Thank you NetGalley! I was so excited to get a copy of this book before publication date. I loved her first book, and could not wait to jump into this one.

I honestly think that I ended up liking this book better than her first book. I found myself immersed in the story, feeling like I was right there in the action. The pain Perry went through as she learned more and more about herself, and the struggles her people have gone through, was heart-wrenching. The literary world needs more strong, determined girls of color standing up for themselves and others.

Everyone needs to read this!

Thanks to NetGalley & Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I actually couldn't finish the author's first book, but I devoured this one in one sitting! There were some names that popped up that probably would've had more of an impact if I read the first one but I still was able to follow along. I think what happened with the first one is that it had a lot of back and forth dialogue that didn't go anywhere and it drove me nuts--but this book slims it down and every conversation early on contributes to the final conclusion.

I loved how strong the protagonist, Perry, was, and how flawed she was. You didn't always agree with her decisiveness, but she quite literally pulled no punches throughout the book. I loved how the story and mystery came together around her decisions and personality.

Although the cover makes it seem like it's a fantasy book, it's not. It's more like...realistic fiction mixed with a mystery. The biggest piece of this book is how the reader learns about the North American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and how it's influenced her culture and community over decades. It's really morbid but fascinating stuff.

Highly recommend!

“There are times, not just when I’m dreaming, when it’s as if the Warrior Girl is with me as well.”

This book will make your heart break and your blood boil. Being back in Sugar Island was such a bittersweet feeling is this book. While I was happy to revisit some characters and meet new ones, this story left an ache in my chest.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has a passion about her that is unmatched. Her desire to bring justice to her Anishinaabe tribe and peace to her ancestors will speak to something in your core you may not have known existed. There was a level of growth within her that was beautiful to watch unfold though she never wavered in her determination. Along with Perry, we see a glimpse into the life of her twin sister Pauline as well as a group of friends deemed the ‘Misfit Toys’ — I adore each of them so much.

Warrior Girl Unearthed is so much more than a group of misfit teens though. It’s a story filled with the constant injustices Indigenous people face and have face for so long. While this book is a work of fiction, much of it is based off of lived experiences and struggles. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for Indigenous representation, found family, strong family bonds, mystery, thriller or a YA contemporary.

*While reading The Firekeeper’s Daughter is not necessary for this book, I would highly recommend reading it first.

In this sequel to the award winning "Firekeeper's Daughter", Daunis' niece Perry is ready to chill all summer. She plans on fishing and hanging out with her Pops and her dog, Elvis Jr. Unfortunately, after an unfortunate series of events, Auntie Daunis sets up an internship for Perry, mandatory attendance. As Perry begins working at her Tribe’s Cultural Learning Center, she learns more and more about the struggle to reclaim and repatriate Native American artifacts and remains from non-Native institutions. She begins to take some pretty big risks to bring home some artifacts that are being kept from her Tribe, and after a disturbing find on Sugar Island, Perry has to decide. How far will she go to bring her ancestors home? And who can she trust to help her?

Where do I even start with this review? Warrior Girl Unearthed was a wild ride from start to finish. I was expecting a straightforward story based on the summary, but I was surprised (in a good way!) that it went in a slightly different direction.

First off, I loved Perry, the MC. She pretty much did her own thing and gave zero shits about what other people thought of her. Maybe a large chunk of it was due to her youth and naivety, but damn, she really didn't let anything negative affect her goals.

Annnnnd, I won't lie. I loved how she subverted the "not like other girls" trope (which is something that I really hate in YA). She's athletic. She loves fishing. And she'll wear a ribbon skirt without complaining.

But the one huge thing that I loved about this novel is that I learned a lot about NAGPRA, the North American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. I recognized the basics of NAGPRA from my anthropology classes as an undergrad, but I never took any classes that focused specifically on Native American communities.

Even though this is a novel, I loved learning about how NAGPRA has affected, and still affects, how institutions (such as universities and museums) handle and return Native American remains and cultural objects to their rightful owners.

Understanding it from an indigenous community's perspective really carried a lot of meaning and emotion that wouldn't have been conveyed through, say, reading a Wikipedia article. Perry had a lot of strong feelings and you could really feel her hurt, anger, helplessness, and disappointment when dealing with the roadblocks and delays that came to repatriating the remains and objects belonging to her community.

I'd recommend this novel based on this alone, tbh.

The novel also tackled MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women). I thought it'd be a side plot, but I'm glad it became as integral to the plot as NAGPRA. Without dropping any spoilers, the buildup to the ending was definitely worth the wait.

Similar to the author's debut, the one issue I had was that the author's writing style had a lot of telling, not showing. There was a lot of "Perry did x, y, z." It made for easy reading, but I wished there was more showing. Though I was willing to overlook that fact because the story hooked me from the beginning to the end.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for this arc.

I think readers of Firekeeper's Daughter are going to be split on this companion novel following Daunis' nieces (specifically Perry) but I for one loved it. Found Family Heist!! Museum Reclamation!! Bad people getting what's coming to them!! Was the ending a bit convoluted? Maybe but don't worry about it!

I gave this a five star because no one does Information but Entertaining quite like Boulley does. There's a reason I requested Firekeeper's Daughter for our school. You learn so much and feel the weight of that knowledge in every word. My personal favorite is how she does not hold your hand in translating ever single bit of Ojibwe in the novel. It both familiarizes you and alienates you in equal measure which, for a lot of mixed race characters in the novel, is true. It's worth a listen to the audiobook though because the poetic nature of the language really adds to some of the scenes.
I think this is a solid update and extra to the narrative already set and while I think you could read this of Firekeeper's Daughter in any order, I think it works better to pick this up second. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy. Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy.

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Angeline Boulley did it again with this companion novel to the Firekeeper’s daughter. This book revolves around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act..

Perry was an engaging character to follow. She often leaps before fully thinking, letting her passion drive her choices, which causes a few misunderstandings and unintended consequences along the way. Daunis, from Firekeeper’s Daughter, makes appearances as well.

Overall this was a compulsive read for me. It was a 5 stars read until the end, which felt too rushed for my tastes. I would highly recommend this book for any YA or adult reader.

jesus CHRIST this is so much.

I have a degree in anthropology (concentrated in archaeology) so seeing the impacts that profession has had on the Indigenous people of this country, ESPECIALLY from the point of view of those people, is very important.

Beyond that, this was everything. Perry is a fantastic character.

(I do wanna what happened to Daunis in the ten years between though)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for eGalley!

When Boulley’s first book came out a few years ago it was my favorite book of that year. When I saw that she is releasing her second book in May, I knew I had to read it. While this one was not as good as the first one, it still was a pretty engaging read.

Perry along with her twin sister and good friends are part of internships on Sugar Island for the summer. There is a lot going on during this summer including: stolen native remains and items, natives going missing, a little bit of teen crushing, and a lot of mystery around all of these topics.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

5 stars

Boulley has another winner for readers with this most recent effort!

Perry, the m.c., is excited to experience a relaxing summer, but those plans rapidly change first when she ends up having to do an internship and then even more so because of what she learns during said internship. Summer goes from chill to boring to finally thrilling when Perry begins to uncover the many ways in which indigenous people - especially women - have been harmed and are continuing to be harmed in the present day. This weaving together of past trauma, culturally centered disrespect, and present terror create a complex web that forces Perry, her contemporaries, and certainly readers to face some difficult truths about how people are treated and how they choose to treat others. There's not a simple answer or a simple correction, and the layers of different women in distinct life stages and their specific stories really help to bring the depth of these horrors to light.

The plotting is excellent, but Perry is such a likeable character that she really stands out as the most admirable part of the entire work. She's flawed but focused on what is right according to her own value system, and her determination and certainty are refreshing.

I joined the masses in loving Boulley's first novel, and I love this one just as much if not more. The representation is excellent, but also this is just an exceptionally well-crafted narrative with a compelling m.c. Recommended, obviously!

"Everything weighs on my heart. The loss of a young black man. Native women going missing. People hunted down like prey. Researchers wanting our bones. No respect for Black and brown bodies when we're breathing. No justice for the living or the dead."

"Each MMIW flyer is a plea to find a real person. Someone who is loved and missed. This time, it's my friend"

This book is easily one of my favorite books this year. I loved the connection to the first book. I loved all the history and information. AB creates such strong female characters and this book has them in spades! This book will be at the top of my recommendations for a while.

I loved Boulley's first book, and the follow-up, which takes place in the same universe, is just as compelling. For other Firekeeper's Daughter fans, Daunis appears in Warrior Girl as the aunt of the narrator, Perry, and her twin sister Pauline. It's summer, and the girls are in a cultural engagement program, doing internships with Ojibwe organizations. Pauline starts off in the Tribal Council and Perry in the museum. Unlike Pauline, Perry isn't especially motivated, but she is passionate about her people, and that passion doesn't always server her well, internship wise. Perry's boss at her first placement, whose last name is Turtle, is a slow-and-steady guy, whereas Perry can't/won't restrain her rage when tribal artifacts in the care of white people are fetishized and/or stored in batches of teeth in cereal boxes. (Can you blame her for cursing Dr. Creepy White Person out in Ojibwemowin?)

The story follows Perry's emotional growth path, contextualizing it in a MMIW mystery and a love story.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has a summer filled with growth in this second mystery steeped in Anishinaabe culture by Angeline Boulley.

Perry is the laidback twin and, while her sister Pauline is looking forward to a summer internship program, she's looking forward to hanging around and fishing. But a bear in the road and too much speed cause a car accident and her Aunt Daunis demands that Perry take part in the internship too as a cost for getting the car repaired.

Perry is assigned to intern with Cooper Turtle who runs the tribal museum and finds herself cleaning glass cases. She spends her lunch break trying to find a new job. But she soon becomes fascinated with the museum and with Cooper's efforts to bring Native bones and artifacts back to the tribe from the universities and museums that are holding them for study.

Perry's main complaint is that Cooper is working to slowly. She wants her ancestors back home immediately. But repatriation isn't the only thing on Perry's mind. Native women are disappearing, and it doesn't seem like law enforcement on or off the reservation is doing enough to try to find them.

Perry's overenthusiasm costs her job with Cooper and causes her internship to be switched to another department. In fact, she seems to move to a new department each week as her bosses keep moving her around. On Fridays, the interns are all gathered together for team building and other activities. Perry becomes part of the team that includes her school friend Shense Jackson, a 16-year-old single mother, her childhood friend Lucas, and new-boy-in town Erik. They name themselves Team Misfit Toys.

There's a lot going on in this mystery which includes a murder and a heist of bones gathered by a local non-Native landowner and an encounter with the man who is kidnapping native women in their area. I found the whole story fascinating and compelling. I couldn't put the story down and, when I did have to do other things, I was still thinking about the events of the story. I highly recommend this book.

I loved The Firekeeper's Daughter so naturally I was very excited to find out that Boulley had written another book based in the same community. It was nice to see some of the characters again in this book but, I don't think it is necessary to read The Firekeeper's Daughter first. Again Boulley handles some very tough topics with deft care. A very small quibble I have is there are a few places in the beginning of the book that the storyline feels a little choppy.

I read the Firekeeper’s Daughter when it came out. It was the best book I read that year.! While technically a young adult novel, I recommended it to everyone!
Warrior Girl Unearthed has the same rich history and suspense as Angeline Boulley’s first novel. I very much appreciate and enjoy reading and learning about a culture that I have very little knowledge of.

Angeline Boulley is a must read for me.

5 starts

I received an ARC of this novel to review. I loved it even more than Firekeeper's Daughter, and that is saying a lot! Perry is confident, loyal, and resourceful, but she's also good at getting in trouble. Her summer plans get derailed after she crashes her Jeep, but a surprise internship leads her to solving the cases of several missing or murdered indigenous women and honoring her community's past and future by fighting for justice. I want everyone to read this book!

Warrior Girl Unearthed is another engaging thriller and coming of age novel from Angeline Boulley. This story takes place 10 years after the events of Firekeeper's Daughter and follows Perry, one of Daunis's cousins. Immediately after reading the first few chapters of this novel, I was immediately drawn into Boulley's words. There's something about her storytelling that's so captivating, even for, technically, a historical fiction novel. I don't think I enjoyed this story as much as I did Firekeeper's Daughter, as this book felt more rushed than the previous novel, but I still was very interested in Perry's mission to return her people's stolen items to its rightful owners and discover why girls were going missing left and right in her community. It was also great to see Daunis being a key figure in both Perry and Pauline's lives 10 years later. I would love a bonus chapter or novella that shows what she had been up to during the past decade in between both novels because we were left with so many unanswered questions! I think anyone who enjoyed Firekeeper's Daughter will enjoy Warrior Girl Unearthed!

I loved Firekeeper's Daughter so when I found out about Warrior Girl Unearthed I was ecstatic. Angeline Boulley's writing and incorporation of Ojibwe and indigenous culture is seamless. She has a way of teaching readers about culture and struggles in a way that is so engaging and entertaining.

I loved the characters- Perry was a bold lead character that grows throughout the book through her internships and friendships. It was interesting that she was introduced as a mediocre student, but grows tremendously in this regard once she has found a topic that she is interested in and cares immensely for. A heist was also a fun and nerve-wracking plot point.

It has been a little while since I've read Firekeeper's Daughter, and while you don't HAVE to read it before Warrior Girl Unearthed, it would be helpful. Boulley frequently makes call backs to characters from Firekeeper's Daughter without really refreshing the reader on them. Warrior Girl Unearthed also feels like it follows the structure of Firekeeper's Daughter- so I was anticipating someone being untrustworthy and was consequently suspicious of almost everyone. I also felt like the whole book wrapped up a little too fast and I still have a few questions about how the heist ended and how everyone was involved.

Overall, I'm recommending this book (and Firekeeper's Daughter if they haven't read it) to my friends and students and looking forward to Angeline Boulley's next book!

Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island, The Soo and the Firekeeper family. This in an entertaining tale that loads a lot of weighty subjects into an intense ya mystery/thriller. It is a unique and talented author that can mingle these elements well and I expect this to follow Firekeepers Daughter to national attention.

This follow-up to Firekeeper’s Daughter follows Perry Firekeeper-Birch, who through a summer internship with a local tribal museum, becomes aware of Ojibwe ancestor remains in private collections and museums and resolves to bring them home to her tribe. I enjoyed this just as much as I did Firekeeper’s Daughter, and fans of that books will be happy to know that Daunis, the main character of that book, plays a role here.