This was a good page-turner! Sometimes, I didn’t like Daunis, the main character. She seemed a little stuck up toward the hockey girlfriends though she matures over the course of the story. YA protagonists may seem irrational at times, but it’s more realistic for teen/young adults to not have it all together.

I really enjoyed the tidbits about grief, forgiveness, and family. I LOVED the healthy ending conversation between Daunis and Jamie. I wondered why the story was set from 2004 – 2005. Until you read a Superbowl 2004 reference you forget all about the timeframe. But if I remember right, the author set it here because this was the height of the meth boom.

While the final reveal was fun, the "villain" seemed cartoony/too good to be true. Still, this is worth a read.

CW: Sexual assault (not detailed), of course, references to drugs ( )

100% recommend. Fantastic characters, strong female lead, really great plot, and helpful insights into some of the lived experiences of the Indigenous people of the Upper Peninsula. ♥️ ( )

The story mainly takes place in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but the events and issues are common to native populations throughout the region—Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario. Daunis Fontaine, the first-person storyteller, is a runner and aspiring anatomy student. Her father is Ojibwe (Chippewa), and her mother is white. Her parents weren’t married. The two sides of her family are at odds. Daunis is not yet an enrolled tribal member, and there are strict rules about who could enroll in the tribe. All of this plays into the main and subplots of the story. Daunis postpones her enrollment at the University of Michigan to take care of her mother, who is grieving the death of her brother and caring for an aging mother. It turns out that Daunis not only takes care of her family but becomes compelled to take care of her Ojibwe community when she witnesses the overwhelming meth abuse and a rash of untimely deaths.

Hockey is a community sport on the Upper Peninsula, and hockey players are revered. The “supes” are an elite league hockey team, a stepping-stone for those hoping to play in college or the pros. Jamie Johnson is a new supe hockey player at the local high school who claims to be Cherokee. He befriends Daunis’s brother Levi, and Daunis is nominated by her brother to be Jamie’s ambassador in the community. Although trying to remain platonic, Daunis falls in love with Jamie. He is kind, sympathetic, mature, and seemingly different from other males she has dated. At first, Jamie doesn’t seem to be guilty of the “guy lies” that Daunis finds typical of most men, but as the story progresses, she finds he is probably a better liar than most.

Daunis is forced to understand and confront the deep-seated beliefs of her family and community. It is not easy to witness violence, discrimination, and death. She makes some difficult and mature decisions as she delves deeper into the constructs of the community, such as the tribal police, dividends from the local casino, tribal customs, and priorities of the hockey team.

The author, Angeline Boulley, is from the Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa. She weaves Chippewa language and customs into this story with modern and classic themes. I love how she refers to Daunis’s growth and sorting of her life by referring to the regular and hockey worlds. Then, this concept is extended to other themes in the book. The author describes the differences between the worlds of two disparate heritages as parallel to those between hockey and the regular worlds. “But the good stuff happens when worlds collide … osmosis combustion,” says one of the characters. There is also much discussion of worlds when describing the afterlife beliefs—when the Chippewa die, they become part of a different world.

The story is beautiful yet heartbreaking. It is realistic and includes many insightful messages about relations between and among the Ojibwe and the whites. Additionally, the characterizations are complete and relatable; the people in the book are realistic, and learning their stories is a worthwhile experience for readers. This book is marketed for young adults, but it has universal appeal. This author writes from her heart and chooses her words to convey vivid images. ( )

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a 2021 Henry Holt & Co. publication.

Daunis’s plans take a detour after a family tragedy prompts her to switch colleges and stay closer to home. When a new guy who plays on her brother’s hockey team strikes up a friendship with Daunis, but just as she begins feeling a real connection to him, a stunning murder changes the context of their relationship and puts Daunis at the heart of the investigation…

This is a very good novel – part thriller/mystery- part cultural drama. The characters are ones we feel for and root for. The novel is quite dark with a kitchen sink of difficult and explosive subject matter. Yet, this is not a preachy social issues lecture- it is all within context of the story.

The story is very evenly paced and well-plotted- with huge revelations and twists along the way. I was highly invested in the book and felt it was worth the high praise it garnered. Although it is labeled as a YA novel, which is not a genre I usually read for various reasons, I felt it was an exceptional story and am glad I put my reservations aside and gave it a chance- Deserving of the awards and accolades- but I am still very confilicted about the YA label.

4+ stars

*Note: A brief note for those who might wonder about my misgivings about the YA category this book lands in. I struggle with this category because I don’t believe that just because a main character is a young adult that a book should be labeled as such. Originally, YA was written primarily for the twelve through eighteen age range. Now, statistics show that thirty- to forty-year-olds make up the bulk of YA readers- and the content is usually geared toward that older audience, making this entire category a slippery slope and incredibly hard to rate. (This practice is coming back to haunt publishers and is to blame for much of the suffering libraries are coping with now. So, note to publishers who might want to consider what ‘young readers’ really means.) Because this novel is dark and deals with trigger-y material- I would not recommend it to younger teens or those with certain sensitivities. This book contains strong language- (F-bombs)- emotional deaths, drug use, drug trafficking, sexual situations, and sexual assault- though handled delicately- could still be trigger-y and is still disturbing. Sounds like adult reading material to me- but you be the judge. ( )

FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER is billed as a young adult novel. I'm an adult and YA novels usually bore me. But FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER didn't. As a matter of fact, it kept me reading late into the night. What a pleasant surprise!

Told in first person by the main character, Daunis, this book is the story of an 18-year-old girl who is half white and half Native American. After her best friend is killed by an ex-boyfriend high on meth, Daunis becomes a confidential informant for the FBI, trying to help solve the drug problem that is hurting her community and friends. FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER is a nail–biting mystery/thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat as Daunis becomes dangerously involved in drug operations both inside and outside her tribe.

I read a borrowed copy of this book. Now I plan to buy it so I can attend an author event and have Angeline Boulley sign it. ( )