Slap Shot

 Fire Keeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley confirmed my suspicions that I'm out of touch; I'm over the hill, and I'm glad I'm on the way out, and not on the way in.  Educationally, the book is excellent.  I learned about our Indigenous Americans, how they were mistreated, and still are.  I learned about some natural medicines, botany, etc.  I learned about a part of history that I didn't know.  

What I was surprised about and why I'm glad I'm not a teenager are the messages the book sends concerning morality, violence, language, consumerism and drinking and drugs.  The heroine, Daunis, which is Ojibwe for daughter is our protagonist.  While she is a good kid, I was shocked that at age 18 she wore an implanted birth control device.  That's so she wouldn't have an unplanned pregnancy.  She also had a package of condoms in the glove compartment of her car, so she wouldn't get a sexually transmitted disease.  Did I mention the blanket in the back seat for impromptu "snagging."  Did I mention that she was 18?  High School seniors are 18!  Her brother and friends, who were in high school were always "snagging."

Daunis gave a party that provided a keg of beer.  But don't worry.  The drinking age was 18, so it was OK. !!!!!!!

Daunis' father impregnated two women within months of each other, so Daunis has a younger half brother only a few months younger than herself.  They themselves, and both her mother's and father's families are devoted to both Daunis and her brother, Levi.  They all get along.

The families are hockey families and both Daunis and Levi play. In fact, they're super-stars.  Daunis becomes involved with a newcomer to the hockey team,by  Jaime.  Jaime happens to be an undercover FBI agent and recruits Daunis to help.  When Daunis best friend, Lily, is shot and killed by her meth-crazed boyfriend, she is dedicated to rid her team, her reservation, and her people of the drugs.

The story becomes a page-turning thriller.  The deeper Daunis goes, the more her family is involved.  The people whom she has trusted prove to be controlling, untrustworthy, money hungry, murderers.  She barely gets out alive.  Well, she does, but she's not the same person she was.

At the end, the reader will be breathless.  It is quite a tale.  Daunis is a strong, brave, loving young lady and a good role model.  But the casual sex, booze, racism, assaults, language, and violence is cultural and that's what bothers me.  Is this all normal behavior for teens?  I'm glad I'm not a teen.