Boulley is one of the few my auto-buy authors, and for good reason. She is such a gifted storyteller and author. I have read her other books as well and have to say that this is my favorite.

Synopsis: Following the untimely death of her father, Lucy is thrust into the foster system. There she faces the harsh realities of this flawed system as she tries to reconcile her new life and hidden past. Mr. Jameson and Daunis show up offering to help her with case and connect her with her family and culture. As she comes to terms with her past, Lucy begins to reckon with an identity that had been hidden from her. But what Lucy soon realizes is that she is that there are certain things (i.e., people) from her past that she cannot outrun.

I love so many things about Boulley's writing. Foremost amongst these things is her ability to weave culture into the text without being didactic. She presents these teachings in a way that is thoughtful and approachable. I love that she always uses Anishinaabemowin throughout the text, which she has consistently done throughout her work! I also really love how she tackles prominent issues faced by Indigenous people. In Sisters in the Wind, Boulley presents the Indian Child Welfare Act and the impact that had and still have on our communities. She never shies away from truth and presents it to the reader in a way that makes it impossible to look away from! In the Author's Note, she mentions that ICWA is not about the children as much as it is about the land, and that is something that I will be reflecting on for some time to come.

On a personal note, this book really hit home to me. She mentions Harbor Springs and Holy Childhood Boarding school, which my grandpa and his siblings attended. She also mentions Mt. Pleasant, which my great grandmother attended (Mt. Pleasant Indian Industrial School). It is a unique feeling to see yourself reflected in another's work and for that, I am grateful to Boulley!

Overall: I definitely recommend this book! You will especially like it if you've read her previous two works, Warrior Girl Unearthed and The Firekeeper's Daughter.

Rating: 5/5

I requested this book through NetGalley just for the Native American representation. I have Native American ancestors so I was hoping to learn more about that part of my history. I was really pleased with what I got out of this book.

I'll admit, however, that I was really sad with the end of the book. I went into a bit of slump after I finished the book because of how it ended. I originally didn't want to go into detail but there was one death that I couldn't leave out of the book.

I was really sad over Jamie's death in particular. I felt really bad for the mother of his child that he will now never meet because of the actions of Lucy's former foster parents. I was just shocked at the lengths the former foster parents went to just to make Lucy miserable.

I was questioning their motives for quite a while and I still couldn't figure out what they wanted at the end of the book. I honestly couldn't figure out if they wanted revenge for their son that Lucy's former foster sister killed or if they were helping her other foster family get their stuff back.

I'm glad that we got a happy ending at the end of the book since I will always believe Lucy deserves that. I'm glad she doesn't have to worry about someone coming after her since both foster families were killed.

I feel bad for the foster children that were at the farm house when it was burned down. They didn't deserve to be placed in the middle of that. Stressful and traumatic, much? I can understand why they were using Lucy's baby to get to her but it was all a bit much just to get revenge against her.

I was also shocked at the end when we find out that the Sterling family was behind the bombing but I shouldn't have been shocked when I looked back at it all. I should have seen that coming a mile away.

I also noticed we didn't get a resolution for the case against Lucy. Lucy had been accused of being behind the bombing and even admitted to it. Were the charges against her dropped? I guess we'll never really know, will we?

Yes, I'd recommend this book. I liked the narrator for the audio version, which is how I consumed the book. This is my first book by Angeline and I have a feeling in my gut that I'll be reading other books by her as well.

What an amazing book, no notes only praise! Boulley isn’t just an author – she’s a storyteller. The story of Lucy’s struggle to survive, find safety and family, and the mystery of her quest is a necessary engrossing tale, and includes past characters that we’re excited to revisit. Reading any of Boulley’s books will give a deeper understanding of what it is to be an indigenous person and the vastly different lives they lead.

God that hurt so good.

I LOVE Boulley’s writing. The characters, the intricate plot the way characters learn more about their culture and fight the prejudice taught to them is stunning.

I don’t know that these books are strictly a series but in the same world. Thus falls after Firekeepers Daughter and before Warrior Girl Unearthed. Following Lucy as she is passed around the foster system and eventually found by Daunis and Jamie to help her back to her community. The timeline jumps around in a very keep you on your toes way.

I loved it.

All three books are necessary reads.

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan audio for an alc

The structure is good and the main characters are well-drawn and sympathetic but the thriller aspect is awkward and poorly laid out and really ruined the book for me. If this had just been a coming-of-age/self-discovery tale, I think it would have had much more impact. The motivations and actions of the villains are inadequately explored, the bombing doesn't make sense and the whole baby-farming thing is absurd. Boulley's strength is in her characters and thier relationships; it's a shame she doesn't lean into that. The audiobook narration was unremarkable but capably done.

Thank you to Henry Holt for sending me an ARC for review and to NetGalley for the audiobook access.

I wish I could praise the author's wild imagination, but, sadly, I am horrified by the all-too-real depictions of abuse in the foster care system as well as the injustices wrought against Native American families. While this is a novel, the examples are meant to show the types of issues young teens face. In this case, a young girl raised by a single father is told she is of Dutch and Italian descent, despite people recognizing her as Native American. When her father dies, the life he built for her is turned upside down, and she must fend for herself. We catch up with her years later when she has learned to make her own decisions and live with the consequences.

The story alternates between her current situation and her past. While I occasionally got lost (because: audiobook), I was generally able to figure things out in short order. The well-narrated story revealed key points over time, which kept things suspenseful. She made mistakes and owned them. I admired the girl's grit and ability to move forward at her own pace. This is a powerful story and would be good for book groups.

My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. Publication date: 2 September 2025.

Wow — Sisters in the Wind will absolutely stay with me for a long time.
This felt like cultural competency training on ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act), a critique of the child welfare system, and a trauma-informed memoir — all wrapped in one emotionally poignant and beautifully written narrative.

We walk alongside Lucy as she navigates the shifting landscape of family, religion, identity, belonging, trauma, and tradition. Boulley masterfully weaves a story that both teaches and touches, offering readers a heartfelt and unflinching look into the impact of colonization, foster care, and generational trauma.

This is not just a novel — it’s an education, and an incredibly important one. I’ll be recommending this again and again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to read this story through an ALC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC.

This was a great book, although a bit slow at the beginning. The timeline switches were done well and I liked the foster care perspective and issues depicted here. This book felt like it was less about finding and accepting her identity and more about the foster care system in general, at least compared to the first book. I understand the connection but I suppose it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it was much darker than I thought. I did like reading about Lucy's journey and the writing was great and honestly unputdownable. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a book about the dark sides of the foster care system, especially for Native American kids.

The narrator did a great job of bringing the emotions to life and made the reading experience significantly more enjoyable.

Lucy, a very sheltered young teen, was always told by her single father that she was of Italian descent and not Native American. Her life changes dramatically when her father dies and she is thrust into the foster care system where she experiences both good and bad. The story is told in two timelines, Lucy with her father through being in foster care and the second is after foster care, which is her current time period.

After being injured in an explosion at the restaurant she works at, Lucy is befriended by two people who want to help her. They tell her that she is Ojibwe and about her mother, siblings, and grandmother. As we learn more about Lucy’s past and present, we find out that she is endangered and why.

I really enjoyed listening to the audio version and did not watch anything or read another book until it was finished. It was very engaging and definitely hooked me.

Some characters from Firekeeper’s Daughter are in Sisters in the Wind, so I would recommend reading that first. It is not necessary to read Warrior Girl Unearthed before Sisters in the Wind because it takes place at a later time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced readers' copy of the audiobook.

I'd like to thank Netgalley for an ARC. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

This book is a gut punch of a read, and it came at me during a time when I was feeling a little more raw than usual, so I wasn't completely in the mood for it. However, there is no denying that it is an incredibly crafted narrative. I also love how Boulley designs her characters. They're so fleshed out, even the characters who only appear briefly in the story. They all feel like real people.

This book is one I normally wouldn't be able to put down, with a fast pace and engaging dual timeline pattern. Keep in mind, this book isn't a light read. It tackles so many issues, like the problems with ICWA, sexual abuse, death, cancer, racism, amongst other things. If I were in a better mindset, I think I wouldn't have needed to take as many breaks as I did to get through.

I love how Boulley has created storylines that involve characters she has written about in the past, so you get to revisit old friends and see how their lives have progressed. That being said, you don't need to read the prior two books to follow this one. (You should though. They're great.)

I also had an advanced listener copy of this book, and the narrator was easy to listen to, and she really did well with the character.

Sisters in the Wind is the story of Lucy who has a wonderful caring father. He dies when she is a teenager. Her father has shared little about her mother and hides the fact that she was Native American. Left with her lying stepmother who is spending all of their money, Lucy runs away after setting fire to her storage unit. She learns a lot horrors of the world through the foster homes she is sent to. She witnesses sexual assaults, discovers the exploitation of foster kids in one of the homes and is accused of murder. Luckily, she meets Mr Jameson who helps her and teachers her about the Indian Child Welfare Act. Isabella Star LeBlanc narrates this (and Boulley’s other novels) and is great!
I work in a community with a large population of Native American teenagers and I will definitely be ordering for our collection.

Reading Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley gave me the same feeling as reading The Firekeeper's Daughter for the first time. The plot? Propulsive. The history? Heartbreaking. The ending? Hopeful.

The story opens with Lucy preparing to run--from whom and why, we don't know. She's aged out of the foster care system, and now she's on her own. But before she can put her plan into action, an explosion lands her in the hospital, which brings Daunis Fontaine and Mr. Jameson, a lawyer who has taken an interest in her case, into her life. She learns that not only is she Ojibwe, she has family she never knew existed--a mother still living and half-siblings. Can Lucy trust these new friends to protect her, even when--or especially when--dangerous people from her past catch up with her?

I loved how the author weaves indigenous language and traditions into her stories, honoring her characters' heritage. She also never shies away from the mistakes and horrors committed against the native tribes. She highlights the lasting effects of generational trauma, but she also refuses to give into despair, allowing room for hope and resilience to grow.

While Warrior Girl Unearthed was a good story, it didn't pull me in as completely as The Firekeeper's Daughter--the ten-year time jump threw me, and I didn't understand some of the choices the author made with the characters. But then, enter Sisters in the Wind--set between the previous two books--and things started to make more sense. Things clicked into place. While the three can be read in any order, I think reading 1-3-2 would have helped me to like the second book more. The picture would have been more complete, and my biggest beefs with the second book wouldn't have been an issue because my questions would have been answered.

All that to say, I loved this and couldn't put it down. Isabella Star LaBlanc was a phenomenal narrator, delivering a stellar performance. It was a very immersive listening experience, and I can't recommend the audiobook highly enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is another phenomenal read from Angeline Boulley. The characters are vivid and complex, and the issues addressed are powerful but don't feel forced. I loved seeing more of past characters and hope Boulley continues her "stand-alone" vibe within a shared universe.

This book has plenty of drama for those who want it, too!

5 stars

Angeline Boulley is a star in the YA world, and this most recent effort reveals many reasons why. Boulley is remarkably consistent when it comes to generating compelling and informative narratives.

This time readers follow Lucy, who has experienced a great deal of loss and upheaval in her life. Lucy is extremely close to her single father, who instills a love of learning but not really her identity in Lucy. Lucy's mother, who is indigenous, is not the in picture at all (except as a repeated cautionary tale that not everyone is cut out to be a mother), and Lucy's dad's plan is to raise his daughter on his own. This lone wolf approach begins to really fall apart when he is diagnosed with cancer and in an effort to guarantee some ongoing stability for Lucy makes even more unfortunate choices that land her in foster care.

Anyone who knows anything about foster care will appreciate the realism with which that is depicted here and will not be surprised to know that many of the folks Lucy encounters are not just questionable. They are certifiably monstrous. Though Lucy manages to survive way too much trauma, she is put to the test repeatedly, and she appears to often be on the brink of ruin.

Readers should not come into this experience expecting a sweet, breezy, sanitized version of reality. Boulley tends to write lengthy works that detail horrors committed against indigenous women and girls, and that is a critical part of the action here (though the horrors are shared by women in other identity groups here, too). Readers who are sensitive to issues around sexual assault, exploitation, incest, and child abuse should review the content warnings for more specific detail. Those who can manage that and more will be rewarded with a compelling account of Lucy's experience, growth, and relationships.

Boulley is absolutely one of my favorite YA authors at this time, and it's a real pleasure to have gotten to engage with another excellent effort from her. I strongly recommend this, especially the audio version when and where accessible.

First the narrator was very good. This book was a good listen and very clear.

I'm so emotional and crying. This was incredible. Firekeeper's Daughter is one of my favourite books ever and this is right up there with it. I liked Warrior Girl Unearthed but I LOVED listening to this. It was so incredible. It can be read as a stand alone or sequel to Firekeeper but I definitely recommend reading both for the full emotional impact. I have no notes this book is perfect, I love it so much. Our main character's journey is well worth reading and growing and learning.

Oh Angeline, you have done it again.

This book wrecked me. And I think it should wreck you too. I feel like whatever review I leave here will not be able to do this book justice. Just know that it is beautiful, heartbreaking, and important. This book speaks for itself better than I ever could.

I can’t say I know a lot about ICWA but after reading Lucy’s story, I am reminded of why it is so important to read diversely. While her story is fictional, it is no less impactful.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. And thank you Angeline for writing these powerful stories.

Lucy Smith was well loved and very sheltered by her doting father. She never knew her mother, but her father indicated that was a good thing.

Then her father got sick. He tried to find Lucy a new care taker by marrying a demure, religious woman Bridget. Following his death, Bridget's true colors begin to show and ultimately leads to Lucy running away and being placed in foster care. There secrets her father kept from her about her mother and her heritage surface, but are ignored by those who should have taken note.

Five years later Lucy is 18 and working at a diner when a man walks in and tells her he works with Native children who were placed into foster care to reconnect them with their tribes and families. Lucy doesn't trust him. At all.

But something sinister is happening and Lucy finds herself needing someone to trust.

Whew this was a wild ride. I've loved all of Angeline Boulley's novels so far, and this is no exception. I work in child welfare and appreciate the tie in and attention to (especially in the afterword) regarding ICWA. This is one I'd definitely recommend to most - a bit of mystery, a lot of character development, found family, community, etc.

Sisters in the Wind is an important and relevant story, but also an entertaining and a well-crafted one. As a child, Lucy Smith ends up in foster care not knowing much about her indigenous heritage, and the standards in ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) are not upheld, leaving her in unsafe homes.

The book takes place when she is 18 and is running from something in her past, with flashbacks to Lucy's experiences that led her to the present. Angeline Boulley put these pieces together beautifully - each flashback gave you enough insight to add to the present-day story, but didn't give too much to spoil the twists. At times I would become frustrated that I wasn't getting more information, but as it was getting close to the end I was able to step back and see how it all came together.

Everything had a place in this book, from the title to the cover art to the use of books, watches, and fire, and it's a story I will be thinking about for a long time. I'm purposely not giving a lot of details of the story because I don't want to spoil anything.

I switched between reading and listening to the audiobook and I loved Isabella Star LaBlanc's narration. Her voice is pleasant to listen to, and she helped bring the characters to life by her voices, tone, and diction. I also appreciate that they used an indigenous narrator, and that she has done the other two books in the Firekeeper's Daughter Series.

Angeline Boulley has done it again! Written with so much raw emotion Sisters in the Wind might be Boulley’s best work thus far. Lucy Smith has never known a home without her father. Seeing as though he died five years ago her life since has been less than ideal. Bouncing around the foster system and then being out on her own has been a rocky ride. When Mr. Jameson offers his help to reunite her with her Ojibwe family she turns him down. However, someone has been following Lucy and Mr. Jameson may be the only one that can help her out of her tangled past.

There are not enough words in the English language to describe how much I love Boulley’s writing, characters and storyline. She continues to blow me away everytime and she writes in a way that I can practically see the characters lifting up, out of the pages. The Native American communities have suffered such horrors and Boulley is not afraid to call them as they are and fight for the rights of all Native People. Every time I read one of her books I walk away with a deeper understanding of the communities around me. Angeline Boulley will forever be an auto-buy author for me, I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Read this if you like:
•thought provoking reads
•past & present story lines
•cameos from past books

Oh my heart. Angeline Boulley writes the best books. Lucy goes into foster care after her father dies. She learns firsthand how foster kids are treated let alone indigenous foster kids. When tragedy strikes, a lawyer wants to help her recover but also connect her to her birth mother. She learns about her heritage & culture along the way. She learns the importance of ICWA. Lucy has been through so much & feels like she can’t outrun the past or fully trust anyone.

I haven’t flew through a nook like this in months. There are a lot of difficult topics discussed in this book but they are so so incredibly important to read about and learn about. This is a book that will stick with me for years to come, just like Firekeepers Daughter did. I hope Angeline writes more in this universe. Thank you Mac audio for ALC