I didn't enjoy this as much as AB's debut, but there's still a lot to like about this!

It's very clear that AB cares deeply about her people and culture. You can feel it on every page as you learn about the Ojibwe, their tribe, and their ancestors. What is important to them feels important to the reader because of the passion in the writing. I also really enjoyed learning more about the NAGPRA through both the story and the little real life excerpts sprinkled throughout the book.

But the reason I didn't enjoy this as much as ‘Firekeeper's Daughter’ is because of how juvenile the story feels in comparison. ‘Firekeeper's Daughter’ was honest, raw, and didn't shy away from difficult topics. And while this explores heavy themes as well, it's lacking the maturity I'm used to when it comes to AB's characters and dialogue.

But overall, this is a very timely novel about honouring native ancestral rights and ensuring sacred items are returned to where they belong.

3.5 stars

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always felt comfortable in her identity. She knows she is the more laidback twin, and probably the best fisher on Sugar Island. Now, she's ready for her Summer of Slack. However, after a fender bender takes her jeep out of commission, she now has to work to pay back her Auntie Daunis for the repairs.

So, she's interning at the museum for the summer. That's where she meets Team Misfit Toys, the other outcasts of the intern program. With them, maybe the summer won't be so bad after all. However, when Perry goes to a meeting and learns about "Warrior Girl," an ancestor whose bones are stored in the museum archive, she becomes determined to return her to her tribe.

Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for an advaced copy of Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley to review! Of course, Firekeeper's Daughter was such a success last year, I was curious to see Boulley's follow up. This is a companion novel of sorts, though I think you can read it without reading Firekeeper's Daughter. You'll just miss some background information from the first book.

First of all, this book is packed full of information about Native American artifacts being in museums, the laws behind them, etc. There's a lot of interesting stuff there, and a lot of it I didn't know. However, I do think it makes the plot drag a bit, and I'm not sure how much it will attract teens overall to this story. Though if slow burn mysteries are your thing, this might just hit the spot.

I found myself not as drawn into this story as I was for Firekeeper's Daughter, and part of me wonders if that's because I listened to that one instead. But I wasn't invested in the characters or in the story. The story didn't seem to flow as well, and it felt like overall, the book was slightly too long.

However, I'm loving that more Native authors are getting published and that these kinds of stories exist in the world. Especially when they show a perspective that not a lot of people know about. Always appreciate learning new things when I read, honestly!

Overall, I'm not sure this will get the hype that Firekeeper's Daughter did, but still a good sophomore novel either way.

Another brilliant outing from the author of Firekeeper's Daughter! Loved Perry and her heist team of misfits...didn't want it to end!

I could not contain my excitement about getting to go back to Sugar Island.

Perry and Pauline are the twin nieces of Daunis, the main character in The Firekeepers Daughter. Pauline is the “smart one” so that must make Perry something else, right? The girls work in an internship for the tribe in various locations. Perry discovers that their ancestors are being sold for profit instead of being returned to the tribe to be buried according to their customs. I absolutely love how Boulley took the time to explain the laws regarding Indigenous artifacts and their being returned to the ancestors. I don’t want to say too much to give away spoilers. If you liked Boulleys debut novel, you will not be disappointed in other Warrior Girl Unearthed.

Boulley is truly a gifted storyteller. I love that we got another glimpse into the everyday life of the Ojibwe on Sugar Island.

Thank you SO much to McMillan and NetGalley for the ARC. I have been more excited about getting a chance to read this than any other novel that is being released their year.

A true page turner. I loved Fire Keeper's Daughter but it was more of a slow burn for me. Warrior Girl Unearthed captivated me from the very beginning. The characters. The story. Every part.

"Warrior Girl" is the shining star in this year's crop of YA Fiction. Stunning and impactful are the first words that come to mind. This story will stay with me and remind me that we can all do better. This is the primer on Native American history that should be taught to everyone. The story and characters take you on a memorable trip through the unthinkable history of the treatment of Native Americans and how the Repatriation Act sought to right so many wrongs. Great respect to Angeline Boulley for tackling this subject and bringing it to life through her richly developed characters.

Vividly written and set in the real world "Warrior Girl" will make a brilliant movie adaptation. Can't wait to see it!

I want to start this out by saying if Angeline Boulley writes it, I will read it! She has an amazing way of writing keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat action that also centers Ojibwe culture, history, and community.

Taking place about 10 years after Firekeeper’s Daughter, this story focuses on Daunis’s younger cousins and the ins and outs of reclamation. As with Firekeeper’s Daughter, Warrior Girl Unearthed interweaves a thrilling story and nuanced characters with Anishinaabe language, customs, and the many loopholes that people use to take advantage of federal laws pertaining to Tribal land, bodies, and artifacts.

I love when novels give me a starting place to research and learn more about the world we live in, and the book does an amazing job of highlighting important issues like MMIWG2S (missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit individuals) and various museums and colleges dragging their feet to comply with NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act).

As of the writing of this review, I could see this book being my favorite 2023 release.

** Note: While this book can be read as a standalone, I do recommend reading Firekeeper’s Daughter first if you plan to read both, since there are events in that book that are referenced in this one.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan for this advanced readers copy!

I loved The Firekeeper's Daughter and couldn't wait to get my hands on this new one. The first half was a bit slow and exposition heavy, but when it kicked into gear I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I was happy to be back in the world of the Fire Keeper's Daughter. This book did not disappoint. It was exciting and had me on the edge of my seat. I felt like I was right there with Perry and her friends. The characters were well developed. The plot was exciting and twisty-turny. It was very interesting to learn about the reclamation laws/acts. I love learning about the Native American history, culture, and traditions. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to purchase it for our students.

This book is powerful and beautiful. Read it. Share it. Read it again. Boulley has written something I feel I've never read before. History and present and characters and culture and tradition and fight and righting wrongs. I love each of these characters. Please have a next book with another character's story. I was brought to happy tears by the beauty of Perry and her story. It was an honor to read and experience.

It's so dang good, to no one's surprise. Angeline Boulley has a knack for creating slow burn mysteries full of culture and intrigue. I really enjoyed the focus on reclaiming artifacts and how museums abuse laws for their benefit. Perry is a non-typical protagonist - she's blunt and often apathetic. But throughout the book, you get to watch her find her passion. Not only is someone taking girls, there's also a heist to be planned, and justice to be exacted - sounds pretty dang good, right?? I also quite enjoyed how it was a bit of a spinoff of The Firekeeper's Daughter, just with a few cameos from Daunis. While not for the faint of heart, it's an excellent novel that will leave you thinking.

*Thank you to Henry Holt & Co and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

"#1 New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen history.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laidback twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won't ever take her far from home, and she wouldn't have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry begins to question everything.

In order to reclaim this inheritance for her people, Perry has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She can only count on her friends and allies, including her overachieving twin and a charming new boy in town with unwavering morals. Old rivalries, sister secrets, and botched heists cannot - will not - stop her from uncovering the mystery before the ancestors and missing women are lost forever.

Sometimes, the truth shouldn't stay buried."

For all those like me wanting more after reading Firekeeper's Daughter!

This was an outstanding follow up from Firekeeper’s Daughter. Perry’s story and struggle to understand how she wants to be a warrior for her people is believable and inspiring. I learned how woefully ignorant I was about the repatriation of indigenous remains and objects that had been excavated and disrespected in the name of the white man’s idea of anthropology. The storyline about MMIW2S was presented in a way that I think will speak to all ages- teens and older. This book was excellent, I read it in 24 hours, I could not put it down .

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley is a portal into the lives of Native American women in twentieth century. Boulley’s previous novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, establishes her as an award-winning author who can deftly transport her readers into a suspenseful mystery in the Ojibwe community on Sugar Island. Warrior Girl Unearthed is Boulley’s second novel. Boulley’s writing creates another heroine with Perry Firekeeper-Birch, cousin to Daunis from the previous book, who is consumed with the missing ancestors that her Anishinaabe tribe is fighting to bring home to the reservation. Perry must fight to advocate for her community, her family and herself as there are several Indigenous woman who are missing and an enemy stealing their ancestors’ remains.
Perry is a forthright and outspoken young woman who resists others telling her what to do. So when she discovers the human skeletons of her ancestors in the possession of a “collector,” Perry is outraged at the disrespectful conditions. She vows to steal them back and give them proper burial. Boulley’s haunting descriptions of the ancestors is poignant and distressing. “I stick with my original plan to reclaim only those baskets signed with Sugar Island family names I recognize. If I try to take anything else, I will not stop. I sing to those I am leaving behind. Niminjinawez. I am sorry…”. This conflict between tribes and institutions/collectors is a theme of Boulley’s novel. She eloquently gives the argument to Perry and her mission to rescue the ancestral remains in one private collection. I enjoyed Boulley’s vivid history of the Anishinaabe fight to reclaim ancestors and possessions that museums and institutions had laid claim to and refused to relinquish. “…Cooper says museums use that label, ‘culturally unidentifiable,’ as a catchall if they don’t have the resources to do a proper inventory. He says they also use it even after tribes provide evidence, because then, the museum can still hold on to the objects.” The law from the “US Department of the Interior is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)”. This law should protect the tribes in their efforts to reclaim their ancestors. Since 1990 the statute “requires institutions that receive federal funding to inventory their holdings of Indigenous human remains and burial objects to facilitate their return to the respective tribes.” The NAGPRA law Boulley references in Warrior Girl Unearthed is the crux of her argument for why indigenous remains should be returned to their tribes for proper burial. The eponymous “warrior girl” is the skeleton Perry discovers that the local college has claimed to be “culturally unidentifiable” in order to allow the college to keep the remains. Perry is incensed by this law and it stirs her emotions to act and save the ancestors in the heist that is the climax of the book. This law and the debate are imminently important to the themes Boulley wants to illustrate for the readers.
Perry is a heroine that readers can embrace for her moxie, bravery and her flaws. She shows her anxiety and fear for her people and her traditions. Perry is also determined to protect her family. When the disappearance of indigenous women hits close to home, Perry fights for her future and her family.

I had thought that The Firekeeper's Daughter was a perfectly contained story that needed no sequel, but I was wrong. This book is not an exact sequel, but it features some of the same characters in a story that takes place ten years after the events of The Firekeeper's Daughter. Daunis's nieces Perry and Pauline have grown into teenagers who are helping out in their community by agreeing to be interns for the tribe. Pauline is doing this by eager choice, but Perry is doing this under pressure from her Auntie Daunis after crashing her car.

I freaking loved a story centered around tribal youth interns since every Native community in the southwest US has a similar program. (This one was weirdly more organized and intense than any of these summer programs here, but the reasoning behind that makes more sense at the end of the story. It's still weird and slightly unbelievable, but it makes more sense.) This particular community has a cultural center, museum, and library, as well as a thriving tribal government including law enforcement, so the twins have plenty of opportunity to help out in many areas. Perry is the main focus of the story, and in her first placement she learns a lot about the theft of Native artifacts and how tribal communities are working to get their sacred objects and ancestors home. It lights a fire in her to have her stolen relatives brought home, especially when she learns that the museum is working with anthropologists at the local college to make this happen. Perry is angry and brash, and determined to bring her people home, so chaos ensues when she embarks on a series of adventures trying to accomplish this, the result of which is her constant movement from one intern placement to another as departments realize they cannot work with her. In the meantime she makes friends with her fellow interns, especially her Team of Misfit Toys, who agree to help her on her most chaotic and dangerous mission of all. Dovetailing with a story about the remains of ancestors being held hostage by museums and private collectors, is the story of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Perry's Native community. Similar to the ancestors who Perry is fighting to bring home, the MMIW are being dismissed and ignored when they go missing, to the distress of the community. I deeply sympathized with Perry's anger and fright of this issue. It's difficult to walk through life knowing no one will care if you go missing.

Although this was a compelling read, and I loved the characters, and the day to day depiction of tribal life, I felt some of the same frustrations about this book that I felt about The Firekeeper's Daughter. First the story is a bit of a mess. There is a LOT going on, and the ending was completely rushed. My head was spinning a little, and I still have questions about the motives of the characters at the end. Second, while I appreciate that Perry was lucky enough to be taught her language, this story really enforces the divide between tribal people who speak their language and those who don't. Perry gets better toward the end of the book, but her actions in the beginning remind me a lot of the people in my community who look down on me for not knowing the language, but who mock me when I try to learn. I wish this had either been a bigger part of the story, or not part of the story at all since it wasn't explained with nuance like the rest of the issues were. Also, again with tribal people having so much trust in government and law enforcement! This has never, ever been my experience as a tribal member. At some point the story does mention off-hand that oh, yes there's a lot of corruption in tribal government, but it doesn't make sense that Perry and Pauline seem so oblivious to it. Even Auntie Daunis, who was so good about keeping an eye on Pauline in the first part of the book seems to drift around other implications of inappropriate behavior. How do they not know that they can't really trust the people in charge to not have a ton of sinister motives about their work? That piece of the book was so stupid. Another part that bothered me was the fact that Cooper didn't advise Perry more when she made her stupid mistakes. In my community Cooper would have spoken to Perry's parents and probably her Aunt Daunis, and had them join him in a conversation about her actions, and why they were wrong. He probably would have looped in Stormy Nodin also, especially since he recommended Perry to Cooper in the first place. Maybe Anishanaabes are different, but it seemed odd that he just dumped Perry and left her devastated and still planning to do harm to her people because he didn't really explain to her why what she was doing was ultimately wrong. I guess there wouldn't have been a plot otherwise.

Still, those are true nitpicks, and on the whole I loved this book, and I loved seeing what became of Daunis and her family. I loved hearing about one fictional museum's fight to bring their people home, and I loved reading about Perry's fight for her people, however misguided. I can't believe it's been almost ten years since the grave robber Donald Miller was first investigated by the FBI. I hope there are many more Perrys out there (maybe with better mentors) to help bring our people home.

Warrior Girl Unearthed is a wonderful eye opening story that brings to light how museums wrongly hold onto the remains of Indigenous Peoples. The story follows Perry, who is determined to get her tribe's ancestral remains returned to her tribe. This is an important story for all ages. It helps us see the importance of caring for ancestral remains, and not allowing them to be treated as possessions. This is also a great story about following your heart and learning from your mistakes. I highly recommend this book.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch's laid-back summer hits a snag when she crashes her car and is forced to work at her indigenous tribe's summer internship program. Soon, Perry becomes fascinated with the federal law about the return of ancestral remains and sacred items but is caught between the glacially slow pace of diplomacy and working within the law and the desperate desire to take action into her own hands. When Native women start disappearing and her family is caught in the middle of a high-profile murder investigation, Perry plans a heist to save her ancestors and her tribe members before all is lost.

Warrior Girl Unearthed is not exactly a sequel to Firekeeper's Daughter. Set 10 years later, it can be read as a standalone, but reading Firekeeper's Daughter first will help you understand the side characters better. Like her previous book, Warrior Girl Unearthed is a fun Young Adult novel, conveying a deeper message along with its high-action plot. Although I felt like I learned a lot, the story felt a bit forced and over-the-top.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Fabulous fabulous fabulous. I actually read this, having never read Firekeeper's Daughter (the shame, I know!) and while it became clear that this story was connected to Boulley's first work, it didn't make me feel left out or like I did not know what was going on. Warrior Girl Unearthed tells the story of repatriation of indigenous remains, sacred objects, cultural items, etc. through the viewpoint of teenager Perry Firekeeper-Birch. Not only does Perry get drawn into the work being done in her tribe to bring ancestral remains and items of theirs home, but also (eventually) an engaging mystery, murder included.

What stood out the most for me with this novel, was that reading it made me want to learn so much more. Boulley does an excellent job informing the reader, but also leaving enough room for them to go and learn more about the trials and tribulations of repatriation on their own. Not only that, Perry and the rest of the cast of characters are all incredibly engaging and interesting, each in their own way. I could go on and on. The setting was so easy to visualize, the mystery elements were not overtly obvious, and there was even a cute, old dog to top it all off! I'll absolutely be recommending this book to friends and patrons and cannot wait to see how future readers receive it.

Excellent follow-up to Boulley’s widely acclaimed first book. The characters felt more like teenagers and the novel addressed important current issues in Indigenous culture. Strongly recommend for fans of thrillers and mysteries.

Angeline Boulley scores another hat trick with this book! It's adventure, thriller, and realistic fiction wrapped in one. Boulley takes us back into the world she developed in FKD. We see a few familiar faces, but get to meet all new characters and learn about their lives. This story is fast-paced and I couldn't put it down!