"Some boats are for the river and some are for the ocean."

This book was just amazing, pure and simple. It follows Daunis, an Ojibwe teenager, as she works with the FBI to investigate a lethal new drug, all the while managing her own grief and emotions. The book is YA, but on the upper edges of the genre, and reads as a standalone mystery novel.

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "beautiful." This book is just phenomenal. I typically don't read contemporary fiction (I'm admittedly a fantasy reader), but I devoured this book in one sitting.

The commentary on Native American tribal dynamics is poignant, uncomfortable, and NEEDED. The descriptions by Boulley are insightful, detailed, and beautifully written. The difficulties faced by tribal members, including drugs, sexual assault, and general bigotry is so relevant and I'm so glad it wasn't glossed over or romanticized. This story stuck with me and hurt in the best ways.

The characters are beautiful and flawed and so well developed. Daunis is a robust character, with understandable and relatable emotions and motivations. She is such a great person. A great daughter, sister, and friend.

I highly, highly recommend this read to everyone.

There is non-graphic sexual assault, drug use, and drug related death in this story, so if this is upsetting to you, please be prepared going in to this story.

This review will be posted on my blog, thebarnaclebookshelf.com, and on my Instagram, @the.barnacle.bookshelf, on March 1st.

This book has stuck with me long after putting it down. I learned so much about Native American culture and customs as well as the difficulties someone like Daunis can be caught between. This mixed in a beautiful blend of mystery and romance and drama. It gripped me and held on and by the end I was shook. I'm still thinking that ending and how everyone is doing since then. The twists just kept coming coming and as the reader I felt them just as enotionslly impactful as the characters did. I hope to read more from this author and learn more through her stories too.

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

This book is amazing. It's classified as a YA thriller, but it's much deeper than that. I recommend it even if you don't typically read much YA.

Daunis is biracial, feeling like an outsider both in her mother's wealthy white family and as an unenrolled woman in the Ojibwe tribe. She is incredibly intelligent, excelling at science, thinking in terms of the scientific method, and correcting the misuse of Occam's Razor. And she pairs that with her practice of Ojibwe traditional medicine and culture. Danius is also a remarkably good athlete who played hockey on the men's varsity team in high school until she graduated just before the start of the book.

The book packs a lot in including discussions of drug abuse, per capita payments from casinos, colorism, and law enforcement on and off tribal lands. Most notably, it highlights missing and murdered indigenous women. It addresses each of these in a way that is incredibly powerful, as we see it all through Danius's eyes.

I found the twists this book took riveting. I could not put it down and found myself skipping sleep to finish. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to read and learn from Danius's story.

TW: rape, drug abuse, gun violence, suicide

4.5 stars.

This isn't the kind of book you can read in one day and eventually forget about. It's the kind of book that will take days, maybe weeks, to get through, and it will be remembered for a long time. I hope it gets all the hype once it's released. Especially since there are so few books about contemporary Native American girls.
Plus, it's set in 2004, so there's some early-2000s nostalgia there too.

It's not your average YA thriller, either. Recently, I've gotten tired of all the stories about rich private-school kids killing each other over petty drama, but this isn't anything like that. It's a story about the devastating effects of drug addiction, grief, and family secrets.
In the beginning, we see that Daunis has decided not to go far away for her first year of college so she can help her mom care for her grandmother, who has recently had a stroke and is now in an assisted-living facility. She's also watching her brother prepare for his senior-year hockey season, even though an injury has prevented her from playing after high school. She doesn't think that this year is going to be particularly eventful.
Until she witnesses her best friend get killed by her meth-addicted boyfriend. Now, with the help of undercover officer Jamie Johnson, she becomes involved in an FBI investigation about the origin and distribution of this type of drug. In order to not blow his cover, she agrees to pose as his girlfriend, which results in her spending a lot more time around the boys' hockey team, where she learns things about them that could possibly help the investigation. But Lily's not going to be the town's only loss this year, and with every new death, finding out who is distributing the meth becomes more and more urgent.

The story is really long for YA-- almost 500 pages. But every one of these pages is necessary. Some people criticize stories for having too much going on at once, but that was never a problem here. We have our main mystery plot line, but there's also Daunis's family background and how that has played a role in her life (her mom getting pregnant with her at 16, her dad being married to someone else by the time she was born, her mom's white relatives not approving of Natives, etc.) I normally roll my eyes at stories with dead parents, but I didn't really see any way to do this story with her dad still alive. Especially since she wasn't close with him and it happened 11 years ago and never gets in the way of the part where she loses her best friend or her uncle several months earlier.

And even with all the different conflicts (which include the meth investigation, sexual assault, and the deaths of four young people) there's still a happy ending. Or at least, a happy ending for Daunis. I guess I'm not surprised that the perpetrators didn't exactly get fairly punished, or that it took so long. But there is hope for Daunis and her future.

I'm sure I forgot to mention some things, but it was really hard to write this review without spoilers. In conclusion,

This was a great fantasy read for teens and adults alike. I would absolutely recommend it to people and will add it to our library YA section.

Honestly, this book is a powerhouse. It does take a while to really get into (I started getting hooked around 21% into the book) and you will need to take some time to take in all the information about the tribes, the terms that the author gives you in the beginning (it's a bit of an info dump, but as info dumps go it's actually well done) before you can sit comfortably and read the story.

It's classified as a thriller but is so much more than that, and I feel its biggest strength really is the protagonist, Daunis Fontaine. She is such a nuanced, rich character, one that you will grow to love and (at the end), admire for her incredible strength and graciousness of spirit. This book is definitely one that you need to read slowly, but is worth your time and effort. Highly recommend!

I devoured this book. Daunis Fontaine is a biracial unenrolled tribal member and she feels like she only partially fits into her white and indigenous communities. When her world is rocked by witnessing a horrific murder, she is thrust into a criminal investigation that makes her begin to question everything. As she begins to put the puzzle pieces together, she has to make some decisions that could affect her and her community forever.


Daunis is a nuanced character and as you dive into her story you get to see her layers unfold. Because Daunis is grappling with establishing her worldview, you too get to expand yours by learning more about the Ojibwe culture. This book has themes of community, respect, friendship, family, romance, coming of age, and justice. It will take you on a journey you won't want to leave.


If you like Veronica Mars or the CW Nancy Drew show, pick up this title.

Absolutely loved this book.

I felt so many emotions with in the first 30% of the book; I laughed, cried, got pissed, and missed relatives. Which felt like precursor as continued to read the book. I slowly got back in to joy and then dipped back into sorrow as we follow Daunis as she tries to solve this mystery of how meth is being distributed into her community as deaths are mounting up.

Daunis Fontaine was a strong independent young woman who understood her strengths and weaknesses and had the support of her family and community.

This book touched on a lot of important topics in the native community and I thought they were very well handled. There were even discussions on topics I wasn't anticipating and got really excited about as they reflect similar experiences in my life as a native person in California.

I loved hearing about Daunis's family as well as her people's history, particularly the language, if you're able to I highly suggest the audiobook as it helped me understand how certain words were pronounced.

This book made me miss our ceremonies that we have yet to have for a year due to the pandemic, but it gave me that taste of food, comradery and over all "home" feeling and sense to get me eager for when we are able to have them again.

I can't wait for my pre-order of this book to arrive!

To say I loved this book would be an understatement! It is by far one of the most empowering books I've read. The main character, Daunis, has graduated from high school and made the decision to attend college locally instead of moving to attend medical school. Daunis is a complex character who learned, from a young age, to navigate the culture of her caucasian mother and her family, the Fontaines, while learning and living the customs and cultures of her father's Ojibwa family, the Firekeepers.

As tragedy strikes, through a series of events, Daunis decides to help her community by going undercover as an informant for the FBI. The mysterious pieces of the story are woven in with the culture and community so authentically and realistically, I had to remind myself this was a fiction novel. Although heavy topics such as drug use, rape, racism, sexism, and violence are all interwoven into the main plot, the foundation of healing, strength, wisdom, and love are strong currents supporting a very empowering and healing story full of respect, understanding, and celebration of Ojibwa life.

Thanks to NetGalley, Angeline Boulley, and Macmillan Publishing Group for an advanced eBook in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, first of all, this cover. Absolutely stunning. I’ll be purchasing a physical copy of this book because I need this on my bookshelf.

And, wow, this story was just amazing. I ended up listening to the audio version but will likely reread a physical copy in the coming months because the story was just that good. This coming of age debut novel was so heartbreaking but also so beautiful and informative. This is one you won’t want to miss.

CW: Addiction, drug abuse, murder, death of a loved one

Thank you @netgalley and Henry Holt for the egalley.

This story follows Daunis, an Ojibwe teen. Read it. Okay that’s all I want to tell you about this book. 😆 Jk. Kind of. Im a person who loves to know the least possible about plot and I found that rewarded in this book. Though there are some content warnings I’ll place at the bottom if anyone wants to know before reading the book.

As far as reading experience, I found it compelling, smart, lots of plot that keeps it moving along with a sense of suspense. It includes so much about Ojibwe culture and traditions. It follows Daunis, an 18 year old biracial teen, as she navigates her identity and events that happen in her community. I don’t want to give more set up than that, but if you need more plot, feel free to look up the synopsis.
I throughly enjoyed this book!
Trigger warnings below.
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Cw: drug use, rape (off the page), murder, suicide, grief

Firekeeper's Daughter is amazing! It's a YA thriller about a girl, Daunis, who is part Ojibwe and part white. Her life isn't easy, but it gets harder after she finds out her boyfriend Jamie isn't at all the he pretends to be and she witnesses a murder.

And if that wasn't enough, then the FBI is involved, and Daunis finds herself working undercover, and getting more and more involved inside the Ojibwe reservation and really connecting to her Native American roots while trying to solve a case that seems more and more like it's about punishing the victims and nothing more.

Rich in atmosphere, sharp, and insightful, Firekeeper's Daughter is a powerful YA thriller that's perfect for fans of contemporary YA and/or Veronica Mars, And it definitely has crossover appeal to adult readers as well, like fans of Louise Erdich.

Firekeeper's Daughter is a great thriller and offers an honest and nuanced look at the many challenges Native Americans face today. Very highly recommended and an absolute must for every library YA collection.

Brilliant and heartbreaking story. The prose is beautiful and the narrator did so well. An important book to add to your shelf.

Wow. From the minute I saw the cover and read the description, I had a feeling that Firekeeper's Daughter was going to captivate me, and it met the mark. I finished the book feeling sad that I could no longer keep reading the book. Boulley's writing is that good - you just want to keep reading it and reading it.

The book is about Daunis, daughter of an Ojibwe man and a white woman. Her birth began in scandal - she and her brother were born only a few months apart to different women. Her brother's mother kept the Firekeeper name. Now, Daunis' father is dead, her Uncle David recently died and her grandmother on her mother's side has had a debilitating stroke. She is attempting to get used to the "New Normal."

Enter Jamie Johnson, new kid on the Junior A hockey team that her brother Levi captains. She becomes Jamie's ambassador, introducing him to the town. Yet, she can tell Jamie isn't telling her the full truth. Then, when she witnesses a shocking murder, she becomes embroiled in an investigation, rooting out the disease that is plaguing her community.

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this novel. It made me tear up, it made me smile, it made me feel so many feelings. Boulley has written a stunning masterpiece, and I vow to read every single book she writes in the future. She has paid homage to her beautiful culture in the best of ways and proved why we need #ownvoices novels.
This is a book that reminds me why I read. So make sure you pick it up as soon as it comes out. Thanks to NetGalley, Angeline Boulley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this as an eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a fantastic and enthralling book sprinkled with crime, social issues, and romance. Boulley touches on the treatment and handling of missing and murdered indigenous women, forcing the reader to directly confront the problematic handling of these cases, the distrust of law enforcement agencies, and the impact on the community, family, and friend.

When her best friend is murdered, Daunis Fontaine is thrust into a situation she never asked for. Balancing love, challenges with her identity and grief, Daunis never loses focus on her overall goal: the wellbeing of her community. Avenging her uncle's death, exposing deep corruption, and solving various murders, Daunis is an imperfect heroine who demonstrates that you don't need to be extraordinary to effect change.

This book will haunt you long after you finish it.

Daunis was raised between two worlds - that of her wealthy white grandparents who have buildings named after them and her Native relatives on her father’s side. She’s learned to navigate both worlds, honoring her Native traditions and helping her mother care for her sick grandmother. She even starts to fall for her brother’s mysterious hockey teammate, Jamie, who came out of nowhere. But when someone she cares about deeply is murdered, she questions everything and everyone she thought she knew. Someone is trafficking meth, and it threatens to tear apart the community she loves.

This book deals with prejudice in a powerful way. As someone who’s got a foot in both worlds, Daunis is sheltered from some of it, until violent acts of betrayal drive home what it truly means to be a tribal member.

I also loved Daunis! She’s a confident, fearless girl who played hockey on a boy’s team. She’s a vulnerable grieving friend. And she’s super smart and not afraid to carve out her own path.

This thriller will keep you turning pages to find out who’s behind the influx of meth and what will happen to the main characters as the threat closes in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read Firekeeper's Daughter about a Native teen. Overall, I enjoyed the story. Daunis Fontaine is a Native teen who never really fit in anywhere. Especially not with the nearby Ojibwe reservation, because her father was Native, but her mother is White. She's hoping for a fresh start in college, but her plans change when tragedy strikes. She decides to stay close to home. and falls for the new hockey player, Jamie, on her brother's team. But, something seems a bit off about the new kid. When there are murders on the reservation, Daunis is pulled into a FBI investigation. There is mystery, danger, intrigue, and more than a little romance.

I was particularly drawn in by the relationship between Daunis and Jamie. They both had some healing and growing to do. The pacing did get a little bogged down with all the storylines, but it did not keep me from finishing! I will definitely be recommending this in my library!

A fantastic debut.

If you only talk about Firekeeper's Daughter as a YA thriller, you’re missing half the book. That’s just the plot. Yes, an 18-year old biracial Anishinaabe woman gets pulled into an FBI investigation into the drug trade in her community and falls for the new guy on her brother’s hockey team. She’s a solid hockey player in her own right and a science nerd.

But within that story, Angeline Boulley's debut paints a vivid picture of what it is to be a biracial Native American woman. With Daunis, we get a clear sense of how her Anishinaabe culture, traditions, and community ground her daily life; how she balances and code switches between her white and Nish families; and how she's torn between heading to college, but knowing she has a responsibility to her community. As a biracial person, it’s incredibly relatable.

On the one hand, it’s a love letter to Anishinaabe traditions, but Boulley also lays bare the long-term impacts of colonization; racism and bigotry; politics within indigenous communities; the way the federal government’s actions have contributed to corruption and the meth epidemic, and relegated indigenous communities, especially their women, to second, even third-class citizen status.

FIrekeeper's Daughter is powerful and candid with rich characters and a compelling case to unravel. I can't wait to see it brought to the small screen.

It’s YA, but it’s definitely for older teens. CW: Sexual assault, gun violence, murder, grief, drug trafficking

4.5 stars!!! (rounded up) Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #Macmillan for this advance copy.

Wow! This book (and the outstanding cover)! I absolutely loved this book! The characters are excellent; Daunis is an amazing depiction of a strong, smart, female teen but still realistic in that she's struggling to navigate her way between the white world and her Native world - it's a case of not fully fitting in either. I found this aspect handled really well, a light but effective touch, underlying everything but not beating me over the head with it.

The mystery is a strong component as well - a few clues dropped along the way for the reader, but the resolution has a surprise or two. Drugs and the death of her best friend, a new guy in town, FBI investigation, secrets (lots of secrets) - all make for good reading. I wasn't bored at any point during the story!

My small quibble is keeping the characters straight - her brother's friends, the hockey guys kind of ran together for me and the Elders kind of blurred together.....I either needed a more detailed introduction when they first appeared or some strong personality trait to hang my memory on. I gradually got it; it's not a huge problem.

The BEST part of the book is the immersion in her Native tribal life. I absolutely loved learning about the traditions, beliefs, political hierarchy and connection to nature, etc. that was shown throughout the story. Again, it was woven in so skillfully that it wasn't pasted on or added for effect, but rather was an integral part of who Daunis is. Loved that.
Highly recommended!
Review on my blog by 2/21

Firekeeper's Daughter follows 18-year-old Daunis as she navigates grief, family tragedy, fitting in with her Native community, and preparation for her freshman year of college. Her quest for family acceptance and the acceptance of her community is heartfelt and relatable, and her relationships with other characters are intriguing.

Boulley has created a narrative that sucks the reader in. While it is a bit slow at the beginning, the characters make the story interesting. Once you get past the beginning, the plot moves fast! I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I also loved the glimpse into a different culture and reading about a character who is at such a pivotal moment in her life. This book is heartbreaking and an important one that I am so glad I got to read!