I was so excited about this book when I first heard about it in a webinar last month. Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for the ARC!
This book is fantastic. Incredible. I devoured it in about a day and a half. I'm still thinking about the characters. You need to read it and you need it in your collection. Perfectly fine for adult readers. Go get it come March.

An explosive debut! A powerful, important page-turner that I highly recommend. While technically YA, this would appeal to readers of all ages.

I loved this book. It has an interesting and important story and great characters. I loved learning more about the culture and history and Daunis is fantastic.

I knew little about #FirekeepersDaughter going into it other than the beautiful cover and the description, and I was not disappointed. This was one of the most interesting, layered books I have read this year. It will be easily accessible and enjoyable to a wide range of ages and types of readers. This review will be limited due to it being an early release.

In this story we follow the life of Daunis, a "biracial, unenrolled tribal member," both on and off the Ojibwe reservation. It begins by following her daily life as a young woman living between being unrolled but active in her Ojibwe community and traditions, and her life with her family and friends. Her dream of playing ice hockey and going away to college have been put on hold due to a series of personal and family difficulties. However, she begins a relationship with Jamie, a new hockey player on her brother's team. After witnessing a violent act, she is thrust into uncovering what is going on not just in the Ojibwe community, but in a broader Indigenous communities as well. The story picks up from here into a fast-paced murder mystery.

This novel is so layered. As a white woman, I cannot speak to the author's Anishinaabe traditions, but I appreciated learning more about language, customs, community, politics, and more. They are central to Daunis' life and to the story. The author reminds us about the current real life situations with Indigenous woman and girls being harmed and going missing. The book is also a coming-of-age novel with a smart and engaging main character and a well described, rich list of secondary characters. It incorporates to many topics from medicine to politics to gender roles--even to ice hockey.

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. I look forward to more work in the future from Angeline Boulley and look forward to purchasing this book for our library.

Firekeeper's daughter is a YA fiction mystery romance. The main character is a Native female teen making decisions on where to go to college after high school. She finds herself part of an FBI investigation on her reservation trying to solve a mystery of a meth drug ring. She discovers lots of family secrets and a love with someone part of the case. This mystery romance has a satisfying ending. Themes of love, family, friendship, and culture are throughout the novel. Teens of all ages will enjoy this mystery romance that takes place in Northern Michigan and Sugar Island.

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is one of the most powerful and important books I’ve ever read. It made my heart feel so full and broken at the same time. As a Lingít reader, I appreciated how unapologetically Anishinaabe this novel was in it’s use of language, traditions, and culture that created such a rich world. The community was so real and visceral, I felt like I knew the characters, and I absolutely loved all of it. This book shines a valuable light on Anishinaabe people and issues, which many other Indigenous communities across Turtle Island will see themselves reflected in. Boulley has delivered a masterpiece of Indigenous literature. It’s one I’ll be revisiting many times, and pushing on everyone I know.

I would classify this as a young adult crime fiction, so I highly recommend going in as blind as you can. It added to my reading experience and had me gushing, screaming, and wishing I could talk to someone while I read it. And if you are usually turned off by a book being young adult, please don’t let that turn you away from this book. I highly recommend this to teen and adult readers.

CW: Meth addiction, murder, grief, mourning, kidnapping, mention of drug overdose

I genuinely and 100% believe that Angeline Boulley has written the most powerful and stunning book of the year; with unmatched wit interwoven with generational trauma and the pain of firsthand experiences, Firekeeper’s Daughter is the type of novel that will stay with you long after it’s returned to it’s place on the shelf.
This story focuses on the raw pain that Native communities face when it comes to drugs, addiction, and the corruption that allows these sicknesses to flourish on Reservations and poorly-funded Indigenous living spaces. It details the relationship between Federal Law Enforcement, Tribal Cops, and the citizens of this town. Daunis Fontaine is the type of Native lead that all Indigenous Girls need to read about. Strong and courageous, even when her fear is choking her with every second that passes; Daunis is a fighter and a woman that inspires me. With everything she faces, she never once backs down from her challenges. This novel had it’s hooks in me from the first line and kept me burning through the pages and to the twist I never even saw coming. If you get the chance to pick this book up when it debuts in early 2021, do not pass up your chance. You’ll regret it.

Wow! Just wow! I went into this book unsure of what to expect. The cover I felt was a little misleading … I thought it was a fantasy book. But I guess that is what you get for judging a book by its cover. Still… I loved the cover and this novel exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. Wonderful! I will honestly say it is probably one my favorite YA reads this year. I couldn’t put it down!

I don’t want to discuss too much of the summary, so read the published summary above. I think they did a great job summarizing it… concealing some twists, that shocked me a little.

The characters in Fire Keeper’s Daughter were fantastic! Each one was unique and well written. Daunis was a strong female lead; she is real. The other characters feed in to the storyline well. Although there are many characters, each has their part in the storyline. One of the things I love is the tribal stories, history, and traditions. I think this is what makes the story. It takes you to a different place and you learn about a new culture. The mystery and twists are good, but the setting really makes it all work. Interweaving the Ojibew stories and traditions makes this novel stand out.

The only thing I struggled with was language. I loved the use of Ojibew tribal language, but sometimes I couldn’t remember what some words or phrases meant. But it didn’t take it away from the story and I will still give it five stars because the story and characters are so well done!

Congratulations Angeline Boulley on your excellent, debut novel! Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt and Company for an ARC. I look forward to adding this book to our library shelf and for other books by Boulley!