Fireweed

Fireweed follows Jenny, a young Canadian woman whose husband is often gone for weeks at a time for work. In her spare time between infrequent work shifts, Jenny begins speaking a bit to Rachelle, the only First Nations Woman in the neighborhood. Just as the two women begin to strike up a relationship, Rachelle vanishes, and Jenny is determined to find out what happened.

This book felt more like a study of Jenny as a person than anything else. I don't think I liked Jenny, but I found her an interesting and fairly well-written character, and that's what sucked me into this book. She's a naive and ignorant white woman who's spent her whole life in the industrial town of Prince George. From the very beginning, the book is very upfront with how everyone in the town views First Nations people with Jenny's friends openly disparaging Rachelle. The book is written in first person, so we get to see everything Jenny's thinking and feeling while she goes on her journey. Her naïveté, combined with a healthy dose of crime TV, makes her overly confident in her ability to solve Rachelle's disappearance. She does some questionable things in her search for justice, but as the summary says, she really is misguided. She spends the whole book throwing herself at the mystery, and many of her assumptions about her hometown are challenged.

I also felt like the setting was very clearly described. I'm an American with only middling knowledge of Canada, so I wasn't familiar with Prince George at all before reading Fireweed. Haddad does a good job setting the scene with all the talk of the industry and environment, as well as the descriptions of all the characters. When I saw Haddad's bio at the end of the book and saw she'd written extensively about Prince George, the incredibly detailed description made a lot of sense. Also, as someone who has family in a small town in Missouri with that "white trash" air wafting around, the vibe of the setting and the people who lived there felt distantly familiar.

The ending has me feeling a little conflicted. Everything ties up quite neatly, but Jenny has just gone right back to where she was when the novel started. I can see it as an allegory for how women both Native and white continue to go missing, and nothing truly gets done to stop more women from going missing, just like how Jenny went on her journey searching for Rochelle only to return to her old life, Rachelle occasionally crossing her mind. The world keeps on spinning, unchanged. I find the ending unsatisfying, but I guess it makes sense for Jenny's character.

My main critique would be that the writing feels a little unclear at times. Sometimes something would happen, and it felt like some of the key details weren't provided until later when Jenny was reflecting on the events. Other times, Jenny comes to conclusions without providing explanation to how she reached that conclusion. It wasn't bad enough that I couldn't follow the plot, but it did leave me scratching my head every now and again.

Overall, I enjoyed Fireweed. The writing style was easy to get immersed in, and the premise was intriguing, and I never felt bored while reading this.

Rating 3.5/5, rounding up to 4

Content warnings for racism, sexism, sexual assault, mentions of domestic abuse

In Fireweed, the protagonist is a bored housewife who starts a misguided investigation into her First Nations neighbors' sudden disappearance. What starts as a well-meaning effort quickly spirals into a series of misguided actions that reveal more about the protagonist's own limitations than they do about the disappearance.

Set in 2001 in Prince George, BC, the novel offers a stark portrayal of a smaller rural working-class community. As someone who grew up in the rural prairies during that time, I found the depiction both accurate and occasionally difficult to digest. The community’s 'white trash' ethos and narrow-minded views, including prevalent racism towards First Nations people, are portrayed with a raw honesty that underscores the novel's critique of systemic issues.

One of the novel's strengths is its exploration of how women’s experiences of violence and disappearance are influenced by their class and race. The contrast in responses between the disappearance of a white woman versus that of the protagonist’s Indigenous neighbor highlights the deep-seated biases in law enforcement, media, and community reactions. The book’s portrayal of these dynamics, alongside other relationships and the mistreatment of women, underscores the systemic nature of these issues.

Ultimately, Fireweed serves more as a character study of both the protagonist and the community rather than a deep dive into the disappearance itself. The protagonist, with her naivety and sheltered perspective, can be frustrating to read. While I wished for a more in-depth exploration of the disappearances and the accompanying injustices, the novel’s focus on the status quo—where women continue to go missing with little change—resonates as a poignant commentary.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.

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.

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.

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.