Boulley takes readers into the world of Daunis Fountaine. Daunis staddles her world as a member of her tribe, but not enrolled. Anishabee, but also white. A fantastic hockey player, but not male. When the meth trade that is seeping through her reservation comes way too close to her personally and the town and the people she loves, she makes a choice.
The choice to help the FBI but to remain true to her cultural teachings leaves her again straddling two different worlds.
This book tackles so much, love, drugs, sex, violence, family connections, living life in balance, living a cultural life in a modern world. I cannot wait to share this book with others!

Thanks to NetGalley for an e-arc for review. I absolutely loved this book. The plot reminded me a lot of Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden. A lot of similar topics are covered like drug and addiction problems on reservations, assault and the inefficiency of federal police services to reservations. Although this book is decidedly YA it doesn't shy away from dark and difficult themes. The main character is beautifully written and it was incredibly enjoyable to join her on a kind of coming of age journey as she discovered herself and her place in her community and the larger adult world. All this without even getting into the mystery/thriller aspect which had a good amount of twists and surprises. An all around excellent book!

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

This book is amazing! The book follows Daunis who doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere in her community. Her dad was a member of the Ojibwe tribe but her mother is from the local community. She is supposed to go off to college in the fall, but tragedy strikes and her plans change. She has to find out what is happening to her community. Teen readers will really enjoy it.

This is definitely a powerful debut and I think it's going to mean a whole lot to Indigenous reviewers. While the pacing was off in areas, it didn't necessarily distract for the goodness of the story.

This is a bit different from other coming of age/YA books I've read as it focused on Indigenous people in Canada. It was darker than expected, and it was a bit confusing to follow, at times. Overall, the writing was solid. The pace and various twists kept me engaged.

This book surprised me in the best possible way! I’m not a huge fan of YA writing, but the premise sounded mature and intriguing so I gave this a shot. Honestly, I’m not sure why this is labeled as YA, other than the fact that the protagonist is 19, when it should be competing as one of the top thrillers of 2021.

Daunis is a stunning protagonist—believable, smart, self-reliant, and blessedly flawed—and the trials the faces are difficult to read but important to acknowledge. There should definitely be a trigger warning for sexual violence and drug-related violence. This is not what anyone would call a happy book, but to see Daunis overcome again and again makes the journey worthwhile.

I also really enjoyed learning about Daunis’s Native American culture and how her two communities function together. The fact that it’s Indigenous People’s Month here in the US is just one more reason to pre-order and support this compelling debut author!

Overall, I would probably not recommend this all to my students, at least not without warning them of the content. I will, however, be recommending this to all of my adult friends. It will definitely be topping some best-seller lists, and for all the right reasons.

Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has always struggled to find balance. Born from scandal she treads lightly between her biracial culture; attempting to appease both sides of her family. As an unenrolled tribal member of the Ojibwe reservation she honors the ways of her tribe and dreams of attending university to study medicine. When she meets Jamie, the handsome new recruit on her Brother Levi’s hockey team, she must choose between her heart and her head. After witnessing a murder, Daunis finds herself in the middle of a criminal investigation that promises to tear her community apart. Daunis must make a choice as deceptions and deaths threaten to tear her world apart.

Firekeeper's Daughter is a fantastic YA debut novel by author Angeline Boulley. The gorgeous cover art and plot synopsis drew me in and I really enjoyed having a chance to read this novel. I will say that I struggled a bit in the beginning as there is a lot of fascinating cultural information that I wanted to try to absorb and understand. After Daunis witnesses the murder, the pace really picks up and it turns into a thrill ride I couldn't put down. There was some subject material that may be triggering for some readers including: Interpersonal violence, rape, and drug addiction. I really enjoyed Daunis's character-a strong, intelligent, and compassionate protagonist who would do anything to protect her family and the community she loves. This beautifully written novel is a must read for 2021!

Social Justice Topics:
▪️Racial Discrimination
▪️Drug Use

Grade Level: 9th and up

This book encapsulates everything I love about YA: mystery, touch of romance, and social justice. Although it took a while to find out the mystery impact of the novel once it hit... holy moly was it there. Whenever I had to put the book down to live my normal life I couldn’t stop thinking about what had previously happened, and guessing what would happen next. I couldn’t even escape the book when I slept! This hasn’t happened to me since I read The Hunger Games when I was in middle school. Romance is often too much the main aspect of YA books, but in Boulley’s novel she made it part of Daunes’s story (the main character), but she was her own character. Her life and who she was as a woman was not defined by her relationships and she made that clear. Which I absolutely loved! For social justice, Boulley was masterful with showing the discrimination against Native Americans by outside perspectives while also showing us the beauty of Native culture.

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley’s debut novel is one of my favorite books of the year hands down—even though it doesn’t come out until March 2021. I already preordered this book, and I already can’t wait to read it again. I am so grateful for @netgallery for letting me read this book 4 months early.

This book is simultaneously easy and difficult to read. Fast-moving plot, vivid characters, and well-conveyed information about the Anishinaabe of St. Saint Marie wrap together in a good young adult novel. But the themes of the drug wars and betrayals and loss are dark and heavy—and realistic. No easy answers are given. Well worth the read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received a copy of this book from Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) and Netgalley.

This book is so fantastically powerful! It deals with an indigenous teenage girl named Daunis who is drawn into the world of mayhem.

Given the subject matter this one could've been obnoxiously preachy but manages to stay grounded.

The tension is skillfully woven and the mystery is a doozy

This story from this debut author grabbed me from the start and kept me totally immersed. A strong, self-described nerdy young female struggling with the normal problems of belonging, with the added element of being half Native American. A rich combination of a young person’s struggle with identity while adding in the unique challenges of being associated with a tribe and the problems of meth use and addiction. Add in a pulse-pounding mystery on top of it, and you have a true page-turner. One note to readers: given the graphic description of meth use and the drug trade, I would advise parents that this book is for young adults on the older end of the YA age group, not for younger YA readers.

This is a very powerful story that sheds light on the many issues facing indigenous peoples, including racism and discrimination, loss of their culture and history, the destruction of lives due to rampant drug use and addiction, and the disproportionate numbers of Native American women that suffer from abuse, assault, rape, murder, or just disappear and that lack of justice crimes against indigenous women receive.

I was really drawn into the story, appreciated getting to see some of the culture, tradition, and language of the Ojibwa people, and appalled by the abuse and injustice they suffer, saddened by the loss of culture and the devastation caused by addiction. I really liked how strong and insightful the main character was, though I did find her voice to be unrealistically mature for an 18-year old girl, which was a slight distraction at times. However, despite that I highly recommend this own-voices book, which is the first I've read that showed tribal life from the side of the women.

Firekeeper's Daughter is the first of its kind YA book centering the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada, and their rapport with law enforcement and drug use. I found this book to be very dark and somewhat hard to follow. I'm not well positioned to comment on the quality of its representation but I do love seeing #ownvoices titles.

Firekeeper's Daughter isn't a book to rush through; it contains an entire culture within its pages. The storytelling within the story releases the secrets and passions of eighteen-year-old Daunis and her tribe.
This is advertised as a YA book, but will easily cross over to Adult--not because of sexual innuendo (and, there are some mild references) but because of the literary merit and the excellent writing. Sometimes the style comes across as a little dry, but that may be because of the serious subjects presented: meth addiction, murder, rape. Actually, Boulley addresses many hot topics concerning tribal communities, including monthly payouts from gaming revenue, the lack of justice for Native American women who are assaulted on tribal land, and tribal ancestry prejudice. I appreciate the reverence and attention that was maintained while writing about elders, traditions, and holistic medicine. The old ways and the current lifestyles are blended very well.
Living in Oklahoma, if the story's characters' focus was on football instead of hockey, this tale could take place in my hometown.

Absolutely incredible debut thriller/mystery novel. It's hard to express how well done this book is, particularly how well it masterfully deals with incredibly difficult content and themes. Boulley deserves all the accolades and awards possible for this book. TW: murder, drug use, addiction, rape, & suicide.

Writing: 4/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 4/5

I loved this book!

Daunis Fontaine is 18 years old, 6 feet tall, an ice hockey ace, and a science whiz. While she grows up in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan with her white mother and grandparents she is also deeply ingrained in the local Ojibwa community of her father. What starts off looking like an upbeat teen romance takes a sharp left turn and becomes mystery, intrigue, and thriller (romance takes a back seat — pun intended). The plot keeps swerving — surprise after surprise after surprise — with Daunis giving us an intelligent and fiercely community oriented view of the ride. I couldn’t put it down. I’ll give you a hint — Daunis ends up being a Confidential Informer (she calls it being a Secret Squirrel) for law enforcement.

One of the things I loved about this book is the way the many characters in the Ojibwa community are portrayed. While references to past injustices are present and individual incidents of prejudice occur (Daunis and her friend like to play Bigotry Bingo — see quote below), they are not front and center. This is a novel of today — various members of the community are successful (by personal definitions of the word) while others are not; some are greedy and conniving while others are supportive and helpful; some have drug and alcohol problems while others have steered clear. In other words, no group stereotypes and no group victimhood. An array of well-drawn individual characters.

Daunis is a great character — I love her scientific approach to life, her fearless and unconcerned approach to typically male endeavors, and her deep involvement with the tribal culture and people. Great themes, great unfolding of the many mysteries past and present, and an absorbing view into a culture unlike my own. Ojibwa is a matriarchal society, and the story includes many strong women characters of all ages. I enjoyed the embedded language and cultural practice tutorials.

A couple of quotes:
“When Lily and I were on Tribal Youth Council, we all played a game called Bigotry Bingo. When we heard a comment that fed into stereotypes, we’d call it out. Dream catchers were the free space. Too easy. There are so many others though. ‘You don’t look Native.’ ‘Must be nice to get free college.’ ‘Can you give me an Indian name for my dog?’ ”

“My mother’s superpower is turning my ordinary worries into monsters so huge and pervasive that her distress and heartache become almost debilitating.”

“When you love someone, but don’t like parts of them, it complicates your memories of them when they’re gone.”

Wow! This is my first 2021 big hand sell to family & friends. If you avoid books with the YA tagline please don't overlook this one - it truly is a book for both adult and YA readers. I had a wonderful time from the start however my colleagues mentioned it was about 50 pages in that it hooked them and they were reluctant to put down. This book was so layered and nuanced that I didn't know who was at fault and the sublimal stories within this story still haunt me even 6 weeks after finishing this book. If you have not heard her interview on Entertainment Weekly, please look for it and give a listen.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

How do you describe a book that has the ability to simultaneously fill your heart with such joy, but also bring you such sadness? Firekeeper’s Daughter did just that for me.

When I saw the cover of this arc in an email from NetGalley, I immediately fell in love. It was stunning. What I didn’t expect was how stunning the words inside would be. I know very little about the Indigenous/Indian culture. My paternal grandmother was born on a Cherokee reservation, but I grew up in the suburbs, never learning much about it. From learning so much throughout this book, it seems I truly missed out. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a book with Indian’s as the focus, but this was fantastic. Even if you have no knowledge of the language of the tribe, Angeline does such a fantastic job of giving explanation of what certain phrases and words mean. She also does a fantastic job of teaching you about the culture of the tribe and how the day to day life/inner workings work. It’s incredible.

As for the content, Daunis is such a strong, yet stunningly broken character. The arc her character follows is full of growth, understanding and learning. She’s flawed, yet perfect as she is. I would’ve never been able to do what she did. Seeing her familial dynamic as well as her friendships was interesting. Her character was laid out so well, and truly flourished. Besides Daunis, I loved Jamie as a character. His ability to read Daunis was one of my favorite parts. But the best part? Daunis’s ability to stand on her own.

If you’re looking for a true crime style book in the YA category, look no further. This book will fill your heart with joy, rip it out, and put it back together again.

Coming of age & multicultural. Daunis is biracial and has never truly fit in with either of her communities. So when a teammate of her brother shows interest in her, she's flattered. Then her best friend is murdered, and Daunis' world is shattered. When she "accidentally" becomes an informant, she hopes to uncover the scum within her community-- it won't bring back her best friend but she'll save others.