Fire Song

May 7, 2018
âNo one tells you how much you can hurt and still look normal on the outside,â says Shane, an 18-year-old Anishinaabe living in Canada. The rundown reservation that he calls home is at once comforting, isolating, and stifling. Shaneâs younger sister Destinyâs recent suicide has prompted him to navigate his own jagged emotions. As his mother falls apart emotionally, the bright spots in Shaneâs life become his secret boyfriend, David, and the thought of escaping to Toronto for college. But David doesnât want to leave the reservation, and Shaneâs lack of funds leads him to deal drugs. Jonesâs striking and remarkable novel, adapted from his feature film of the same name, is tensely narrated and includes some chapters featuring Shaneâs public girlfriend Taraâs diary entries and poetry. Tara doesnât know that Shane is gay and loves him, which adds another layer of sadness and complication to the lyrical story. Jonesâs intensely personal account about letting go to move forward is replete with immersive imagery of nature and bathed in darkness. Ages 14â18.

February 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Shane is a gay Anishinaabe high school student. His sister, Destiny, has just committed suicide for unknown reasons. Shane's mom holes herself up in Destiny's room in a deep depression. At her memorial service, Shane goes emotionally adrift. The only person that truly makes Shane happy is David. Everything else about his life sucks: the teen has to pretend to have a girlfriend while sneaking around with David because he doesn't think his community would accept his sexuality. Shane decides that he must leave the reservation and wants David to go with him. He even tries selling drugs to get some escape money. After his girlfriend, Tara, commits suicide, Shane withdraws further within himself and begins to wonder if his life is worth leading. This complex, well-written debut will resonate with young people. The primary and secondary characters are fully developed and the pacing will keep readers engaged. Despite the dangerous turn of events, the two boys eventually find love and acceptance. VERDICT A great coming-out novel with Native American protagonists; recommended for all teen collections.-Jill Baetiong, Kaneville Public Library, IL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 15, 2018
After the sudden death of his sister, Shane, an Anishinaabe teen, is left to carry the weight of grief for his family.His mother is inconsolable. His girlfriend has become clingy. And his secret love, David, keeps him at a distance, as the pair hasn't quite found a way to co-exist within a reservation community where there are no openly gay couples. Shane is dealt another crushing blow after his sister's memorial when he discovers that the funding for his college tuition deposit hasn't been approved by the band. College in Toronto is the one escape that Shane believes will offer him a semblance of a future that might not be forever lost within the cyclical trauma that exists in his community--even though his family sees his leaving the rez to go to college as a betrayal. From the first page, Cree/Metis filmmaker Jones (adapting his award-winning film of the same name) uses a poetic voice to interlace the landscape and the main character as one symbiotic being. Complex, vulnerable emotion is embedded within the specificity of the writing in this dramatic prose debut. Jones avoids cliches of reservation life, humanizing the stories of how his people reconcile the trauma of suicide, missing family members, same-sex relationships, and the isolation of a community left to fend for itself. A touching story that has been a long time coming for the Indigenous community. (Fiction. 14-18)

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