Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community. After reading the exclusive sneak peak I can’t wait for the full length debut novel to be released.

I enjoyed the sneak peek of the fire Keepers daughter. It was nice to see a different #ownvoices as I am yet to read many indigenous books. Angeline Boulley has a beautifully written debut of young adult Thrillers weaving and aspects of the Native American experience and issues and corruption within their community. I appreciate the author's insight without feeling like I was being lectured at or spoken down to about the problems and traditional practices.

Thus is only a sneak pick so it's hard to say how I feel about this book in general. So far I am intrigued, however, the writing style feel very tedious as it basically lists a lot of irrelevant stuff that keeps going on and on, so when important information comes along it's hard to pinpoint where we should start to care. This is by an indigenous author and that aspect of the story interests me greatly. I'd love to read more of it to be able to give a more accurate rating and review of it.

Looking forward to reading the full book! I'll be requesting and/or buying it. Thank you for the sneak peek

For some reason, I thought this was yet another YA fantasy book. It is not. It is a contemporary YA thriller. Because of this, though, I kept wondering when the magic would show up, and that made me annoyed with it. I think this would probably happen anyway, since the sampler I received is 99% set-up anyway, but still, please take my review with salt. I had expectations for something that was never going to happen because I had misinterpreted the book's genre.
Plot-wise, the blurb summarizes everything that happens. Daunis decides against a fancy medical college to go to the local state college instead so she can care for her grandmother. While her mom is very happy with this, Daunis herself is bummed. Things start to look up when a new boy, Jamie, appears in Daunis' life, whom she starts to become friends with and fall for even as she has lingering suspicions about him. Eventually (on the last two pages of the sampler), things come to a climax as Daunis gets shot while investigating something suspicious. There's a lot of minor events that are supposed to get you invested in Daunis and her relationships with her family and friends along the way, but those are the broad plot-important strokes. The intrigue in Daunis' tribe's affairs and the end of the sampler intrigued me, but otherwise I wasn't particularly excited or interested.
For characters, no one really clicked with me. Daunis is mixed-race, and her struggles are a major part of her character and the story, which I liked. Daunis' aunt is great, and I liked Daunis' friend Lily a lot, but I was less interested in Daunis herself in terms of personality and didn't care for Jamie, who struck me as the one who was going to murder someone once I realized this was a thriller. Daunis feels like a YA protagonist with actual care put into her--she's smart, kind, and feels like an actual teenager. Jamie's tribal situation is different than Daunis', and I liked the parts that explored that, but otherwise he just seemed perfect and boring, even if he was hiding something. Daunis repeatedly trying and failing to deny her attraction to Jamie also got on my nerves, making me dislike him as a consequence. While everyone's personality felt different, no one stuck out as memorable.
For writing, it's pretty good. The dialogue felt natural enough and Daunis' thought process felt natural as well. There's also multiple Ojibwe words that are incorporated into the dialogue in a natural way, which was great; I just wish there was a glossary so I could keep track of all of them. Daunis also swears some nasty things internally, which was refreshing to see with how many books I've read that just have their characters use "damn" or "hell" instead of the things they'd usually know at that age. The only part that really bugged me were the few text parts, in which everyone read like an adult trying to type how they think kids type. It was pretty bad, There's also a lot of telling at some points, but that's about it for bad things I found.

So, I wasn't super happy with this sampler, partially because I had expected the wrong things from it, and partially because of the sampler itself. But even with that, I liked the OwnVoices aspects of this, which focus on a perspective I don't think I've seen in YA before. If the premise interests you, don't let my review stop you. Check it out.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillian Publishing for providing me with an e-sample in exchange for an honest review.

If I could rate a sampler 5 stars this would be it! This story resonated with me from the start, the author has a unique and emotional tone to her writing that just makes these characters feel authentic and familiar. I cannot wait to get my hands on a finished copy.

This seems like a promising YA novel! It took me a moment to get adjusted to the first person present tense perspective, but once I did, I found the experience to be quite immersive. The author does a great job of drawing the reader in quickly, and I think the cover beautifully matches the tone of the novel. I look forward to reading the rest of the book, at some point in the future.

I am so excited for this book! I preordered it already. Thank you NetGalley for the sneak peak! Native American lit + thriller = dream genre. I love what I’ve seen so far and I can’t wait to read in full!

Biracial Native teen Daunis hasn’t found her ‘place’ in the world yet. She’s an unenrolled tribal member who has never felt completely accepted by her hometown or tribe. With aspirations to go to medical school, her plans get put on hold to care for her grandmother.

When Daunis witnesses a murder, she is convinced to take part in an undercover investigation where she uses her knowledge of chemistry as well as traditional medicine.

The perfect mix of young adult, crime fiction, and Indigenous culture with a twist of romance. This story was complex, fast paced, rich with Ojibwe culture. While there was a lot going on in the story, it was peppered with a glimpse into modern Ojibwe traditions and tribal politics that I found fascinating. There were some heavy themes that I thought were handled very well. Daunis was a relatable and strong heroine. I loved the cultural aspects; the beauty in their traditions as well as the difficulties Indigenous communities face past and present.

Well, I am hooked. 86 pages in the preview just wasn't enough. So far we're following Daunis after multiple life-changing events, and the preview takes us right up to what seems like yet another one. The story has moved so quickly already, and we've gotten to know so much about Daunis and her family and friends. I cannot wait to read the rest and see what happens!
5/5 for the preview. Thanks to Netgalley for providing an e-ARC preview!

Daunis doesn't fit into either life- not her white mother's life, nor her father's Native American life. Going away to college was supposed to give her a chance to start over, but after illness and tragedy hits her family, she decides to stay near home for college. After meeting Jamie, a new hockey player, her life seems to pick up a little, but this nice, cute boy has a girlfriend waiting for him back home. Daunis refuses to be "That Girl" and interfere in a relationship. The end of this sneak peak finishes on a cliffhanger, making it easy to want to reach for the book to see how everything turns out. I didn't get to experience the rest of the story which focuses on a murder that Daunis witnesses and how she goes undercover for the FBI to investigate.

I felt pain for Daunis as she navigated the reality of not belonging fully to either half of her heritage. She was all alone, different, and misunderstood. I know I didn't come close to actually getting into the meat of the book, but the bit that I read was quite good. I enjoyed getting immersed in the culture and language, even though it was difficult to get into at first due to all the foreign words. I hope to be able to read the whole book to experience the mystery aspect of it, which I really enjoy in novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me the chance to read the sneak peak of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a preview of the book. So far I am really enjoying it! I can't wait to read the whole book. It is moving fast and keeping me engaged.

Sneak preview review:

4 stars so far!

Contemporary isn’t my usual genre but I really really liked this!! I can’t wait to read more when it releases! The cover is stunning and so is the contents. I read all of the preview (89 pages) in one sitting, which I think speaks to how engaging the story was!

I can’t wait for more!!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just couldn't get into this book. I loved how it started with a burst of action, but it went flatly into too much backstory for my enjoyment.

For me, it was too much with all the cultural language. As soon as I would start to get into the story, my brain would have to stop for too long of a moment to keep trying to pronounce /understand the language. It just took the excitement out of the story.

The MC seemed likeable enough and the attention on the elders, respectable, but with such a short synopsys, I am just not interested in reading the whole book.

This is a preview, I am pending of reading the whole book but MAN I WAS HOOKED, at first since I am don't live in the USA and neither I am from the USA, my knowledge of USA geography is nearly zero, I had to google places and some words I order to understand the story completely and I don't regret it since I learned something new.

I really liked the story and the protagonist Daunis and how she struggles to find her place in her community since she is biracial, she is torn between her two cultures, ahd seeing her struggle gets to you because it feels authentic, because it happens to every biracial kid.

I am eager to read it completely whenever it's through NetGalley or buying it, is definitely in my TBR list.


Plus it has a beautiful cover. SO BEAUTIFUL.

😄 I am very excited for the whole book! 😄 It has lovely writing and good characters! 😄 Great perspective! 😄

Loved the sneak peek to this upcoming YA release! Will definitely be acquiring the rest of the book upon release to get the rest of the story. Very interesting character POV (Ojibwe Indian), feel like it's not one seen very often and that is part of the appeal. Along with a stunning cover this sneak peek got a 4 star rating from me JUST based on the small part I got to read. Can't wait to discover the rest of Daunis's story!

4 Stars

I just want to talk to the person decide that ending the sample on an explosive cliffhanger like that was a good idea because now I'm obsessed with this book.

Firekeeper's Daughter follows Daunis Fontaine, a biracial tribal member who's struggles between her Native community and her white side. When she is pulled into a criminal investigation, Daunis must track down the criminals who are corrupting the tribe.

Y'all not only does this book have Indigenous representation, is an own-voices novel, and is a freaking thriller, BUT the cover too!! Everything about this book is so freaking amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the book.

someone needs to stop me from reading previews on netgalley because im obviously not mentally stable enough to get really invested only for it to end on a major cliffhanger.

help.

either way, i was not sure if i wanted to read this but now i am. this starts really slow but i kinda enjoyed the build-up. this way when the cliffhanger thing happened i actually cared about the characters and what was happening.

i can’t say anything about the accuracy of the representation but i thought it was so interesting to read about it. the author did an excellent job at weaving it through this book without it feeling like a major info dump.

my predictions are that this book will continue to be well-written, will become more twisty and that i’ll hopefully be blown away! all i can tell for sure is that i am seriously in need of the full book.

FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER by Angeline Boulley
Pub Day: March 16, 2021

A stunning debut novel by indigenous storyteller Angeline Boulley.
Set in Sault St Marie and Sugar Island, straddling between the USA and Canadian border. It is a story of an Ojibwe community, their a journey through waters steeped in systemic inequity and lateral violence due to resource scarcity yet strong in culture and drive to not only survive but thrive. It’s a story of a girl, Daunis, born carrying the blood of 2 families, Fontaine and Firekeeper; Zhaaganaash and Anishinaabe - yet burdened by not belonging to either - not fully. She must forge her own path and claim it for herself.

Sadly, I was only privy to a sample of this novel so I can only tell you Initial thoughts that are blurred by my lack of fuller context that the full story may have afforded. Especially as it includes a love for hockey!

There is such power and knowledge in the first section of his book. I live a few hours from the Sault, in Canada, Turtle Island. The themes emerging speak to a culturation, biculturation, pan-indignity and honouring indignity from micro to macro levels. From the outset Daunis and the youth are grappling with identity formation, their role within their family and community as well as a sense of belonging.

Jamie’s character provides our protagonist, Daunis, the ability to not only imbue knowledge to the new kid and hockey prodigy but also me as a reader creating an immersive reading experience. The storytelling prose is infused with teachings and lessons that feels like an offering passed by elders that connected me further with each passage.

I will definitely be returning to this novel as soon as I can!

My thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Henry Holt And Company for the advanced sample copy.