This book was fabulous. An exhilarating debut novel, Boulley brings to life the issues of reservation life of present day Indigenous teens and the understanding of one's true identity. The mystery enveloped in the story makes this novel a page turner that I couldn't put down. I currently live in a state with a well recognized Indigenous population and I am excited to be able to share this story with my students. Though I am a middle school teacher, there are many 8th graders that this book will entertain. One of the best books I have read in a long time and Top 5 of 2021 for me!

Such a wonderful YA novel. My student book club read this one and purchased 27 copies. They've been recommending it to all of their friends.

Well now I know why this book was raved about so much! It is divine and perfect. The characters and world building is so beautiful, I didn't want to let go. Gosh it was SO GOOD! If you are one of the rare few that hasn't read this yet, you are missing out!!

I appreciate that this book is brave and forces readers to confront issues that are very real. There were parts that were hard to read, but it's important that they're acknowledged. I appreciated that the author was able to show such dark realities while keeping hope alive. It felt like they struck a good balance.

I also really liked how this book showed Ojibwe traditions, beliefs, and culture. It felt very respectful, and I feel like I learned a lot.

Watching how Daunis was always kept at a slight distance from both sides of her heritage was compelling. I know it's an experience many people live, and I liked that the book addressed it and explored what that looks like for the person living it.

The love story part of this felt too fast and/or intense to be believable for me and honestly didn't feel necessary. I think there was enough compelling stuff for Daunis to face without romance. The power and age imbalance might be part of what bothered me.

My favorite scene was one near the end where you really get to see the community and how they support each other. I think that was the strongest part of this story: the community and relationships and how they gave Daunis strength and a reason to fight.

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

Listened to this and read it - so good both ways. Nuanced, complex, interesting characters with a history and set of circumstances we should ALL aim to learn more about and listen to their words along with a propulsive plot. Thoroughly enjoyed and will share with friends and family!

I knew the moment I set this down that “Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley was going to be hard pressed to be knocked from its place as my number one read of the year. The moment I started I was completely blown away by this debut YA thriller/mystery. Boulley tells the story of Daunis, a biracial teenage girl whose mother is white but whose father was Anishinaabe, and who has never really fit into either identity. It is so emotional, and compelling, and it is impossible to put down while also hitting all the right beats when it comes to life for Indigenous youth in America today. Read this book. It’s phenomenal.

This book is incredible.
Firekeeper’s Daughter is a book that I’ve done nothing but rave about and buy for every person I know and encourage them to read it.

This book is a stunning debut novel, based on a reservation, YA mystery/thriller type with murder, drug investigation and an exploration of some of the traditional anishinaabe ojibwe culture. The author explores her MC’s mixed race heritage, never really feeling like she fits into the culture of the reservation or her mothers family, and the nuances of the hardships and the beauty of living on a reservation and a woman of mixed heritage.

The author also explores the incredible injustices and enraging legal loopholes of the laws governing reservations and the prevalence of gut wrenching violence against native women.

You can tell that the author spent years honing her craft and researching her characters and her culture. Once I picked it up, I absolutely couldn’t put it down.

Honest to god, it was one of the best books I’ve read this year.

TW for sexual assault, murder, drug use/manufacture.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

Probably one of my favorite reads ever. The writing is beautiful, the representation is everything, the plot is intense, the characterization is full, it culturally immerses the reader in the story, and has such ridiculously strong women. Also, the focus on missing & murdered indigenous women was missing in YA lit until now. Highly recommended.

I received an advance reader copy of Firekeeper’s Daughter from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

This was an excellent book. So often, I find that books with traditionally underrepresented characters focus on events unfolding around those characters, things happening to them without giving the characters much control of their circumstances or surroundings. This book gives Daunis, our narrator, agency and choices about how she conducts herself as she mixes between her white and Native relatives and communities.

The action focuses on a mystery that Daunis is working to solve, related to meth addiction and deaths among her teen friend group. The mystery aspect keeps the book engaging and pulls the reader through to the very end.

I found that most of the characters were reasonably well rounded, and their motivations believable. There is no shortage of trauma in this story, but there is also hope and a sense of responsibility for ensuring Daunis’ community’s health and safety.

This is an excellent read about a slice of American society and culture that we don’t always get to see and appreciate. I recommend it.

Immediately after reading Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, I knew that I needed to buy a copy to have on my shelves. To me, this story was a keeper. Boulley’s debut is a triumph and I am so excited for what is sure to be an amazing career. This book also reminded me that I do not read nearly enough Indigenous own voices books and I should work to rectify that. There was so much that I learned, but also that I felt, while reading this stunning book.

Firekeeper’s Daughter is about Daunis, a young woman who is about to turn 19 who has her whole life ahead of her. Daunis is a bright young woman who straddles two worlds – she has her white Fontaine family which is very prominent in Saulte St. Marie. Then she has her Ojibwe family, the Firekeepers, who also happen to be prominent Anishinaabe. Unfortunately, Daunis is not tribally enrolled, her father’s name is not on her birth certificate. Still, she loves her tribe and truly respects the elders. However, Daunis is not fully immersed in either world.

Life becomes a lot more complicated for Daunis when she witnesses a murder. She’s pulled in by the FBI and acts as a confidential informant. You see, meth is running rampant and destroying members of Daunis’s tribe. Kids on different reservations have gotten sick from it. Daunis wants to get to the bottom of it — as a way of finding justice for the person murdered – as well as keeping the kids safe. Oh and also, this story has a significant amount of hockey.

Daunis is a force. When we talk about a master class in characterization, we should be talking about Boulley’s writing and handling of Daunis. I found it to be thoughtful and careful. Firekeeper’s Daughter is very much character driven. If you came to the book expecting it to be entirely plot driven, well, you came to the wrong place. Yes, there is the thriller aspect of the FBI and the drug ring.

More important to me, though, was Daunis’s coming of age and her exploration of her identity. We learned so much about inherited trauma, about the injustices faced by Indigenous women. The book touches upon boarding schools. Additionally, there are even themes of colorism. Through it all, Daunis grows — even through the pain. I’ll admit, there are absolutely triggers in this book so tread with care particularly if rape, domestic violence, drug use, or murder are triggers for you as well as racism.

I do want to end and point out that this book is set in the fall of 2004. I am really old, so for me, that time period was the beginning of my senior year. For Daunis, it is the beginning of her first year as a freshman in community college. The time period setting really rang true for me. I remember Blackberries and texting being a thing around then. There’s use of technology in the book for sure, but at this point, in 2004, it wasn’t QUITE as intense as it is now. So, based upon my memories, so much of this book with regards to time was authentic.


On the whole, I am so glad that I don’t really make a best of list in my head until after I am genuinely done for the year. If I had said nope everything before December, then I would have missed out on considering Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter as one of the best books I’ve read in 2021 – and that my friends – would have been a travesty.

A wonderful YA debut novel. Loved reading about Native culture and enjoyed that it was a thriller. Can't wait for the TV series adaption.

Ho-Ly. Mo-ly. This book was so good.
Danus gets caught up in an investigation to see who is making and distributing a special sort of meth to the surrounding reservations. The twists were phenomenal. I did not see most of them coming.
I characters were so real and complex. You love them then hate them then love them again. I loved all the side characters, especially Auntie. She may have been my favorite.
There was one scene that was done well, but hard to read. Please check triggers.

I would 100% recommend this. Top book of 2021 for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will be recommending this book for purchase as an addition to our school library. Thank you for the opportunity to read.

I don’t know why I put off reading this one for so long because it’s even better than what I’ve been told. From start to finish, I loved every minute of this story. I can’t wait for the author’s next book.

A great mystery that really sheds light on the Ojibwe tribe. Even though this takes place in 2006, it feels very current. I think everyone should read this to get a better understanding of native cultures and the prejudices they face. Trigger warning would have been very helpful- drug use and sexual assualt. Definitely for older high school and above.

Firekeeper's Daughter was an eye-opening book for me in a lot of ways. I've been trying to diversify my reading for the past couple of years, and have realized how much I didn't know and how much of what I thought I knew was wrong. With this book, I learned a lot about racism within the Native community and how it impacts someone growing up as part of the community, but not fully embraced by the community. It's a heartbreaking book, full of emotion and confusion, and history that was new to me. Having the opportunity to research and learn based on what I read in this book taught me a lot, and I'd like to read anything the author writes in the future as well.

"Firekeeper's Daughter" is a fantastic read, and I am not surprised to see if flying off the shelves at our library!

This was a much-anticipated 2021 read and I'm so glad I finally got to it! I really enjoyed this story. Daunis is such a great character - she's strong and capable, but also has flaws and depth.

I really enjoyed learning more about Ojibwe culture, in fact, that was probably my favorite thing about this story. I just wish there could have been more show than tell, as at times, it felt a little info-dumpy. But that's just a quibble - I really enjoyed reading about their traditions, language,
and natural medicine.

The plot was riveting - I don't normally read mystery/thrillers, so if there were any common tropes in here, I completely missed them. I loved the growing relationship between Daunis and Jamie and, of course, trying to guess who was behind the drugs and murders. I guessed part of it correctly but was still riveted as the investigation unfolded.

There are some trigger warnings to be aware of: drug abuse and addiction, sexual assault, and murder, so be aware of that going into the story. I feel that the author did a great job of writing about these topics in a sensitive and meaningful way that added to the story.

Overall, I thought this story was fascinating and compelling, and I highly recommend checking it out! Also, I listened to the audiobook alongside the e-book, and I thought the narration was fantastic!

A fantastic and devastating read! I loved how indigenous beliefs are part of the story, and I learned a lot about the injustice that Native women face. Hearing about that through a fictional character I cared about was very powerful.