Slowburns are fun but this was a little too slow to not become boring. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgallery and Astra Publishing House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story follows Jenny Hayes as she navigates life as a housewife, infertility, and the disappearance of her First Nations neighbor, Rachelle.

If you want to read a story about a protagonist with a White Savior complex, this book is for you. I had very high expectations for this book, namely that justice would be done to highlight the MMIW movement. This book significantly missed the mark. I was disappointed that this story focused very little on the Indigenous experience and instead was just another white protagonist's perspective. Jenny is a white, bored housewife who believes she is going to solve Rachelle's case and takes it upon herself to investigate, all the while imposing herself in another missing girls' search and Indigenous community.

The lack of alternative perspective and lack of story development led to several problematic stereotypes:
- Calling an Indigenous character "the man with the braid" instead of giving him a name for most of the book.
-Jenny's assumption that "the man with the braid" was abusive based solely on his looks. This reinforces the stereotype of Indigenous men engaging in DV.
- Using racist terms like "sq--," which were unnecessary and harmful.
-"Indian time" was mentioned and depicted several times.
-MMIW go missing because they like to "party."
-MMIW go missing because they are engaging in sex work.
-Indigenous people can't garden/plant.
-Indigenous people littering the streets of the big city because of their substance misuse.

I read that the author owed this book to the people of Prince George. Unfortunately, this book is a complete disservice to Indigenous people, as there were no positive attributes of Indigenous people or culture highlighted within this work.

I will not recommend this book to others due to the harmful narrative. I would especially caution Indigenous readers (like myself) from picking this book up.

Thank you to Net Galley and Astra Publishing House for the ARC. I enjoyed the first part, but because the story stayed slow paced and meandering, I soon grew bored. I liked the writing style at first but it became tedious to read towards the middle.

This book follows Jenny, a young house wife in Prince George, BC, Canada. She gets involved with her Native/Indigenous neighbor, Rachelle, a woman despised in the neighborhood for her race. Jenny has had difficulty getting pregnant, and is jealous of Rachelle who has two daughters. The book paints all Native Women as sluts and prositutes, and refers to them with slurs. During this time a white woman disappears on the Trail of Tears and everyone goes looking. Then Rachelle disappears and Jenny learns that many, many Native women disappear all the time and no one does anything about it. Jenny decided to investigate and this is where the problems really begin for me. One, why does she actually care? What is her motivation'? She only met with the women twice. And seemed to despise and distain her. There was a LOT of victim blaming in this book, and that never gets cleaned up. Jenny doesn't feel like the right person to be interrogating this. I felt some sympathy for Jenny as a person, but I didn't like her, or the fact that her "investigations" and the evidence is only explained through her own rationalizations and she is a VERY UNRELIABLE narrator. Made me feel crazy and wonder why I would spend time listening to Jenny, who is so out of touch its embarrassing.

The good:
Gorgeous cover
Characters are well drawn
Deceptions are vivid
Ecological elements are lovely

The bad:
Tooo much detail on the mundane
Jenny was okay but everyone else was unlikable or just stereotypical projections in Jenny’s head
All the men are horrible or worse
All the women as victims
Victim blaming

DNF!

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc, but it was Not Good.

I’m echoing other reviews I’ve read when I say this, but I don’t know why the author thought it was appropriate to write this book about a white woman centering herself in an indigenous woman’s story. It was so painful to read about the fumbled attempts Jenny (mc) made to find her missing indigenous neighbor, all the while trying to hide her search from her racist friends and family. Pathetic.

The writing itself was bad too. This was almost unreadable. Sorry. 😬

The writing
I highlighted so many passages in this book - I must try and remember to come back to this review after the book has been released, to share my favourites with you! I found Haddad's writing style really elegant - some beautiful language and imagery, but without overburdening or purple style choices. A lot of time in this book is spent in the mundane and melancholy, and I found myself transported into these little vignettes (and not bored at all).

Haddad's writing reminded me a lot of some of my favourite works from Ottessa Mosfegh - the melancholy of My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and the unsettling and unreliable narration of Death in Her Hands. I flew through this book and did not struggle to follow or have to check things (though I did happily assume anything odd was down to unreliable narration).

The main character
Jenny is a flawed and unlikeable character, at least to me, but not a flat one. I found her wholly developed and believable, at times I pitied her and at times I wanted to shake some sense into her. I think the context of her life is well developed, and Haddad paints a picture of family, friends, and partner relationships that provide ample tinder for Jenny's behaviour and reasoning.

At times she's an unreliable narrator, with her emotional states influencing her inner thoughts and reasoning to the point where she sometimes makes wild and insensible leaps of logic. I can see how this might leave other readers a bit lost - I has interpreted these leaps as reflecting Jenny's inner turmoil, and I very much enjoyed the inclusion of these passages and felt it added a lot to Jenny's characterisation and the context for her behaviour. There are things introduced that could feel like loose threads, or red herrings, if you're reading this from a place of trying to figure out what happened to Rachelle or (view spoiler). Personally, many of the things that Jenny thought or fixed on were immediately suspect to me and so I never tried to figure out how things fit in the big picture.

Centring a white narrative
This book loosely covers the disappearance of Jenny's indigenous neighbour, and her subsequent interactions with the indigenous community as she personally investigates what happened. As other reviews have covered (and in much greater detail than I will), this includes mention of the Highway of Tears and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. While these real and traumatic events are featured, they are considered only from Jenny's naive and reductive perspective, and therefore not really given the weight and consideration that they might deserve.

Personally, I read this book as being a detailed but excoriating exploration of a character who exhibits white saviour, white feminist and Pretendian sentiments at various stages of the book. I could not find an interview or similar with the author to explore this in more detail, but certainly my own interpretation of this character and the book as a whole was not endorsing of Jenny's behaviour or reasoning but was instead an obvious criticism of how white women centre themselves in the narratives and experiences of non-white women.

As a white woman, I found this angle to be of personal interest to me and was anticipating a problematic character. I do think this book needs to be correctly billed - the representation of indigenous characters is reductive and flat, and I think Haddad's intentions could likely still have been achieved if she'd presented a more nuanced view. We only see these characters through Jenny's eyes, and thus with her harmful stereotypes and inner thoughts.

Conclusion

I will be careful in how I recommend this book - it is not a mystery thriller, it is an exploration of how one white woman in a small town attaches herself to her missing neighbour and inserts herself into a narrative of her own construction. That was a fascinating read, for me, and the writing made it truly enjoyable.
However, this book does take an incredibly reductive and harmful perspective, and I would not talk about it or recommend it in the context of MMIWG, own voices or first nation perspectives. I don't feel qualified to comment on the release date timings, but would agree with other reviewers who do not feel this title should be attached to the National Day for MMIWG or even part of that conversation.

Wider reading

This book does not give a good introduction or accurate reflection to themes of race, white saviourism, or non-white perspectives in Canada. I would encourage you to consume media that does, and I recommend:

Kim TallBear has a great article about the recent rise in, and history of, Pretendians (white folks claiming indian heritage, often based on dubious genetic testing).

Birdie is a beautiful and eerie novel with loosely flowing time and a narrative exploring the lives of a family of Cree women. This does include trauma and SA, but with a focus on the protagonist's journey of healing. Some beautiful imagery and language.

Monkey Beach beautiful imagery again and a vivid family portrait from Eden Robinson, a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations. I'd recommend this if you like melancholy and magical realism, like Emily St John Mandel.

The Berry Pickers is a stunning and poignant exploration of identity, loss, and overcoming hardships and trauma.

DNF - This book requires very serious intervention on the part of an editor & a sensitivity writer. The author seems to be totally, & intentionally, ignorant of an entire group of people who have experienced atrocious violence. This book is an absolute crapshoot of a story, with poor writing, racial slurs for the sake of using racial slurs, & is doused in an ignorance no poorly ploted story could make relevant. It's abysmally disheartening to see such a book be published. Both the author & the publishing house need to do better..

DNF at 32%!

Lauren Haddad’s *Fireweed* is a powerful, thought-provoking novel set in the industrial north of Prince George, Canada, where simmering tension unearths complex questions of privilege, cultural bias, and the ethics of intervention. Through the character of Jenny Hayes—a suburban housewife yearning for a child—Haddad tackles nuanced and uncomfortable themes, shedding light on the chasms that separate communities in a seemingly ordinary neighborhood.

The story begins with Jenny’s resentment and envy of her First Nations neighbor, Rachelle, who appears to neglect what Jenny desires most: a family. Jenny’s frustration and judgment are juxtaposed with her uneasy friendships and her own mother’s indifference, painting a picture of a woman whose sense of purpose is tied to her own preconceived notions of right and wrong. Haddad subtly critiques Jenny’s well-meaning but misguided attempts to "help," which reveal a more profound moral conflict when Rachelle goes missing.

As the novel unfolds, Jenny embarks on an amateur investigation to find Rachelle, navigating the complexities of racial and social divides. The narrative highlights the disturbing discrepancy in media coverage between Rachelle and another missing woman, Beth Tremblay, underlining the systemic inequities that render certain lives more visible than others. Jenny’s interactions with the Métis community bring to light her inherent biases, often making her character hard to sympathize with—a challenge that some readers may find polarizing.

Pros:
One of *Fireweed*'s strengths is its cast of diverse characters who bring varied cultural and social perspectives into focus. Haddad’s portrayal of Jenny’s inner conflict is insightful, making readers question whether well-intentioned actions can, in fact, exacerbate harm.

Cons:
However, the novel’s slow build-up may challenge some readers' patience, and certain scenes and character interactions feel disjointed, occasionally detracting from the flow. Jenny, as the main character, is difficult to fully connect with, which may make it hard for readers to remain fully engaged with the story.

The vivid, wild setting and the looming threat of an unreliable narrator make this a gripping read that’s tough to put down. Each page builds suspense, pulling you deeper into its mysteries.

This a fiery and passionate novel about family, love, and the complexities of identity. It's a powerful and moving story that will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

A white woman proceeds on a "misguided investigation" and that premise leads the reader on a pointless journey to what end? An epilogue that provides "faith" that all will turn out right for misguided, privileged white women?

I enjoyed this book. It starts out with a strong mystery, and the small town is almost its own character. The main character learns about her family's past and really begins to understand how it shapes her perceptions of the world. She, and everyone else in her universe, are pretty small-minded, and I think the recognition of her own biases was realistic and honest.

For me, this book should have been either a little longer or done a little less. The beginning is slower paced and very atmospheric, but the end was a little rushed. It transformed from a mystery to a more literary novel, and none of the major issues that drove the main character really get resolved at the end. I did really enjoy the way this book was written, and I think it's a nice exploration of the societal struggles of being a woman, and grappling with the idea that what you think you know is wrong.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this!

I won’t say I struggled to finish this, I was invested in seeing the end so that kept me pulled in. That said, I definitely have some feelings about this book and not all of them are positive.

First: what a depressing scene the author sets of PG, I’m sure it’s accurate for the late 90s/early 2000s. Very good world building and the little details help flesh the settings out. I didn’t dislike Jenny so much as I pitied her; I couldn’t stand everyone else in her life. Her mom sucks, her husband sucks, her friends suck. I feel like she was a pretty well-built character, and I did like her more by the end. She did learn something I guess by the end and ended up a little less ignorant than her friends? But the end was a little unsatisfying.

I feel like this is being advertised as a book about missing and murdered indigenous women, and throughout the story we did see Jenny learn and come to some more understanding about the native people that live around her. However, this should not be marketed as a book about missing and murdered and indigenous women, as Rachelle was basically just a side quest in this. We got zero resolution of that issue. This really isn’t a thriller and I hope it isn’t being marketed as such. This is very white lady centered and even though Jenny did meet some indigenous folks toward the end I don’t even know what the purpose of introducing those characters was since there was no further interaction or impact i really saw.

Some parts of this felt like tedious stream of consciousness writing, normally I don’t skim over stuff like that, but there were definitely some paragraphs I kind of had to skim. A few places I didn’t really know what was being talked about? Easy enough to pick back up, but still annoying.

Overall, it was not a bad read, but it was not really a great read. I wouldn’t really say that it accomplished drawing attention to missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. I am sure there are books that are better representative of this horrifying issue.

This started off hard to read. Jenny’s thoughts are a bit scattered and I had trouble following her character. But then things fell into rhythm. Jenny is not shy to let the reader know what the white people in the community think of the natives. But then she befriends her neighbor, that then disappears (along with plenty of other unreported natives). She takes it upon herself to be the savior, getting shut down multiple times, all while battling infertility, emotional and physical abuse.

My rating was looking up until the last portion of the book. The ending just missed the mark. What had the potential to wrap up more about the missing women and children was left to a single page while we got a epilogue on Jenny covering several years and little substance. But perhaps that is the message after all? The people of color always get forgotten.

A subversion of a missing woman plot that follows a white housewife’s misguided investigation into the disappearance of her missing indigenous neighbor. The main idea of the story was good but the plot and the ending were unsatisfying.

So so so good! Definitely agree with the comparison to Tana French. The ending felt a bit abrupt but I was okay with it given the overall themes of the book. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC and I will definitely be following this author on Goodreads!

Thanks to Astra House and NetGalley for this ARC of Fireweed by Lauren Haddad.

I'm conflicted about this one. The ongoing tragedy and outrage of murder missing indigenous women and girls is something that should be aired as often as possible but this felt very awkward in that the missing women and girls seemed to be a prop for the story of the young white woman who's the main character. Maybe that's the realistic way things are and maybe that's why it's told that way. Maybe most of us care about it but then get on with our lives having done very little to change things?

One thing that it does get right and hammers mercilessly is the contrast between the attention given by the authorities and the media to the blond white woman - Beth - who disappears and that of the young Native women but we know this already and it's not very subtle here.

Another thing that felt genuine, though I've never visited remote British Colombia so can't really say for sure, is the blatant and unrelenting racism against Native people where even talking to an Indigenous neighbor was cause for marital strife. Maybe that's what the author was trying to expose?

Although the time when the book is set - sometime pre-mobile phones - is the explanation, it seems unlikely that even if they're remote the term 'Metis' would be unknown to the people of the town or that - even if they didn't care about it - the forced taking of children from their homes and the residential schools and 'foster homes' would be unknow. All felt unrealistic.

There was an odd sense of a happy ever after for the main character which, again, is maybe what happens in actuality but felt inappropriate.

Fireweed follows Jenny, a bored and lonely white housewife, and her clumsy investigation into the disappearance of her Indigenous neighbour, Rachelle.

I really wanted to love this one but I’m conflicted about the author’s decision to focus on MMIWG through the perspective of a deeply ignorant white character.

Besides this, I found myself needlessly confused at some of the details. For example, there were two side characters with the same name and inconsistencies with the location of Rachelle’s house in relation to Jenny’s.

Overall, there were some suspenseful and gripping moments and the premise is really interesting. With that being said, the execution needs some refining.

Thank you NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for providing me with this ARC.

I was looking forward to reading this book, but it fell a little short for me. The premise was great because this is such an issue, but I couldn't connect to the characters and the ending was a bit of a letdown.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

I requested this book because I thought it would be a nuanced and novel take on white privilege and ignorance of BIPOC communities, in this case, First Nations peoples specifically. However, what I found was another white voice using POC to tell their own story.

I will not give you a summary because I think you can find that anywhere else. I will start by saying the writing is not bad, some issues with keeping track of thoughts and feelings because the FMC reveals information after the fact sometimes. However, the writing is of no importance when the content is so problematic. This could’ve been written by a Pulitzer-winning author and I would not support it.

I always do my best to give the story/author the benefit of the doubt, that certain details are included is for advocacy or to prove some sort of point. The blatant racism, the misconceptions of indigenous peoples, and the stereotypes were obviously used to describe the community and the issues surrounding the FMCs surroundings. That did not bother me. What did bother me was that this seemed to be a character exploration of our white FMC and it used a very REAL very SENSITIVE topic that is NOT about white people/women. This feels like we are building on the backs of indigenous people’s pain…as usual.

To me, focusing on a white woman's perspective about her misguided attempts and her melancholy life feels completely disconnected from the realities faced by Indigenous peoples. This narrative prioritizes white women with a critical systemic issue as a backdrop. The book barely addresses the injustices and history Indigenous peoples have faced in North America (and all of the Americas) favoring the protagonist instead. I noticed another review pointed out that this is set to release a week before National Day of Recognition for Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) and that feels extra yucky.

I do not think we should avoid writing stories about other communities but I DO think it is very difficult to do so properly and respectfully, which is why I suggest you don’t write anything you are not fully versed in.