Firekeeper's Daughter

by Angeline Boulley

Book Overview

A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER
A MORRIS AWARD WINNER
AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.

"One of this year's most buzzed about young adult novels." --Good Morning America

A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time Selection
Amazon's Best YA Book of 2021 So Far (June 2021)
A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List Selection
An Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2021 Selection
A PopSugar Best March 2021 YA Book Selection

With four starred reviews, Angeline Boulley's debut novel, Firekeeper's Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, perfect for readers of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange.

Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi's hockey team.

Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.

Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.

Now, as the deceptions--and deaths--keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she's ever known.

Return to Sugar Island in Warrior Girl Unearthed...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250766567
• ISBN13: 9781250766564
• Release Date: March 2021
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 6.0" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

must read list

I truly enjoyed this book. The story line was great and the background information on the tribe was so interesting. I am quite familiar with the are so it was like being there. Learning more tribal languages was a plus I did have to do a bit of editing on the "adjectives" but all in all it was a book worth reading. Can't wait for a sequel.

I couldn't put it down

This book is absolutely amazing. I read the entire book within a week. The author does an amazing job with historical fiction and sharing the knowledge and tradition of her culture. 10 out of 10 recommend!

Best Book I've Read This Year

This book was engaging, thoughtful, and overall a delight to read. I haven't found/read many stories by native authors so I was excited to give this a try. The suspense, mystery and twists were perfect. It's realistic and heart wrenching with a surprising ending.

Interesting and engrossing!

I really enjoyed this book! I’ve been to the Sault, my father in law has lived there 20+ years, and my husband talks about his time spent there often, so it felt like home in a way. There were some parts of the story that were hard to follow and there were parts I wish that had been expanded on more. I enjoyed reading and learning about the “Rez” and I do hope to see more books like this in the future!

Wow

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My review is spoiler free. I want to start off by saying the cover art of this book is even more beautiful in person. The colors are striking. I also love that this is a book about native characters and their community that is written by a native woman who even lives in the area where this book is set. Angeline Boulley seems to have poured herself into every aspect of this book, taking an idea she first had when she was 18 and spending the last 10 years working on it. It is very evident that she has done quite a bit of research to craft this story as well as drawing from her own experiences to weave together the plot which is full of intrigue and mystery. This YA thriller is so spectacular that it is no wonder that it has already been acquired by the Obamas' production company for cinematic adaptation as a Netflix TV show. I am sure this will be a book that we hear more and more about as time goes on.