This sneak peak has me excited to read the rest of The Firekeeper's Daughter. While the cover alone is captivating, the first chapter has completely pulled me in.

This book was AMAZING. I should have gotten my review in sooner because this is a book everyone needs to read. I will be gladly handselling it to people whether they read YA or not. We need more books with Indigenous characters and Danaus really hits the mark. I, am not Native and I certainly cannot speak for my Native American friends, but a lot of Boulley's storytelling and the experiences that Danaus goes through rang true from the stories I heard from friends growing up who were unenrolled and straddled a line between two different communities. The thriller element sucks you in too.

i really enjoyed the first part of this book. although it mostly reads like a contemporary at this point, i loved getting the background to Daunis, her family, and her culture. you can absolutely tell the author spent 10 years on this books - it is such a rich story!

I missed that this was a sneak peek, so I briefly thought where it stopped was the end of the book and, even so, I still liked it even in that moment. This has a rich world an engaging and unique protagonist, and I also enjoy that she's on the cusp of starting college, which isn't something I've seen a lot in YA. I immediately went and pre-ordered so I can find out what happens.

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!

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community. After reading the exclusive sneak peak I can’t wait for the full length debut novel to be released.

I enjoyed the sneak peek of the fire Keepers daughter. It was nice to see a different #ownvoices as I am yet to read many indigenous books. Angeline Boulley has a beautifully written debut of young adult Thrillers weaving and aspects of the Native American experience and issues and corruption within their community. I appreciate the author's insight without feeling like I was being lectured at or spoken down to about the problems and traditional practices.

Thus is only a sneak pick so it's hard to say how I feel about this book in general. So far I am intrigued, however, the writing style feel very tedious as it basically lists a lot of irrelevant stuff that keeps going on and on, so when important information comes along it's hard to pinpoint where we should start to care. This is by an indigenous author and that aspect of the story interests me greatly. I'd love to read more of it to be able to give a more accurate rating and review of it.

Looking forward to reading the full book! I'll be requesting and/or buying it. Thank you for the sneak peek

For some reason, I thought this was yet another YA fantasy book. It is not. It is a contemporary YA thriller. Because of this, though, I kept wondering when the magic would show up, and that made me annoyed with it. I think this would probably happen anyway, since the sampler I received is 99% set-up anyway, but still, please take my review with salt. I had expectations for something that was never going to happen because I had misinterpreted the book's genre.
Plot-wise, the blurb summarizes everything that happens. Daunis decides against a fancy medical college to go to the local state college instead so she can care for her grandmother. While her mom is very happy with this, Daunis herself is bummed. Things start to look up when a new boy, Jamie, appears in Daunis' life, whom she starts to become friends with and fall for even as she has lingering suspicions about him. Eventually (on the last two pages of the sampler), things come to a climax as Daunis gets shot while investigating something suspicious. There's a lot of minor events that are supposed to get you invested in Daunis and her relationships with her family and friends along the way, but those are the broad plot-important strokes. The intrigue in Daunis' tribe's affairs and the end of the sampler intrigued me, but otherwise I wasn't particularly excited or interested.
For characters, no one really clicked with me. Daunis is mixed-race, and her struggles are a major part of her character and the story, which I liked. Daunis' aunt is great, and I liked Daunis' friend Lily a lot, but I was less interested in Daunis herself in terms of personality and didn't care for Jamie, who struck me as the one who was going to murder someone once I realized this was a thriller. Daunis feels like a YA protagonist with actual care put into her--she's smart, kind, and feels like an actual teenager. Jamie's tribal situation is different than Daunis', and I liked the parts that explored that, but otherwise he just seemed perfect and boring, even if he was hiding something. Daunis repeatedly trying and failing to deny her attraction to Jamie also got on my nerves, making me dislike him as a consequence. While everyone's personality felt different, no one stuck out as memorable.
For writing, it's pretty good. The dialogue felt natural enough and Daunis' thought process felt natural as well. There's also multiple Ojibwe words that are incorporated into the dialogue in a natural way, which was great; I just wish there was a glossary so I could keep track of all of them. Daunis also swears some nasty things internally, which was refreshing to see with how many books I've read that just have their characters use "damn" or "hell" instead of the things they'd usually know at that age. The only part that really bugged me were the few text parts, in which everyone read like an adult trying to type how they think kids type. It was pretty bad, There's also a lot of telling at some points, but that's about it for bad things I found.

So, I wasn't super happy with this sampler, partially because I had expected the wrong things from it, and partially because of the sampler itself. But even with that, I liked the OwnVoices aspects of this, which focus on a perspective I don't think I've seen in YA before. If the premise interests you, don't let my review stop you. Check it out.

{unrated} this book was really good. I really enjoyed almost every aspect of the short selection I was afforded to read.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillian Publishing for providing me with an e-sample in exchange for an honest review.

If I could rate a sampler 5 stars this would be it! This story resonated with me from the start, the author has a unique and emotional tone to her writing that just makes these characters feel authentic and familiar. I cannot wait to get my hands on a finished copy.

This seems like a promising YA novel! It took me a moment to get adjusted to the first person present tense perspective, but once I did, I found the experience to be quite immersive. The author does a great job of drawing the reader in quickly, and I think the cover beautifully matches the tone of the novel. I look forward to reading the rest of the book, at some point in the future.

I am so excited for this book! I preordered it already. Thank you NetGalley for the sneak peak! Native American lit + thriller = dream genre. I love what I’ve seen so far and I can’t wait to read in full!

Biracial Native teen Daunis hasn’t found her ‘place’ in the world yet. She’s an unenrolled tribal member who has never felt completely accepted by her hometown or tribe. With aspirations to go to medical school, her plans get put on hold to care for her grandmother.

When Daunis witnesses a murder, she is convinced to take part in an undercover investigation where she uses her knowledge of chemistry as well as traditional medicine.

The perfect mix of young adult, crime fiction, and Indigenous culture with a twist of romance. This story was complex, fast paced, rich with Ojibwe culture. While there was a lot going on in the story, it was peppered with a glimpse into modern Ojibwe traditions and tribal politics that I found fascinating. There were some heavy themes that I thought were handled very well. Daunis was a relatable and strong heroine. I loved the cultural aspects; the beauty in their traditions as well as the difficulties Indigenous communities face past and present.

Well, I am hooked. 86 pages in the preview just wasn't enough. So far we're following Daunis after multiple life-changing events, and the preview takes us right up to what seems like yet another one. The story has moved so quickly already, and we've gotten to know so much about Daunis and her family and friends. I cannot wait to read the rest and see what happens!
5/5 for the preview. Thanks to Netgalley for providing an e-ARC preview!

Daunis doesn't fit into either life- not her white mother's life, nor her father's Native American life. Going away to college was supposed to give her a chance to start over, but after illness and tragedy hits her family, she decides to stay near home for college. After meeting Jamie, a new hockey player, her life seems to pick up a little, but this nice, cute boy has a girlfriend waiting for him back home. Daunis refuses to be "That Girl" and interfere in a relationship. The end of this sneak peak finishes on a cliffhanger, making it easy to want to reach for the book to see how everything turns out. I didn't get to experience the rest of the story which focuses on a murder that Daunis witnesses and how she goes undercover for the FBI to investigate.

I felt pain for Daunis as she navigated the reality of not belonging fully to either half of her heritage. She was all alone, different, and misunderstood. I know I didn't come close to actually getting into the meat of the book, but the bit that I read was quite good. I enjoyed getting immersed in the culture and language, even though it was difficult to get into at first due to all the foreign words. I hope to be able to read the whole book to experience the mystery aspect of it, which I really enjoy in novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me the chance to read the sneak peak of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a preview of the book. So far I am really enjoying it! I can't wait to read the whole book. It is moving fast and keeping me engaged.

Sneak preview review:

4 stars so far!

Contemporary isn’t my usual genre but I really really liked this!! I can’t wait to read more when it releases! The cover is stunning and so is the contents. I read all of the preview (89 pages) in one sitting, which I think speaks to how engaging the story was!

I can’t wait for more!!

CW: murder, meth, drugs, police, rape, violence, guns, homophobic language, racist language, fatphobic language, internalized slut shaming

i am obsessed with this book cannot wait for the full versión