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Daughters of the Deer

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER

In this haunting and groundbreaking historical novel, Danielle Daniel imagines the lives of women in the Algonquin territories of the 1600s, a story inspired by her family’s ancestral link to a young girl who was murdered by French settlers.

1657. Marie, a gifted healer of the Deer Clan, does not want to marry the green-eyed soldier from France who has asked for her hand. But her people are threatened by disease and starvation and need help against the Iroquois and their English allies if they are to survive. When her chief begs her to accept the white man’s proposal, she cannot refuse him, and sheds her deerskin tunic for a borrowed blue wedding dress to become Pierre’s bride.
1675. Jeanne, Marie’s oldest child, is seventeen, neither white nor Algonquin, caught between worlds. Caught by her own desires, too. Her heart belongs to a girl named Josephine, but soon her father will have to find her a husband or be forced to pay a hefty fine to the French crown. Among her mother’s people, Jeanne would have been considered blessed, her two-spirited nature a sign of special wisdom. To the settlers of New France, and even to her own father, Jeanne is unnatural, sinful—a woman to be shunned, beaten, and much worse.
With the poignant, unforgettable story of Marie and Jeanne, Danielle Daniel reaches back through the centuries to touch the very origin of the long history of violence against Indigenous women and the deliberate, equally violent disruption of First Nations cultures.
Fiction Historical Fiction Indigenous Creators Literature & Fiction World Literature Native American Heartfelt

What the critics say

"A deeply felt and personal story from an author who we can only hope has more tales to tell." —Quill and Quire

"This stunning adult debut from Daniel, who has already won awards for her children's books, has threads of what makes great kid lit: simple but powerful language, harnessing complicated ideas into strikingly distilled images. . . . A beautiful book, this is urgent reading for anyone seeking to understand more about the myriad ways European colonization in the 1600s still reverberates today, to devastating effect." —The Globe and Mail

"Danielle Daniel renders the stories of her ancestors vividly, poetically and with deep love and respect. Daughters of the Deer gives long overdue voices to the Indigenous women who came before. A subtle, moving demonstration of how colonization attempted to strip Indigenous women of their power and place, and a testament to the enduring strength and wisdom that no colonial power could extinguish.” —Jessica McDiarmid, author of Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
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I enjoyed this story; and although I see other readers have criticized the author’s largely settler roots; I thought the story falls well within this writers arcs of fire.
I didn’t particularly love the writing or the dialogue. It was a bit awkward and stilted. Nevertheless; the story moved along quickly and I finished the book in several sittings so I can’t complain too loudly. It’s a book I would lightly recommend but I doubt I’d read it again.
To summarize, good story and one that felt well researched. The writing was not in a style that I found compelling but well written nonetheless.

A good story.

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I absolutely loved it. I Will definitely read it again.
I Highly recommend! Glad it was recommended to me and glad I listened. Truly

Absolutely wonderful

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Hooked from the first chapter! What an amazing account of how the two cultures joined, but never completely, and of the abuses visited on the native people onder the guise of saving souls and survival.

eye opening

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As an 1/2 Indginous 1/2 white women this story gripped me. It brought me to my own Dad, Chapan’s and all my other relations history to this land. Having 2S children this story hit really close to home. I love Jone like she was my own child the perspective of Mari was parallel to my own as a mother. I will always teach my children the way of this land the only land we know. Thank you for this story

Everyone must read

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had i been reading the book it would have been a page turner.
beautifully written, descriptive and educational.

a page turner

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