Boulley’s debut is a wonderful blend of coming of age story and suspenseful mystery that pulls the reader into the ups and downs of life on and off the Ojibwe reservation in Northern Michigan. Duanis Fontaine is in between—a child of a White Mother and Ojibwe father, making the break between a dream of hockey and putting down here skates, and ready to start college at home versus the University of Michigan. But violent events change the course of her life and she’s pulled into an investigation that will further upend her community.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Hockey. A mysterious drug network. A cute new guy... with a secret. A girl stuck between two cultures. All interwoven with Ojibwe traditions and folklore. Mix these all together and you get one hell of a debut novel!

I laughed, I cried - more than once, I held my breath, and I stayed up until 2am because Daunis was SO CLOSE to putting all the pieces together and I couldn't wait another day to find out what was happening in Sault Ste. Marie.

Boulley had me hooked within the first few chapters and this book was hard to put down. Just when I thought I had the "mystery" all figured out Boulley did a triple deke to make a shot I didn't see coming. This is definitely a YA book that I will be talking up at the library and will be telling everyone they should read.

Can we talk about the cover for a minute? How stunning is that artwork?! It's gorgeous!

Ever since I read the announcement about this book being bought by the publisher I have been eagerly awaiting to get my hands on it. I was lucky enough to get an ALC from Libro.FM and an ebook ARC from Netgalley. So now that I have finally had the chance to read it, what did I think? This book was absolutely amazing! Definitely one of my favorite books I've read this year. I found the mystery/thriller element to be extremely interesting and surprising. While there is content that may be hard to read for some (TW: sexual assault, drug abuse, racism) I found it really added to the real-world consequences of the subject matter. Once I realized it was about taking down meth dealers I was so worried it would feel unrealistic in terms of what could happen when getting involved with that or being a teen CI, but it exceeded expectations. This is also the first book featuring a Native American that I can remember reading and I loved learning about our MC's community. I think it did a great job of juggling racism/prejudice on and off the reservation as well as joy, love, and respect for one's culture. Hands down: 5 stars.

This is an extremely poignant book for our times. Daunis is half Indian, struggling to find where she fits in. Her family is a mess, and she is still processing the death of her Uncle, whose death was attributed to overdose. When Daunis witnesses a horrific murder/ suicide she is thrust into a world of secrets, lies, and drug addiction. She doesn’t know who to trust or how far the roots of drug use will reach. When the opportunity presents to be a CI for law enforcement, she decides to take action to learn the truth, even if it kills her and those she holds dear.

I simply could not put this novel down. This book reads like a “Dateline Special” and manages to perfectly convey the emotions of the addicted and the families/friends affected. It’s a story of redemption and heartache, and perfectly conveys the will and strength needed to persevere when all is lost. At times this can be a tough read, there are many triggers such as drug use, suicide, rape, and domestic violence.

“My girl, some boats are made for the river and some for the ocean. And there are some who can go anywhere because they always know the way home.”

TITLE—Firekeeper’s Daughter
AUTHOR—Angeline Boulley
PUBLISHED—2021 (read as an eARC from NetGalley)

GENRE—YA contemporary
SETTING—early 21st c. Michigan, the Lake Superior area
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—family, indigenous heritage, tribal politics & corruption, drug trafficking and addiction, grief, crime mystery, love, Girls-in-STEM, hockey

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S— Anishinaabe rep; and hockey! ❤️
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is *so* many things. It’s a work of contemporary fiction intermixing Anishinaabe wisdom, cultural history, and traditional stories, with a strong biracial MC who is marvelously developed over the course of the story. It is also a romance and a crime story. It focuses on powerful themes such as drug addiction, sexual violence, corruption, discrimination, injustice, grief, and identity.

But it doesn’t stop there. The book also has its lighthearted moments, its warm and precious moments, a great depiction of the importance of hockey to the MC’s community, as well as a strong Girls-in-STEM vibe (I mean, the writing gets *nerdy* and I *loved* it 😂) which gave the novel so much more depth and made it feel like such a powerful, and real depiction of the complexities of modern American life.

“Wisdom is not bestowed. In its raw state, it is the heartbreak of knowing things you wish you didn’t.”

But the best part of this book in my opinion was the plethora of Indigenous Anishinaabe cultural wisdom, folklore, language, and information—so many valuable elements of a worldview and life philosophy that is so compelling and powerful in its sagacity and hope for a better future. I read this book as an eARC from NetGalley but am definitely preordering a hardcopy to add to my shelves and to reference for all the amazing quotes and passages on all of the various themes the author explores.

“When the song ends, I stand at the eastern door. Where all journeys begin. AHO (THAT IS ALL).”

TW // grief, death of family member, racism, colorism, drug addiction, drug abuse, alcoholism, murder, suicide, meth, drug trafficking, rape, kidnapping, abduction

Further Reading—
- There, There, by Tommy Orange
- Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger
- Custer Died for Your Sins, by Vine Deloria, Jr.—mentioned in the book as an important one from the MC’s life.
- An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- The Ways of my Grandmothers, by Beverly Hungry Wolf

Firekeeper's Daughter is a fantastic debut by Angeline Boulley. We follow a biracial recent high school graduate, Daunis, as she is trying to fit into her Ojibwe culture, the familial expectations thrust upon her, and what it means to be a young woman in the world. Daunis is a scientist, so most of her narration is a bit analytical which at first was a bit hard for me to get fully on board with. But throughout the book we see how she's using her "science brain" to process the grief she's feeling and the horrors indigenous women face. Boulley makes it so clear that nothing is as it seems and often it's not black or white. All but one of our primary villains we can understand the motivations for. By the end we see how Daunis has grown from the experiences throughout the book, and how much hope she holds in her heart for her future. Boulley also expertly weaves in Ojibwe language, culture, and the horrors of the politics that surround Native-law relations. As an adult that doesn't always get on with a lot of YA books, this is definitely one that transcends age group and is one I hope to see discussed in classrooms in the future.

This book was an enjoyable ride! I enjoyed getting to know more about Native American culture through this entertaining but often hard story. It did feel a tad bit long but that may have just been because I listened to it on audio. Either way, I can definitely see where the hype has been coming from!

Daunis Fontaine Firekeeper is an eighteen-year-old unenrolled bi-racial member of the Ojibwe nation living in Sault Ste. Marie along the Michigan/Ontario border. Daunis's identity is torn between her maternal family--where her maternal grandparents are wealthy and influential--and her paternal, Firekeeper family and some of the community who believes she is not Ojibwe enough. When hockey god, Jamie Johnson, comes to town, Daunis feels a spark of attraction, even if she knows to look out for "guy-lies," even if she senses that Jamie isn't quite what he seems, even if her best friend, Lily, thinks she should snag him, and even if her protective brother (younger by a few months), Levi, gives the green light. After witnessing a murder and linking the murder of more local folks to meth-use, Daunis is thrown into a world of more secrets and lies. With her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicinal plants in the area, Daunis proves to be essential in uncovering how meth is entering her community and revealing the culprits.

This is a wonderful YA thriller/mystery with a splash of romance. The cover is GORGEOUS, the representation is impeccable, and the whole second-half left me in tears. Daunis is a wonderfully intelligent main character (who also makes dumb mistakes) and the book is written in first-person from her POV. Daunis is the Ojibwe Nancy Drew (maybe Dr. Watson??) as she tries to figure out what is going on in her community and what she can do to prevent the deaths of more young Ojibwe women and men.

I loved the the cultural, spiritual, and medicinal references woven throughout the book and the sense of setting it creates. The characters are layered as each mystery unfolds--from Aunt Teddie to the elders to the villains--and I love the sinister turn the book takes. By the second half, I was suspecting EVERYONE of being behind the drug-ring--including Daunis!--which I think marks a good mystery if I could only guess small portions. Angeline Boulley has created a wonderful masterpiece that I cannot wait see come to life as a Netflix original and definitely cannot wait to see what Boulley will create next!

I ugly cried my way through the ending of this book at 5:30 a.m. after reading all night, which I hope is enough of a recommendation for readers who might be lukewarm on the idea of picking it up due to its Young Adult designation. Firekeeper’s Daughter is a powerful and exceptionally well-crafted look at the life of an 18 year-old Native American woman as she confronts crime within her community. It is easily one of the best #OwnVoices novels, much less thrillers, on the market today.

Daunis Fontaine is a biracial, unenrolled member of the Ojibwe, who often finds herself struggling to fit in both in her Michigan hometown and on the nearby reservation where she regularly spends time with her Native family and friends. Her best friend Lily is similarly biracial and unenrolled, and faces many of the same barriers she does, though from slightly different angles:

QUOTE
Lily’s been my best friend since sixth grade, when she came to live with Granny June. We look like opposites, and not just because of our height difference. I am so pale, the other Nish kids called me Ghost, and I once overheard someone refer to me as “that washed-out sister of Levi’s.” When Lily lived with her Zhaaganaash dad and his wife, they kept her out of the sun so her reddish-brown skin wouldn’t get any darker. We both learned early on that there is an Acceptable Anishinaabe Skin Tone Continuum, and those who land on its outer edges have to put up with different versions of the same bullshit.
END QUOTE

Daunis has just graduated high school and decided to enroll at the local college instead of the more prestigious University of Michigan because her grandmother, or GrandMary as she’s known, has fallen ill. Daunis’ mother is doing her best to care for GrandMary but, after the recent death of Daunis’ Uncle Dave, is strung more tightly than ever. Deciding to stay in order to help her family seems like a natural choice, plus Daunis genuinely enjoys being an active part of her local community.

When her half-brother Levi asks her to help show around the newest member of his hockey team, the good-looking Jamie Johnson, Daunis is friendly but determined to keep Jamie at arm’s length. Jamie has a long-distance girlfriend, and the last thing Daunis wants is to put him in the position her own dad was in with her and Levi’s moms. But when a drug-related shooting occurs at a party they’re both attending, Daunis finds herself getting much closer to Jamie than anticipated.

As if that weren’t complicated enough, Daunis’ role in the shooting leads to her being recruited to work undercover for the FBI in order to find out who’s making and distributing the drug that’s claimed the lives of far too many of the people she knows. Daunis has a lot of conflicting thoughts on this, not only because of the way federal law enforcement has consistently failed Native people through the centuries, but also because of the way the team handling her is approaching the case:

QUOTE
“I know what you’re here to do. But these are good people. Mrs. Edwards started a donation program at my grandmother’s boutique so girls who can’t afford a dress for Shagala or prom can get one. During the last huge snowstorm, tribal police organized teams of snowmobilers to check on every Elder and deliver meals. When the ferry gets iced in, the Tribe offers rooms at the hotel for Sugar Island residents who are trapped on the mainland. I don’t like the way you come into town, turn on a light, and expect to see cockroaches scurrying everywhere.”

It gnaws at me, the way they want bad stuff without knowing the good stuff too.

“It’s like...you haven’t earned our stories,” I say. [...] If the community were an ill or injured person, the FBI would cut out the infection or reset the bones. Amputate if necessary. Problem solved.

I’m the only person looking at the whole person, not just the wound.
END QUOTE

Daunis’ decision to uplift her community by, and sometimes in spite of, working with the FBI becomes sorely tested as she digs deeper into the case. Finding out the truth will put her heart in jeopardy and her body in peril, but the alternatives would mean even worse, not only for herself, but for her beloved home and peoples.

Angeline Boulley has written a heartbreaking, exquisitely paced page-turner of a mystery novel that genuinely surprised me with many of its clever plot twists. Her observations and insights on Ojibwe culture and rituals are fascinating on their own, but coupled with a crime thriller narrative make for utterly compulsive reading. Perhaps most importantly, she shines a necessary light on many of the issues facing Native Americans today -- as with David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s terrific <a href=”https://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-winter-counts-david-heska-wanbli-weiden/”>Winter Counts</a>, released last year, the depiction of how our country consistently fails this continent’s first inhabitants is both infuriating and deeply depressing. Books like Firekeeper’s Daughter are so important in amplifying the voices of the marginalized, in hopes of creating a better, more just tomorrow. Smart, searing and singular, this novel deserves to be considered an American classic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the digital ARC of this book.

Wow! Where to start with Firekeeper's Daughter? I loved this book. This page-turner kept me going with secrets, mysteries, and fast-paced action while incorporating Indigneous language, culture and traditions. It is everything you want in an Own Voices novel.

When Daunis Fontaine witnesses unspeakable violence that hits close to home, she is called to get to the bottom of what is happening. While struggling with her own identity and the tragedies of her past, she must work to uncover the identity of a person who is tearing her Native community apart. What do you do when the pain of your past threatens your future? What do you do when those you love betray you?

This YA novel will pull you in like a hug, then stab you in the back, only to revive you and claim you as one of its own.

This book may be the most important one that I’ve read in a long time. It’s a tough read and deals with triggering topics but it’s worth the emotional investment.

'Firekeeper’s Daughter' asks, how do you seek rightful justice after the world takes all that you love away from you?

Daunis Fontaine lives her life balancing two worlds: her life with her white mother where she has a hefty trust fund and her life where she carries on her strong family traditions as an Ojibwe woman. Being the product of a huge scandal between her mother and father, Daunis has spent her entire life feeling as though she doesn’t belong anywhere.

This book begins like any other YA and readers can expect a nicely paced backstory of Daunis. My favorite part was reading about life on the Ojibwe reservation. Daunis carries the love of her family close to her heart and continuing the Ojibwe traditions means a lot to her. Through her character, I can tell how much care Angeline Boulley poured into this story.

Just as I felt like I finally knew this intelligent and brave girl, the plot took a turn.

Daunis finds herself in the middle of a huge police investigation after witnessing a murder. Her grief makes her decide to work with the undercover officers and everything becomes more complicated. She quickly realizes not everyone is who they seem to be and she can’t trust anyone. There are painful secrets inside both of her worlds.

I went into this book knowing very little of what this story was actually about and I’m glad that I did. Personally, I would suggest others do the same. There are heavy topics discussed, though, and a few of the big trigger warnings are murder, drugs, violence, sexual assault and grief.

For a debut novel, I think Angeline Boulley did an outstanding job. Outside of the love she put into Daunis and her Ojibwe traditions, she brought light to topics that need to be discussed more. Her writing is beautiful and there were several times I cried while reading. 'Firekeeper’s Daughter' is gut-wrenching, but in a good way.

The most intriguing aspect of this story is the characters. I know I’ve only mentioned Daunis in this review, but that’s because there are secrets these characters hold that make it hard to properly introduce them. There are characters who are good but have dark secrets. Some are evil but there’s an understandable reason behind their actions. The bottom line is that no one in this story is completely good or evil, including Daunis. This made the story much more interesting to read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was shocking and heartfelt. The story kept me on the edge of my seat and it had one of the best endings. I highly recommend all readers to check out Angeline Boulley’s debut. These characters will teach you a few things about yourself and how you handle the painful moments in your life. 'Firekeeper’s Daughter' will release on March 16th so make sure to pick up a copy!

NetGalley ARC | A fast-paced and beautiful novel across generations with powerful Native representation, I appreciated learning more about the issues that affect Native communities. I also gained more knowledge about the Ojibwe community, culture, heritage, and traditions.

You can find the complete review on The Uncorked Librarian here: https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/march-2021-book-releases/

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book wrecked me. Daunis Fontaine is an 18 year old woman who was born from a scandal. Being biracial she never felt like she completely belonged in both her white family or her Ojibwe family. Although she sometimes feels out of place, she still treasures and yearns to learn from both sides of her family. In the first part of the book author Angeline Boulley does a phenomenal job educating the reader about the traditions, language, and daily life of the Ojibwe people in Michigan. Prior to reading this book I had almost no knowledge about the Ojibwe people and I am ashamed to admit that I did not know that there reservations in Michigan. So I really appreciated all the detail the author put in for readers, after finishing the book it made me want to learn more about the Anishinaabe people. What wrecked me about this book was the relationships and Daunis's journey from child to woman. She had to overcome so much during the course of the novel; betrayal, deception, and tragedy; and yet she still was able to rise above it all and come out stronger on the other side.

Firekeeper's Daughter is my first five-star read in a while. Daunis's story was enticing, captivating, and raw. The entire novel felt like a roller-coaster. I will be adding Angeline Boulley to my list of instant-buy authors because this debut was wonderfully crafted. For those who are looking to read #ownvoices novel, Firekeeper's Daughter tackles hard issues in Native American tribes around the United States, provides a strong, biracial, female perspective, and shows the strength of community coming together.

I find that there are so many elements in this novel that just ruminate really well together. Angeline's writing style is fluid, powerful and raw scenes are like a punch in the gut, learning about the Objiwe community and their rituals and legends are poetic and transcending, the youth culture is nostalgic, and also Boulley does have some comedic lines woven throughout. Reading from Daunis' perspective, in first person, really gives the reader a great sense of reaction time and it works well with Boulley's narrative style as well as the Nancy Drew-esque nature of the story. Reading about the Anishinaabe tribe was such an eye-opening experience and I am so glad that we have a novel like this to learn about it. All the characters had such heart and grit and emotion, it was a pleasure to learn about the Elders and community members that Daunis interacts with throughout the duration of her story.

Firekeeper's Daughter is a powerful, multilayered story about acceptance in one's community and acceptance of one's self, the relationships between the female characters and the women supporting women and survivors, and the disparagement, violence and racism that lingers in Native American communities. This novel is a work of art that tackles a multitude of rough topics that need to be told and demands to be read.

Firekeeper’s Daughter manages to be a lot of books at once. The main story- the mystery of who is cooking and distributing meth on a Native American reservation- exists alongside deep stories of love, friendship, and traditional Ojibwe culture. I was very engrossed in the stories, and once I hit near 65%, I didn’t want to put the book down because I needed to know how everything would come together. Thanks to Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

CW: drug use, drug overdose, physical abuse, sexual abuse

I received a free electronic ARC copy of this excellent young adult novel featuring high schoolers of the Ojibwe tribe of First Americans in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This book features a lot of ice hockey and teenage angst but is an excellent look at life in small Michigan towns and the influence of weather on the lifestyle of the community. There is a wide net of family support not often seen in large American cities, and a sense of comradery similar to that experienced in the western towns I am familiar with. But of course, down here we have football...

I enjoyed this dip into winter - and have stopped whining about our low of 23 degrees one-night last week - and thoroughly enjoyed a look into the lives of these families. It was good to see examples of support and compassion expressed well during this pandemic that has us all isolated and feeling our own angst against the world.

And it is soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground! How exciting!

Daunis is a 18 year old who feels she doesn't belong in either world, the Ojibwe world and the rest of the world. Her one set of grandparents would not allow her Ojibwe fathers name on her birth certificate but she still has learned the way of her people so not quite fully in either other world. When a new kid comes to town, plays hockey and manages to get on Daunis' brother Levi's team, she starts to fall for this new guy, until at a party one night she sees her best friend get shot and killed, by her meth head ex. Now Daunis finds herself undercover and looking for a new meth.

This is a exciting full of action, and suspense book with a awesome behind the scenes look of the Ojibwe way of things. Isabella Star LaBlanc is a great narrator of this book, she keeps it going and makes you feel like you are there helping Daunis get through all of the negative to help show her there are positives things to look forward too as well. This is a book you just can't put down so I hope you all will like it as much as I did.

This will appear on my blog on the March 16th.

This book exceeded my expectations. It was absolutely one of the best things I’ve ever read.

First of all, the exploration of loss and grief in this book is one of the best I’ve ever seen in fiction. Everything from how it can change your eating habits, to how the trauma can affect how you talk to living family so you don’t make them anxious because you feel like you have to take care of them... this book was incredibly honest and authentic in this way.

Another way in which it was powerful was in the depiction of Ojibwe culture. The reverence for her elders, especially after the elders come through for Daunis not just once but twice in HUGE ways, actually brought me to tears. This is a love story to the authors culture, a labor of love and emotion, and I appreciate her so much for gifting the world with it.

The plot was excellent, as I did not see most of the twists coming and there were smaller and larger mysteries sprinkled throughout that I was wondering about the whole time.

The conclusion was heartwrenching as it depicts that justice does not exist for everyone under the so called “criminal justice” system, especially for women of color.

I will read anything this author writes from here on out.

In Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley, teenage Daunis Fontaine is an unenrolled Ojibwe tribe member, which means learning the ceremonies, attending dances, remembering the prayers, and speaking the Ojibwe language, but not having a vote on tribal matters or receiving the per-cap money from the tribal casino. This is her dual identity in general, since she is Ojibwe Firekeeper from her father and wealthy French Catholic Fontaine from her mother. Her family is complicated in other ways, too: her half-brother Levi is just a few months younger than she is, born to their father’s wife.

Daunis witnesses an awful attack, and discovers that this is just a tiny part in a wider criminal network, blending drugs and corruption at all different levels. A chance to work as an undercover informant could help her get justice for her friend and safety for others in the community, but it’ll also mean keeping secrets from those closest to her and maybe revealing community information to outsiders. There is a very real sense of danger, and an awareness that the cops are not the good guys.

I liked how complicated this investigation was, and how Daunis handled her conflicts. There was less about Bad Guys vs Good Guys, although the villains really are evil. They’re not just breaking the law, they’re exploiting the powerless and hurting the whole community. But Daunis has to question if law enforcement is actually 100% on her side here and which local secrets she should share with outsiders.

Firekeeper’s Daughter is a solid mystery, with sleuthing and science combining with respect for the community. This desire to find out more and answer the questions along with Daunis pulls readers in. (This is one of the things that worked for me in Lightseekers, too.)

I liked how complex the characters were, even the minor ones, which helped to develop the community and Daunis’ reactions. For example, one of the boys has parents who love him very much and are desperately unreliable caretakers due to their addiction struggles, and these things are both true at the same time.

Firekeeper’s Daughter was an engrossing coming-of-age and mystery story, in modern Native life. If you don’t know very much about Ojibwe customs or life when you start reading, you can still understand the plot of this book and you’ll get to discover and learn more about the culture as you follow Daunis’ choices.

I’d like to thank Henry Holt & Co and Netgalley for so generously providing me a copy of Firekeeper’s Daughter. All opinions are, of course, my own.

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a thrilling and stunning debut novel that is part crime fiction and part coming of age.

Daunis Fontaine is 18 years old born to a Native father and a white mother. Daunis balances these two worlds better than I could ever expect to balance anything. She’s already seen a lot of heartbreak in her life with the recent passing of her uncle and her grandmother having a stroke, but she’s really handling it quite well.

Despite the heartbreak, Daunis has a half-brother (through their father) who she is very close to, her best friend Lily, and her family and friends. Until one day when she’s the witness to a murder and through a series of events, becomes a CI (confidential informant) in order to bring justice and safety to her community.

Boulley also grew up with a Native father and a non-Native mother on/near Sugar Island so she’s able to paint an authentic picture of not only the location, but Daunis. And, possibly more importantly – the ongoing issues that Native communities face including Indigenous women.

I love how beautiful Boulley’s writing was while still bringing very real, very serious issues to the limelight.

I received an eArc of this novel and when I finished the last page, I immediately went and pre-ordered a physical copy. That is how much I loved it.