organized and entertaining. A real winner for the publisher and the reader.

I had a hard time getting through this book because I abhor third person present tense. It feels like an awkward second person pov and at the same time neither first, second, or third. That tense totally evaporated my relatability to the characters and the emotions within the story. I feel that this should have been written either as a first person or third omniscient and in past tense regardless of the pov.

I absolutely loved the culture of the characters in this story because it's so rare to get that. Most characters tend to be by default mostly Caucasian, followed by Black and Hispanic. So that was my favorite part about the book. I would love to see more writing like this with this kind of character cultural diversity.

I hated that David was the secret boyfriend, I dunno I just though there would be more expectations of their dynamic. Same for the other side characters.

It was a good story, but the pov just screws everything up ad it's hard to present a rating other than what it is because the pov is a key point of the story and this just didn't work for me.

What interested me the most about Fire Song was the fact that it was a movie and now turned into this book – usually it’s the other way around! I did find some parts in the book to be more suited for the big screen, but it wasn’t a huge issue for me. The plot is so real, too. Suicide-prevention and school accessibility really aren’t available for these kids; they have it so much harder than many other kids, so the reality of Shane’s situation is believable, and all the emotions are there that go with it.

What we never hear about is an LGBTQ community within Indigenous communities. It’s just not a thing that’ really brought up, so Adam has done a great job to bring light to these people who are, essentially, a minority within a minority. It was heart breaking to see the relationship between Shane and David go through so much turmoil JUST because of the families and location they were born in. They are never allowed to be themselves, and sneaking around can (and does) only get them so far.

I think Tara is a character that needs to be looked at more – the description of her in the summary does her no justice. I mean, I did find her a bit needy at times and annoying, but this is a girl with a lot of potential; she’s overlooked by Shane constantly, and by consequence, her life isn’t as fleshed-out as I hoped it would be. The same goes for Destiny too. Some people may complain about the fact that we don’t really know much about why she killed herself. None of the characters know, either, PLUS you never really get answers anyways when something sad like this happens in a community in real life. What I don’t agree with is the way Shane’s mother just all of a sudden snaps out of her depression, and gives Shane the debit card so he can go to school – that was too perfect, for my liking.

Overall, Adam Garnet Jones has written a wonderful novel based on a movie he has directed, and he brings many important issues to life that I can see helping communities all over Canada.

Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press for the advance reader copy Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones in exchange for an honest review. I was so moved by the story of Shane, an Anishinaabe teen, who is reeling from his sister’s suicide, his mother’s withdrawal into grief, his conflicting feelings for his girlfriend, Tara, and his secret relationship with David, are just a few of the REAL things. Just as key to the plot is Shane’s lukewarm commitment to his indigenous heritage, at one with language, beliefs, and traditions. He ignores the defining elements of being an Anishinaabe but luxuriates in all that nature offers. Conversely David is proud of his heritage, has a strong belief system, and loves where he lives but wants to hide his relationship with Shane. But Shane’s need to leave the rez is absolute, going to school in Toronto, with David by his side. But can Shane make his future happen? I could not put this book down; teens will be reading, sharing, and loving this emotional, gripping book! A must read, highly recommended! #Firesong #NetGalley

3 stars

After the suicide of his younger sister, Destiny, Shane is grieved from the events and how he could have missed the signs. Shane wants to turn to the one person on the rez who he loves, his friend David.

Things continue to go downhill as his dreams of going to university is shattered and his grieving mother withdraws from the word, along with his relationship with David having to stay a secret. Tragedy continues to strike as Shane’s hope of getting a better life in Toronto diminishes.

I was very excited to read some Native American literature by someone who’s not a sexual harasser, and I think impact-wise, this definitely did not disappoint.

There’s such a strong message behind this piece about community, about acceptance, about family, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the novel. Shane’s change, if you look at him in the beginning and end, really shows how he’s grown as a character and come to accept himself which I found to be really awesome.

It left the reader with hope despite the generally down mood of the story as Shane takes obstacle after obstacle and almost gives up many times.

I also really loved the representation of the LGBTQ+ community and how it fit into this tribe’s own community and their viewpoints. Also, the contrast between Shane and some of him and his friends’ nonbelieving when compared with David was also very interesting and enlightening to see.

Mostly what I struggled with was just the execution in general. I felt like it could have been told better.

One of the biggest problems with this was just the whole story taking on a sort of one-tone that was very down in the dumps and it never really got very dynamic tone-wise, so there was no ecstasy in triumph or anger or any strong emotions. It kept a very steady tone and although this is commendable, I’m not sure if it was a good fit in helping the reader relate to Shane.

I think part of this could have been resolved if it was told in something other than third-person present tense, whether it was third-person past or first person because it ended up making the tone flatter.

I found it interesting how Jones added these chapters in between some of Shane’s that were first person and it took me a couple of chapters to figure out that it was his girlfriend (who he’s kind of cheating on to be with David) whose POV these chapters were in.

I wasn’t too much of a fan of the dynamic between Shane and Tara because, to be honest, Shane is a dick to her. Tara says this herself, but it irritates me that in the summary, it says:

“He tries to share his grief with his girlfriend, Tara, but she’s too concerned with her own needs to offer him much comfort.”

This is contrary to what Tara said in the book where she stated Shane was too invested in his own struggles to care about her, and I’m honestly going to have to side with Tara on this. The way the summary angles this to make Tara worse or a person doesn’t really appeal to me.

Shane is also just kind of terrible in general to Tara and I think their plot line could have used more closure rather than Shane just ending up with David eventually. Things happen that obviously change their dynamic, but I still wish there was more closure in there.

Similarly, I found that one of the solutions, when Shane was trying to leave the hold of the person who wanted him to drug deal, was a little too easy and ended up being too hunky-dory for me to accept as an ending.

One of the things I wanted more of was Shane’s expression of grief about Destiny and I was hoping that there’s more passion and intensity and sorrow about this because it sucks to lose a family member and Shane spends a lot of time avoiding thinking about it rather than addressing it.

Overall, this was a very impactful novel about family, grief, and acceptance. If this seems like something that would interest you, I would definitely recommend you check it out!

Also, I’ll definitely be looking up the film because Jones originally wrote the screenplay for that and it seems like something that would be interesting! I’m not sure how related the two works are.

APPEAL FACTORS: Issues oriented, compelling, with cultural- and LGBTIA- diverse characters.

Set on a fictional Anishinaabe reserve in Northern Ontario, Fire Song is an unflinching look at the obstacles Shane, a gay teen, overcomes after his younger sister’s suicide as he finds his place in his family, his band, and the world. A heart wrenching but ultimately hopeful story. I would recommend this novel to mature readers.

I first heard of Fire Song on the BooksandLala YouTube channel. The synopsis immediately had me interested. I requested an ARC from NetGalley, and let me tell you, when I got the email that my request had been approved… there may have been a fist pump.

I typically will not read a movie novelization; I don’t see the point. In this case, I had no idea that this was a novelization of the Air Canada Audience Choice Award winning film with the same title. Once I learned that I was a little disappointed, but felt committed to reading and reviewing the novel anyway.

In all honesty, the first two times I sat down to read this I couldn’t really connect to the story. I actually fell asleep. But once I got to a part where the characters were interacting with each other, as opposed to setting up the mood of the story, I found myself really invested.

I think I wanted Shane and David to be like Ari and Dante, of 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'. I was expecting a coming of age story about friends learning to accept themselves, each other, and their evolving relationship, while introducing the reader to the struggles of a culture that is, for the most part, overlooked.

And yes, I did get that…. but in a very different way. Where Ari and Dante was an uplifting and feel-good story of acceptance, Fire Song took a pretty depressing route to get us there. And it needed to. This book had the important job of capturing the tragedy and oppressive hopelessness that plagues Native American communities. Just for the reason that it portrays life on a reservation, I think this is worth reading and recommending.

There was a major event in the story that was pretty predictable, but I think it was kind of meant to be. If it was supposed to be a surprise, then the author failed miserably. But there was enough foreshadowing that I expected it, and was still deeply shaken by it.

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads. I liked it. Maybe even a lot, but I didn’t love it. Shane’s character was well written and very likable. His mother, Jackie’s pain over losing a child was heartbreaking to witness, and I imagine, very realistic. David, though…. I don’t want to say that I didn’t like him, but his choices frustrated me. I understand him, though, I do.

There was a point in reading that I had to check what percentage I had read, and how much was left, because I didn’t understand how much more the story could go on. I was surprised to see almost half the book remaining, when I thought it should be wrapping up. It almost felt like a different book for the second half of the story.

After finishing the book I watched the trailer for the movie. I don’t know that I would have been interested in it based on the trailer alone. I feel like I’m in a weird position, because usually I resent movie adaptations for leaving parts of a book out. In this case, though, the book is based off the movie…. so it should all be there, right? I enjoyed the book enough to consider watching the movie, especially since it’s available on Netflix.

I am glad I read this book, and look forward to seeing what others think of it. It’s publication date is right around the corner: March 13, 2018.

Happy Reading!

Prepare to have your heart turned out.

They say to make a good story, you have to take your protagonist, stick him in a tree, and throw rocks at him. If that is the case, then Shane, in this story, has a lot of rocks being thrown at him. The book opens with the suicide of his sister, and his world goes downhill from there. Plus, he is trying to get to college, and the band (the tribe) has no money for him to go, because of technicalities, and lack of money. Plus he is in love with his best friend, David, plus his mother is still mourning his sister, six weeks after he death.

With all that going on, he doesn’t know how he could possible come out.

If this sounds as though it is too depressing to read, I have to admit it reminds me of how I almost didn’t finish reading Oliver Twist, back when I first read it. Things had gone so badly for him, I couldn’t imagine how he would ever be saved. Like that book, this one makes it look as though there is no way out, which is often how things are when you don’t stop to think.

Through it all, Shane has such eloquent ways of saying things. I kept marking quote after quote as being so special. Here are some examples:
<blockquote>Maybe he saw her as nothing more than a stick of kindling to be burned. But if he had grown up here, he would know that even a stick of firewood is filled with a spirit that can’t be burned away</blockquote>

Or

<blockquote>Some songs are like a heartbeat that fills up the dark, empty places inside you with light, but today this song feels like sex.</blockquote>

The story feels very real, and very raw. Suicide is a very real problem amongst First Nations people, and this book does not tread lightly around it.

It is not a light read, but it is a good read, and I think it should be read. It was also, first a movie, by the same author. I will seek it out.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

It's been a while since I've read Canadian Aboriginal fiction. The last one had been Green Grass, Running Water from my highschool AP English class. Which was...well, to put it kindly, definitely an experience. A bit of advice for English teachers? It doesn't matter how brilliant you think a book is or how well-read and mature you think your students are. They're still teenagers. If they can't relate to the subject matter (hell, if they can't even figure out what the subject matter is), they're not going to get the most out of the book like you were hoping for.

With that immediate digression out of the way, let's talk about Fire Song!

Fire Song was originally released into the world in the form of an indie film, written and directed by Adam Garnet Jones. Turns out the guy is super multi-talented because his first attempt at a novel isn't too shabby either. The story stars Shane who's lived in an Ontario reserve with his family all his life. Shane has his girlfriend, Tara, but in the past year and a half, a secret relationship began to bloom between him and a boy named David. Despite not being able to disclose his sexuality to his family and friends, the future didn't seem all too bad for Shane. Then his sister Destiny committed suicide. And everything got flipped upside-down.

Shane is a likeable character (at least in the beginning--we'll get back to this in a bit). His efforts to juggle grief, two relationships, and the possibility of a higher education are easy to empathize with. You find yourself rooting for him to find peace and happiness.

I didn't find the side characters all that well-developed, however. The problem is that this is such a short book and we only get small glimpses for most of them. David, for example. There's little to him besides the fact that he's Shane's secret boyfriend and seriously into their ancestral culture. We don't really get to see the qualities that made Shane fall in love with him in the first place.

But what I did love about these teenagers is that they do everything with so much intensity. They lust deeply. They love deeply. And they hurt and get hurt deeply. It's a double-edged sword, this openness--this unrestrained energy--but it's what I think defines teenagehood. And Jones does a terrific job of showing it.

I also loved the contrast between the prose and the subject matter. The latter is stark and doesn't shy away from heavy topics--sex, drugs, drinking, death. It could have easily become an overly grim story if not for the prose. There's such a quiet, dreamy quality to the writing that not only balances out the harshness but softens it out to a manageable level.

"Watching the fire grow, Shane feels the presence of his ancestors like an echo behind him. Generations that crouched near the flames and warmed their palms, one after another for tens of thousands of years. He wonders if white people ever feel something like that or if it's just Indians who feel their past and present breathing into each other."

The writing is truly great. The author has no shortage of lovely metaphors to describe every emotion and senses.

I also really liked how the story educates you on what a life in rez might be like for Aboriginal youth without sounding like a pamphlet. The injustice and setbacks that these kids face is depicted in the emptiness that follows Destiny's death. In Shane's struggles to help out his mother and pay his way to university at the same time. In the scrapbook of rez kids who have been murdered or committed suicide. In the anger that roils through Shane at the helplessness of it all. These are major issues regarding First Nations communities that plague Canada, one that the government has yet to fully address, and Jones presents them well with a lot of heart and raw emotions.

"But, Kathy, it sounds like you have a truckload of praises for the book. Why the shitty score?"

First of all, 6.5 is not a bad score. Secondly, I did (do) have a lot of praise for the book. But then I got past the halfway mark and things started to...unravel a bit. The chapters alternate from Shane's POV to chapters that are solely diary entries by Tara. From the start, I'm wasn't too keen on the latter. It felt like cheating--telling what the character's really feeling without having to actually show any of it in Shane's narrative. Then out of nowhere comes this one scene near the end, and without getting into spoilers, it was clear that showing so little of Tara outside of the diary was a detrimental decision.

From there, the pacing took a nose-dive and things turned crazy hectic. Shane's personality was all over the place. One minute he's snuggling with David and the next he's pushing him away and planning the world's worst amateur heist and physically threatening an old woman. And all of this was happening in a matter of days. I felt majorly whiplashed; it seemed like there was a large chunk of segue missing between the middle and the end of the story.

The ending is a hopeful one, though. Which I appreciated. And I do love the spotlight shone on the LGBTQ Aboriginal youth of Canada. It's an important story, to be sure, with some issues of execution.

My hope is that stories like these pave the way to similar ones in Canadian literature in the future.

I wanted to like this story more than I actually did. I'm always looking for diverse reads for my collection. I felt very jumbled reading the book and I'm not sure if that's what the author intended. The chapters from Tara's perspective didn't seem necessary as she was more of a secondary character. She wasn't fully fleshed enough to warrant the page time, but if she'd had more page time I think that could have been reversed. The pacing of the novel was erratic. Everything sort of happened in the last few chapters and BAM! it's over.

This book was really great. I just felt like the beginning was slow, but after that it picked up pass. Super cute love story