Firekeeper’s Daughter was one of my favorite books I read last year, so I was so excited to read this one.
It takes place 10 years after Firekeeper’s Daughter, in 2014, and the main character is Perry, Daunis’s niece. She joins a summer program and becomes involved in planning vigils for missing indigenous women and the returning of ancestral remains. Along with other members of the program, they plan a heist to take back some of the remains being withheld, and Perry finds herself in the middle of events even bigger - and darker - than she had thought.
While it kept me interested and I learned a lot, it felt a little long and got very confusing at parts. I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it like I did with her first novel.

A haunting, thought provoking second book. The story continues with Danuis's relative, Perry. All she wants to do is fish over her summer break. But, she ends up having to do an internship that leads her down the difficult struggle of reclaiming ancestors and tribal artifacts. The story explores how difficult the process can be, and how choices are not always black and white. The characters are all realistic and beautifully fleshed out. It is a must read!

I so loved Boulley's first novel and was incredibly excited to see this sequel-but-not-sequel. And Boulley didn' disappoint at all. The story centers on Perry Firekeeper-Birch and her developing interest in the missing and murdered indigenous women from her area, which also develops into recovering ancestral and sacred items that the NAGPRA laws are purported to force the return of, laws which fall terribly short of their intended outcome.

As with Firekeepers Daughter, I learned so much about the norhern indigenous peoples and how America is still failing in its promises to the tribes people. This is such a rich text and I have and will continue to recommend Boulley's novels to my students, many of whom are Pechanga and Luiseno tribal members. I can't wait to see where Boulley's next book takes me.

I loved Boulley’s captivating first person narration and writing style in Firekeeper’s Daughter, which happens to be beautifully showcased again in Warrior Girl Unearthed. Taking place about 10 years after Daunis’ story, this time we follow Perry, one of Daunis’ twin nieces who is now in high school. Through a forced internship, Perry discovers the horrors of how some museums and archives collect, steal, and keep indigenous ancestral bones and sacred artifacts – not to mention the roadblocks in the way of requesting items and remains be rightfully returned to their tribes. Perry and others in her community vow to get their ancestors and items repatriated one way or another, no matter what’s at stake.

Even better than Firekeeper's Daughter, I fell in love with the twins and learned so much. I really connected with the MC and loved the setting as well, which is an area I've spent time in.

Angeline Boulley, Anishinaabe author of The Firekeeper’s Daughter, once again strikes gold with her latest young adult novel, Warrior Girl Unearthed, set in the region of Sugar Island, Michigan. Warrior Girl Unearthed represents the happy marriage of a thriller, “what I did during my summer vacation” story, and a coming of age narrative about Pearl Mary “Perry” Firekeeper-Birch, a teen with fierce affection for her Anishinaabe cultural heritage, language, and traditions. Fans of The Firekeeper’s Daughter will recognize Perry as the second cousin of Firekeeper’s protagonist, Daunis Fontaine. Precocious, plucky, outspoken and daring as a child, a stark contrast to her more circumspect, reflective, and academic twin, Pauline, Perry has continued to be the family renegade. The novel starts in summer; both rising seniors, Perry and her twin, the straight-laced Pauline, will be doing tribal internships. While Pauline relishes the prospect of working for the Tribal Council and gaining college preparatory work experience, low-key Perry has been grudgingly roped into working, when she literally would rather be fishing and enjoying time off from school. While Perry initially dismisses her internship as a snore-fest, things rapidly change when her internship brings her into contact with several important artifacts, including the remains of a Native American girl – the warrior girl referenced in the title – which have been illicitly procured (can we say grave-robbing?) and commodified. Outraged, Perry resolves to do the right thing by her culture and seeks to reclaim the tribal treasures for her people via vigilante justice. To add to the chaos, the summer has also ushered in a series of disappearances: Native American women are being abducted. As with Firekeeper’s Daughter, Boulley creates a wonderfully immersive and engaging world–I really appreciate her commitment to using Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) and seamlessly weaving Native American practices and traditions into the storyline. Boulley also addresses serious Indigenous-relevant issues, like cultural loss and reclamation, Native American grave protection and remains repatriation, the conflict between Native tribes and white archaeologists/scholars, domestic violence against Native Women, and the disproportionate number of missing and murdered Indigenous women into her storyline. As a reader born and raised in Hawai`i, I saw a lot of parallels between the issues faced by Native Americans and Native Hawaiians. While it’s hard to top Firekeeper’s Daughter, Boulley has given readers another terrific, satisfying book: entertaining, to be sure, yet also educational and thought-provoking. Warrior Girl Unearthed stands on its own merits; no knowledge of Boulley’s previous novel is required to enjoy it, and readers, no doubt, will enjoy journeying with Warrior Girl Perry. Highly recommended! Chi miigwech to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this story and Perry, the main character. She's so three-dimensional and human, I feel like I know her and have spent time with her.

I read the author’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter and was nervous to see if her second follow up novel will be as good. Unequivocally, the answer is YES!!

This novel focuses on Perry, an angry teenager who’s life leads her to constantly choose between right and wrong. Something we can all relate to. Like the author’s previous novel, we are given exquisite and fascinating details about Native American tribes, NAGPRA, and a better understanding why missing and unsolved murdered indigenous women don’t get the justice they deserve.

Bonus: we do have Daunis reappear in this novel but as Perry’s aunt.

Simply brilliant!

3.5/5 -- This is by no means a bad book, it just didn’t capture me in the same way that Firekeeper’s Daughter did. Like many others, I was blown away by Boulley's first novel so of course I was expecting another compelling novel.
This story picks up 10 years later and is centered around Perry Firekeeper-Birch, Daunis' cousin/niece. I wouldn't consider it a sequel but there are definitely overlapping characters from the first book. Perry's story is her own, just like Danuis's, and it is just as important. She is a tough, puts up with no BS, kind of girl. I admire that she is brave and is so committed to protecting her culture and history but I did struggle connecting to her. She was almost too jaded and mature for her age.
Overall this is a very impactful book that taught me a lot about the ways in which indigenous people are still wrongly treated and how important it is for Perry to right these wrongs. I learned about a few topics I knew little about, such as NAGPRA and MMIW, but a lot of this knowledge felt more like an information dump rather than a story. I felt it way too easy to not pick this book up again in between readings. I just didn't feel the same fire I felt while reading FKD.

Loved all the culture in this. Beautifully written. Plus murder, bone heists and mystery?! Yes, please!! A must read!

Firekeeper's Daughter by this author was phenomenal, but I have to say this one was even better. This story brought to light Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, cultural appropriation, and how indigenous people are treated.

Boulley has this way of pulling the reader into the story and the wheels in the story keep turning, not really stopping until the very end of the book.

Sophmore release that lives up to the debut. A bit more YA then her first, bit Boulley had me gripped from page one. Loved the mystery & history aspect. Enjoyed Perry learning about her culture, as well as her passion to defend it. Highly recommend.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

The Firekeeper's Daughter was one of my top reads from 2021 and I was thrilled to see Boulley had written a second book. Warrior Girl Unearthed takes place back on Sugar Island where we revisit some of the same characters as The Fire Keeper's Daughter. There is another mystery that needs to be solved and Perry Firekeeper-Birch is the strong willed teenager leading the way. She and her peers are each given internships for the summer at different locations. Perry's internships keep changing, however they all end up being connected and coming together at the end. Native women keep going missing on the island while at the same time there is a fight to bring important ancestral treasures back home where they belong on Sugar Island. By the end of the summer Perry is determined to solve the mystery of the missing girls and also help to bring some treasures back home.

This story didn't quite suck me in like Firekeeper's Daughter did, however I still loved the perfect blend of history and mystery. Boulley's writing helps to teach about a past that is often and quickly forgotten, but one that should be taught far and wide. I am looking forward to her future books and learning more about the Native people she deeply cares about.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Angeline Boulley's debut novel was an excellent read, and this novel follows suit.

It is always apparent that Boulley loves her community and will always write on their behalf.

Aside from the amazing representation of her community, Boulley writes lyrically and creates an amazing story

A must read for all.

You can't go wrong with an Angeline Boulley novel! I loved her debut, and this one delivers a fast-paced reading experience that was hard to put down.

While this book started slow, it picked up about halfway in and I loved the last half of it. I enjoyed the mystery wrapped around the missing girls mixed with cultural aspects that I found very interesting. Definitely recommend if you liked Firekeeper’s Daughter.

loved seeing Perry connect more with her roots and her determination to bring the remains home. I never knew you could buy and sell indigenous artifacts on eBay; that’s crazy. I liked that the book showed a teen mom with big goals and the drive to reach them. This was a very interesting read!

This was an enjoyable read that had me guessing the whole way through. I liked the characters and the way in which they all had their own struggles (including the side characters!) I also liked the look into Ojibwe culture. I do wish it hadn't tried to do quite so many things. Both NAGPRA and MMIW are very important issues but having a focus on both of them made the book feel a bit crammed.

I don't think it's as strong a book as Firekeeper's Daughter. There also were a few points where I wish I remembered that book better, as I could tell it was a reference but couldn't tell what it was a reference to, I don't know if people who haven't read it would feel the same way.

Angeline Boulley is quickly becoming an auto-read author for me. While I ultimately preferred Firekeeper's Daughter, Warrior Girl Unearthed was a wonderful and compulsive read. Perry's journey with repatriation was honestly moving even when I wanted to cover my face knowing she was headed into a trap. I love the ties to the previous novel and being able to see how Daunis is doing. I don't know if I didn't read it carefully enough but my only real critique is that I found the ending/reveal confusing (i.e. how did the bribe work out when the kids decided to do the heist on their own? what happened with Stormy?) but I will gladly read more from Boulley. I would LOVE a book about Granny June and Minnie from when they were younger!!

Tried and failed to get into this one a few times, it’s a real bummer because I loved her first book.