📚 Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley 📚

Happy late pub day of 9/2/25!

Thank you netgalley, @angelineboulley and @macmillanusa for the chance to read this early.

I really loved the first two books in this series - Firekeeper's Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed - so this was highly anticipated.

In her signature way of highlighting Indigenous issues in North America, while giving us compelling characters, suspense, and emotional endings, Boulley delivered again. ICWA is the main issue of this book, and the main character is an Ojibwe girl who was adopted and didn't know she was native until her dad died and she went into foster care. She's also being hunted down by nefarious shadowy people. Enter Daunis and Jamie (yes!!) and the reader starts learning how they are all connected. The book is set about 5 years after Firekeeper's Daughter, so it's before the events in Warrior Girl Unearthed.

I really liked it! As also happens in the other novels, some of the plot is a bit wild, but when I expect it, it doesn't bother me!

Angeline Boulley has done it again! This book hooked me from start to finish, much like the author's debut, Firekeeper's Daughter . I absolutely could not put it down. I was so invested in Lucy's backstory, her present fearfulness and distrust and what led to it, Daunis and Jamie taking her under their wing, the social justice issues, the Native representation, the commentary on the foster system, I could go on for days. There is a lot to this book, but it never felt overwhelming, it just felt compelling.

I don't want to give too much away, as unfurling the secrets is one of the best parts of this reading experience. If you've read FK, you'll be equally thrilled to see Daunis and Jamie's return. Lucy herself is a great new character, and has been through so much in her young life. It absolutely will pull at your heartstrings. I have one complaint, and I don't know if I am being ridiculous by making it, but I will let you decide, if you choose, but it is a major spoiler. (view spoiler)

All said, there is just so much to love in this book, and it reminded me of why I adore the author's stories so much. Also, every time I read one of her books, I feel like I learn so much, and this time was no different! She makes informative bits wildly entertaining, which let's be real, is the best way to impart information in a way that will stick with the reader. For that alone this gets five stars, honestly.

Bottom Line: So completely immersive while shining a light on so many important issues, I simply could not put this book down.

Angeline Boulley is one of those rare authors who somehow makes every sentence feel steady but filled with life. Her writing is stunning in that effortless way where you don’t even notice how good it is until you stop and realize you've been holding your breath for pages. Sisters of the Wind is another powerful story from her, full of depth, danger, and hope. Lucy’s journey feels so real, and Boulley writes her with such care and strength — it’s impossible not to root for her. If you’ve read Firekeeper’s Daughter or Warrior Girl Unearthed, you already know Boulley’s gift for weaving Indigenous identity, personal trauma, and fierce resilience into something unforgettable. If you haven’t — this is a perfect place to start. Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Boulley is BACK and I was so pumped for this newest young adult thriller. Fans of her previous novels, Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed will appreciate how this book expands on that world with subtle nods to familiar characters, especially Daunis and Jamie.

In typical Boulley fashion, she does not shy away from challenging topics, and Sisters in the Wind is a heart-wrenching story about the systemic failings of the foster care system, especially for indigenous children.
Lucy Smith is a teen who has spent five years on the run from the foster care system when she is approached by a lawyer who claims he works to connect Native American foster kids with their families. Told in dual timelines with flashbacks to Lucy’s various foster placements, the plot is a blend of a coming-of-age story and a thrilling survival story as Lucy is still facing present-day danger and under investigation for a pipe bomb explosion that damaged her place of work.

I learned so much about the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and was blown away with Boulley’s characterization and development of Lucy. With unflinching prose and vivid descriptions of each placement, readers will feel every single emotion in this book, and while there is dark/gritty topics, the plot is also a story of hope, healing, and celebrating the power of community and found family.

📕 Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ 📕

Title: Sisters in the Wind
Author: Angeline Boulle
Publisher: Macmillan
Format: 📖
Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pub Date: September 9th, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the e-ARC and for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

QOTD: Do you like to read YA novels? What is one of your favorites?

This is my first Angeline Boulle book and wow! What a stunning YA novel. This is probably more of a YA novel for the older end of young readers (think high school)

Synopsis:

Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, “home” has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a “ward of the state”. But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe. Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his “friend-not-friend”, a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her. They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from her: She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings; a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved. But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance of normal she has had, and now the secrets she’s hiding will swallow her whole and take away the future she always dreamed of.

This book is a stunning and emotional look at the child welfare system, particularity Indian/Indigenous/1st Nations children who were stolen from their homes in the US. The book explores the ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) Boulle weaves the story of Lucy and provides tons of information about how her and many children were not protected without this act. In her Author’s Note, she mentions the importance of upholding this act. As a social worker I am currently teaching a child welfare policy class this semester and will be providing this book as a reference for my students to read. I was moved to tears at the end of the book and haven’t stopped thinking about it after finishing it.

Trigger Warnings: mentions of child abuse, sexual abuse, adoption, mistreatment of marginalized group: Indian/Indigenous/1st Nations

#arc #ARCreview #yareaders #YAlit #suspense #thriller #angelineboulle #diversestories

This is a book to be savored for its character development, the storyline, and writing. It is not an easy read because of the subject matter (kidnapping Native American children to assimilate them into white society and the foster care system). However, the writing is superb and the main character and narrator, Lucy Smith, is so well developed that readers will be sad to see the book end.

My thanks to Henry Holt and NetGalley for an eARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Angeline Boulley has done it again. This book was amazing and I couldn’t put it down. I would highly recommend reading her other two books before reading this one as two of the characters from other books are heavily in this one. I laughed, cried, and wanted to throw this book across the room. I needed a few days to process my thoughts on it before posting.

I loved it. Again upset it took so long. I won’t lie….there are trigger warnings for a reason. This book was…traumatic HOWEVER everything was addressed beautifully by the author. It’s really moving….and devastating (iykyk). I loved it!!

“The ultimate survival game is for girls to survive into adulthood. For the prey to avoid the predators… Some girls don’t survive.”
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Angeline Boulley has done it again- delivering a story that is equal parts thrilling, emotional, and deeply important. I loved this one just as much as Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed.
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This book follows Lucy Smith, a young Ojibwe woman who has spent years in the foster care system and suddenly finds herself pulled into dangerous circumstances after a bombing at the diner where she works.
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As Lucy uncovers shocking truths about her heritage and the families who’ve failed her, she also begins to reconnect with her Ojibwe roots and the community she never knew she had.
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This story balances fast-paced suspense with an unflinching look at heavy, real-world issues- stolen Native children, foster care injustice, generational trauma, and the fight for identity. It’s raw and heartbreaking at times, yet threaded through with moments of humor, resilience, and hope.
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I especially loved how Ojibwe traditions and the Indian Child Welfare Act were woven into the plot with such care. Lucy is flawed, complicated, and unforgettable, and watching her navigate both family betrayals and supernatural levels of trauma made this an emotional ride I couldn’t put down.
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Like Boulley’s other works, the characters feel vivid and real, the setting is immersive, and the themes are both timely and timeless. This is a gut-wrenching but hopeful book that will stay with me, and one I think every reader should pick up.
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🎧 Thank you to Macmillan audio, Henry Holt & Co., and NetGalley for the ALC—this one released on September 2 and absolutely deserves a spot on your TBR.

4.5 / 5 Stars

A phenomenal tribute to both Native children lost in the government systems as well as the world of FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER and WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED. While taking place outside of Sault St. Marie and Sugar Island, Boulley provides readers of the series answers to the questions they have been begging for. However, rather than handing these answers over easily, the reader will earn them after a suspenseful, dark, and eye opening ride that Boulley has continuously mastered.

I’ve read both of Angeline Bouilley’s previous books, and this one does not disappoint.

The character development of both old and new characters was top notch, and the satisfaction of finding out resolution to some of the unanswered questions from the other books was just the icing on the cake.

My favorite thing about Bouilley’s books is the way she gives such an intimate look into Native American culture, and the injustices they are still facing to this day. Her writing sparks emotions of sadness and outrage and I truly hope that it changes how people outside tribal culture view what is going on around them.

I was sobbing by the end of this book. The characters feel like friends and your heart breaks right along with theirs as they experience tragedy.

There were some elements of the plot that I guessed, but others took me completely by surprise.

I was given an advanced reader copy of the ebook (thank you to NetGallery and the publisher). I also listened to the audiobook once that was released, and was so happy to hear Isabella Star LaBlanc. She did an amazing job in the previous books bringing both Daunis and Perry to life, and her narration as Lucy was just as incredible.

If I could give this more than 5 stars I would.

Reading challenge category - 2025 Flourish and Blotts: Historian - Divination: A 5 star prediction

Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC audio of this book.

Lucy Smith's father died, leaving her with a wicked stepmother. She decides it is better to be on her own than living with this woman and runs away. She enters the foster system and ends up experiencing the multitudes of humanity.

She has gone off on her own again and is working in a diner when she is approached by a "Mr. Jameson" who is offering to help her and tells her that she is part Ojibwe - for readers of Boulley's first two books... this ties back to them. Once she starts to discover where she comes from and who she really is, she starts to dream of a real future for the first time since losing her dad.

Angeline Boulley has become a must read for me. I prefer to listen to her works as there is a lot of Anishinaabemowin used for the Ojibwe tribe. I really enjoyed this book except for one part of the ending that just didn't feel necessary to me. It almost made me remove a star because I wanted my fiction to stay fiction. But I know that life isn't always happy endings. It usually isn't.

Angeline Boulley brings another mystery set in Michigan. Characters from Boulley's other novels play a role in Sisters in the Wind. Set in the early to late 2000s, readers learn Lucy's story. Lucy's dad was a devoted single dad just trying to do the right thing after getting cancer. But things don't always go according to plan. Lucy's step-mom isn't what she appears and neither are Lucy's foster parents.
Lucy always has an escape plan with some element of surprise, even to herself, but when her new normal includes Jamie and Daunis, she may need to reconsider the risks and rewards.
In this novel, Boulley shares about the ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) and the consequences of it not being followed. There is mystery, friendship, and love woven into the story. There were a couple scenes, behind-the-door sex scene and side character getting cancer, that felt a bit out of place or unnecessary. However, the friendships Lucy has with various characters are developed well and show a wide range of human emotions.

4.75⭐
An earlier book by this author, Firekeeper's Daughter, remains one my favorite books in the last five years. Even though this book is extraordinary and packs a true emotional punch, there was a bit in the middle where I wondered where it was going. Some characters from the original book play significant roles, but the main character, Lucy Smith, is a new character. Raised by a loving father as Italian, she was unaware of her Ojibwe heritage. After his death and a short time with a stepmother, she ends up in the foster system. Recounting her experiences in the foster homes is juxtaposed to her current situation after an incident at the diner where she worked. When the two storylines coalesce to solve the mystery, there is both tragic loss and salvation. Threaded throughout, Ojibwe culture and beliefs provide vital context and beauty to the story as a whole.

I loved this book. It was an excellent addition to the universe that Angeline Boulley has created. I was so, so sad when it was over--for a variety of reasons. It was a fast, intriguing read. I love a text that works with multiple narrators or timelines, and think that Boulley does it really well here.

I would not recommend this one as a curriculum book because of its mature content, but think it would be a great classroom library addition or recommendation for specific readers.

“Native families are like onions - rough looking on the outside. People want to peel the outer layers and toss them away, as if they have no value. But each layer is protecting the next, down to its innermost core. That green center, where the onion is sweetest, that’s the Native child. Surrounded by layers of family and community.” - Jamie

When it comes to truth and reconciliation, we want to believe that we are well on our way. That we’ve come so far. Angeline Boulley continues to push us to see otherwise. In her third novel, “Sisters in the Wind,” Boulley brings us back to her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and into the world of foster care.

In this own voices mystery, Lucy Smith is a teenager in the foster system, following the death of her father. Boulley wastes no time hooking the reader when Lucy, now having been in the system for five years, meets Mr. Jameson, an attorney who is working on a “special project.” Foster care has quickly taught Lucy how to remain vigilant, but despite her skepticism, she is pulled into Mr. Jameson’s world. Mr. Jameson and his counterpart, eager to take care of Lucy, reveal the truths about her heritage, that she is Ojibwe and has family and a home waiting for her on Sugar Island. Unfortunately, Lucy’s past is full of secrets and danger, and returning to Sugar Island is not as straightforward as her new friends had hoped.

Boulley takes the reader through a suspenseful look at the harm caused by a flawed foster care system. Continuing to draw on the theme of fire, “Sisters in the Wind” is written in five parts, with the first three titled according to the “stages of fire growth - Incipient, Growth, Fully Developed, and Decay…” While this theme speaks to Lucy’s story and the experience of being a foster child, it also provides a metaphor for the reader’s experience. Every page turned fuels and increases the reader’s engagement, ultimately making it impossible to put down.

From her website, Angeline Boulley writes that, “There simply are too few stories told by and about Indigenous girls and women, especially from a contemporary viewpoint.” As with previous novels, the characters in “Sisters in the Wind” are compelling and vividly portray the imperfections of humans, particularly from the perspective of Indigenous girls and women. Coupled with nuanced teachings that remind us of the story’s proximity to real-world experiences, Boulley is able to widen perspectives regarding difficult topics. She has adeptly connected residential schools, the 60’s scoop, and the present-day foster system in a way that will keep all readers engaged and hungry for more.

Like an onion, every novel that Boulley writes is a layer of Ojibwe “family and community.” Each character holds a valuable place in the larger story, and while the three novels (so far) can be read in any order, they are so much richer as a layered collection.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reader Copy of “Sisters in the Wind,” and miigwetch to Angeline Boulley for continuing to teach us through story and share your important perspective with the world.

Content Warning: depictions of child sex trafficking, child abuse, teen pregnancy, explosions and bombing, ableism, anti-Indigenous racism and colorism, hospitalization, gun violence, and death with mentions of police brutality, genocide, colonialism, incarceration.

Sisters of the Wind is fast-paced, emotional, and rich with Ojibwe heritage. Lucy’s journey from survival to reclaiming her identity kept me hooked, with just enough danger and heart to make the payoff worth it. A little trope-heavy at times, but overall a powerful and compelling read. The pacing is strong, with an opening that drops you straight into Lucy’s unstable world. While there were a few moments where the story leaned on familiar YA tropes, the emotional depth and cultural grounding kept it from ever feeling shallow. The tension of being hunted — by both her past and those who would rather silence her — made the ending hit even harder.

I love Angeline Boulley and this book is no exception. It is so captivating from beginning to end, and so well written. Lately the quality of YA books have been really disappointing, but this made up for it 100%. My only criticism would be how perfectly everything came together in the end. Real life is messy and not everything is connected. I think it just took away from the realism of this book, and I think the realism is the best part of her books. I think it's important for everyone to know that these horrible things really do happen so awareness can be spread.

Loved! So, you don't need to read Boulley's other two books but, if you have read them, I would suggest rereading before you read this. There is peripheral info touched on that I wished I could remember while I was reading this. This is a lovely own voices book that features strong female characters. Be sure to have the tissues ready.

I continue to be absolutely blown away by Angeline Boulley's books. I never know what to expect of the plot (this one was complicated!), and I learn a lot along the way. Lucy was raised by her white father, and loved him so much. He tragically died of colon cancer when she was young, so she was left with a horrible stepmother, and then put in the foster care system. Lucy learns that her mother was an indigenous person, and gets caught up in a big dangerous world where she feels like the only thing she can do is run away. Then she meets her dead sister's best friend and ex-boyfriend, and they take care of her. They show her what a real family is like. I could say so much more, but I don't want to spoil the book. I would definitely use it in my classroom to teach about the importance of the Indigenous Children's Welfare Act. I highly recommend this book to young adults, and adults of all ages.

Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review