Mixed opinions about this book. I enjoyed Haddad's evocative writing and the strong sense of place – as a reader, you feel immersed in the industrial, rural, impoverished town of Prince George, BC and the under-the-surface tensions between white Canadians and First Nations people living side by side.

Choosing to write about the serious and ongoing tragedy of Canada's Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), though, is bold - and not necessarily executed well. Haddad approaches the issue through the lens of a white woman, Jenny, who has strong negative (almost paternalistic) opinions about her Indigenous neighbor Rachelle, a single mother with two young kids that Jenny is wildly envious of. They form a tenuous friendship before Rachelle goes missing and Jenny becomes obsessed with trying to solve her disappearance.

Centering this topic on a white woman is itself not a wise choice, let alone a character who embodies a lot of the issues Indigenous communities have with white Canadians - the paternalism, the empty promises, and ultimately, the fact that Jenny can move on and forget about Rachelle, only thinking of her occasionally. There's a lot of good commentary here on motherhood, environmental justice, and prejudice – so I wish that Haddad had executed this plot with the respect it deserved, or chosen a different plot.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley.

This book had a great concept but the execution was not done well. It had a very white savior complex which is dreadful, and there were a lot of unrealistic things going on. It was not done well

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for a copy of the ARC.

Sadly, this book felt very strange and often offensive. Indigenous people don't know how to garden?? Not realistic at all. Reading through reoccurring stereotypes felt like dirt stuck in my mouth.

This was very much "white savior" vibes.

Pass.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

In creating this book, I am afraid that I think the author lost her way a little with the plot and piecing the characterisation together. I understand that the main character was created as a study of trying to make up for mistakes and centuries of oppression, racism, and so much more, in a twisted 'white saviour' kind of way, to the extent that she believes at once point she may well be Indigenous. There is a really interesting underside to this facet of the story, but unfortunately I found that this book just did not hit the mark for me. I understand where it was going, but the characterisation felt almost naive in the approach taken.

The search the main character takes for her missing neighbour, with references to repeated abductions of (particularly Indigenous) women, was interesting but didn't treat the subject matter with quite as much respect or decorum as I may have anticipated. There is a good study in things just 'returning to normal' following Rachelle's disappearance, and the misguided attempts of the main character to find her, but it didn't hit the right mark for me. The end of the book totally lost me, and unfortunately this one didn't work for me.

This quote from the preview drew me to this novel: What can we do with a person who isn't bad, but who does no good? Jenny is just that person. She isn't necessarily bad, but she also brings no good. She is the only person who realizes that her neighbor, Rachelle, has disappeared, and she initially tries to find her but treats the situation like she is in a mystery novel. It doesn't help that law enforcement along with the rest of society have deep prejudices about Rachelle and are uncooperative. Jenny struggles with her relationships with her mother and her husband, but does not communicate anything with them and sometimes seems to wallow in her situation. The book paints a realistic picture of a person's prejudices and how even though they may be overcome in a way, if they are not persistent in changing their beliefs about a person, they can be easily swayed by the rest of society. Jenny had such deep prejudices against Rachelle, which she challenged and started to overcome when she formed a tentative friendship with her, but due to surrounding opinions, she found herself falling back to her old patterns of thinking.

Overall, the book was an interesting read that kept me thinking about what happened with Rachelle.

This is a good, but tough read.

It’s really hard to be in the head of our MC at times – even when she starts to be a bit of a better person, I struggled to like her. I also felt that she read much older than she was supposed to be.

The story itself is a good, if painful, one.

It’s very much about how disposable women are – and how much more disposable non-white women are. I’ll warn you, the racism is pervasive and very, very real.

I’m glad I read this one, though it made me very sad.

• ARC via Publisher

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book. The first half was gripping, following the events leading up to Rachelle’s disappearance. Jenny is frustratingly ignorant, though well-meaning, in her search for her neighbor. She thinks residential schools were called “reverential,” for one thing, and has no clue about the atrocities inflicted upon the First Nations children there. She’s never heard of the Sixties Scoop, and the terms indigenous and Métis are unfamiliar to her.

The second half is more of a character study about Jenny herself, which I didn’t care for. I just didn’t care about her husband, her horrible mother, or her equally horrible friends. I came away from the book asking myself what the point was.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Fireweed serves as a poignant reflection on the pressing issue of missing women, particularly highlighting the often-ignored experiences of women of color in the context of white feminism. The narrative delves into the intricate challenges of striving for what is right, even when confronted by systemic obstacles and personal doubts.

The initial half of the book is crafted like a slow-burn thriller, enveloping readers in a gripping atmosphere filled with suspense. I was completely captivated by this approach! However, as the story transitions in the latter half, it shifts into a more introspective character study. While I appreciated the detailed exploration of the protagonist’s inner life, I couldn’t help but notice that the initial focus on the disappearance of an Indigenous woman started to recede into the background.

The conclusion, marked by its somber tone, left me feeling a bit unsettled, but perhaps that was the intended effect. All in all, Fireweed is a thought-provoking read that struck a chord with me. I’m definitely interested in discovering more works from this author!

This gets two stars for being relatively well written and interesting, but doesn’t do anything for me thematically. Jenny is also an interesting unreliable narrator, and almost excruciating to read. I guess the “women return to cycles of exploitation and abuse by men no matter their class, nationality, or race” is… true? To some extent? But it’s poorly marketed as a text about indigenous women, it’s a text about whiteness and domestic and sexual violence. Depicting white characters enacting racism at length against indigenous peoples isn’t actually revealing anything about indigenous people.

I was looking forward to reading a book that dealt with raising awareness of crimes native women face. Sadly, I could not finish this book. I tried really hard but there were so many details that took away from the story. I was so bored and couldn't push through it. This is such an important topic and the execution was lacking.

Unfortunately, I struggled to get through Fireweed. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting but I did not find the story engaging or particularly original. I'm happy to see a book focus on bringing representation to the importance of Indigenous voices, I'm just not sure that I'm convinced this one was executed to its full potential. I would have liked to see a more focused plot that really narrows in on specific elements rather than trying to fit everything in at once. That being said, I did find parts to be a bit convoluted and jumbled and the ending unsatisfying despite Haddad giving a decently wrapped up conclusion. Overall, I would say I found Fireweed underwhelming and not for me.

In "Fireweed," a white housewife named Jenny investigates the disappearance of her Indigenous neighbor Rachelle, who goes missing along with another woman. Despite her initial judgment, Jenny becomes involved in the case and questions societal perceptions of marginalized communities. The novel explores themes of privilege, bias, and the impact of our actions on others.

This book has evoked a multitude of emotions within me. I understand that it may not resonate with everyone, but it has certainly left a lasting impact on me.

Not long ago, I watched a film called Wind River, which shed light on the alarming number of Indigenous people who go missing or are found dead without anyone taking notice. This was a real eye-opener for me, and it made me appreciate the importance of stories like the one told in this book.

The characters in this book are incredibly well-developed and likable, making the story feel very realistic. The vivid descriptions of the environment further enhanced the plot, making it feel like a story that could easily happen in real life. While some parts may seem slow, they are necessary to tie the entire book together.

Overall, this book is a gripping page-turner that will leave you feeling pensive and emotional at times. It reads like a true story, drawing you in with its authenticity.

I highly recommend this book and encourage you to form your own opinion. It may be worth doing some research to understand the gravity of the issues addressed in the book. The struggles faced by the characters, such as Jenny's attempts to report Rachelle missing and being met with indifference, are sadly reflective of real-life scenarios. This book is truly remarkable and deserves to be read.

Thank you, Astra Publishing House for digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Truly I had so many high hopes for this. The premise? Bringing attention to Indigenous Women being taken and shitty authorities not taking things seriously? A very real and current abhorrent problem. But in the end this continued to be white centered and that frustrated me. I guess this truly is the actual reality, but there was no change in the characters. Also, the main character thinking she was possibly part of a tribe because of her mom hooking up with someone and guessing the identity? That comes off so tacky. I appreciate Netgalley giving me the chance to read, and these completely are my own thoughts and opinions.

Unfortunately not for me. In a world with SO many books being published, I just don't see this as a must in our collection.

This was a tough but amazing read. In the first part of the book, I was really cringing at the racism but Haddad did such an amazing job setting up how hypocritical it was. I thought the main character's journey was believable. She didn't do a dramatic 180 but went through very small changes. The descriptions of a rural town and the time period were so spot-on, it was a little eerie.

Fireweed follows the story of Jenny, a woman living in Prince George, Canada who is often on her own, as her husband is gone for work most of the time. It’s a first pov of Jenny and how she grew up wanting this life she is currently living- but dreaming and living are two different things. Jenny is lonely, she hasn’t been able to get pregnant while her friends are popping out babies left and right. She feels like there isn’t any sustenance to her life- until she finally starts paying attention to her neighbour, Rachelle. Jenny had avoided Rachelle like the plague before, because indigenous women in Prince George aren’t worth getting to know. Jenny and Rachelle end up striking up a friendship and are getting to know each other better, that is, until Rachelle mysteriously disappears one day. It is now Jenny’s mission to figure out what happened to her friend.


The story starts off with a missing white girl, whose disappearance is publicized all over Prince George. Beth had the empathy of many, strangers just wanting this girl to come home safe. But when Rachelle, an indigenous woman goes missing, Jenny realizes that people aren’t reacting with the same urgency.

You see the racial disparity between a white woman and indigenous woman going missing and how the public and police like to just sweep their lives away without a thought.

Jenny as a character is a bit frustrating but I think Fireweed gives a great POV of how close minded people are. You go through her process of trying to shine light on the disappearance of her friend but she is met with roadblocks at every turn, she can’t help wondering why people don’t seem to believe her.

I felt that the book didn’t wrap up how I wanted it to, but I think that was maybe the point the author was trying to prove. Indigenous people go missing all the time and the more privileged lives just keep on going.

~ Thank you @netgalley and @astrapublishinghouse for the free ARC. ~

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I think it nearly succeeded in doing what it set out to do . The unreliable narrator with flawed motivations for "investigating" the disappearance of her neighbor was a compelling perspective. The premise was bleak, but somehow Jenny's own biases - and blindness to the ways in which she was also marginalized at times - filtered some of the despair that I think the reader was supposed to feel. Rachelle's clearly not coming back, something bigger is at play, but Jenny keeps us almost optimistic that Rachelle (or Rachelle's body) will be found eventually and that the cops can be trusted to investigate the missing woman. While I feel like Haddad maintained the perfect balance for Jenny's feelings throughout the story, true to form Jenny turned a blind eye (unknowingly or not) to so many wrongs that eventually the final act was a little muffled.

Definitely an interesting experience, and I think this has the potential to be an amazing audiobook! I think a talented narrator could really nail the vibe that this book was trying to pull off.

I had such high expectations for this book, but I was severely let down. I was looking forward to reading a book that addressed the discrimination of native women and the fact that law enforcement often overlooks crimes against them. I felt like this book had too many random details about Jenny's life and they really took away from the overall plot. I found that the random details were boring me to death at some points. The ending also felt very unsatisfying, but I also think that may have been the point. There was no way Jenny would solve Rachelle's disappearance or get the police to listen to her and maybe that's the way it needed to end.

I do think that maybe this book was not my style and that some people will love it. At times I felt like DNFing this book, but decided to give it the good ole college try.

The writing in this book is hauntingly melancholic as it follows a frustratingly naïve protagonist. Watching Jenny slowly descend into the realization that she is dealing with a broken system is heartbreaking and unnerving. I really enjoyed the ongoing motif of Fireweed, a plant that symbolizes new beginnings, always present alongside Jenny's continuous growth as she learns--or rather unlearns--the racist assumptions that have been embedded throughout her life. I wish we had some more time with Rachelle's character though, maybe even a chapter or two from her perspective, though I guess the point of her limited appearance was so the reader felt as isolated from the character as Jenny did. Overall, a really moving story and encapsulates the prevalent issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, along with the overwhelming racism that allows this issues like this to persist.

Fireweed delves into a wide range of topics, from racism against Indigenous peoples to domestic violence and infertility. With so many topics, though, I felt like the writing was a bit disjointed and would have benefitted from focusing more heavily on the underlying racism plot. Additionally, I felt that this was less of a thriller and more of a character study of the protagonist, so I think it would have benefitted from different marketing. Overall, it was a slower read with some poignant introspection and observations of racism in a small town, but it is most likely not one I will recommend.