Book Review: "Firekeeper's Daughter" by Angeline Boulley
"Firekeeper's Daughter" by Angeline Boulley
Synopsis: 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.
Trigger Warnings: domestic violence, drug use, murder
Rating: 4.75
Review: I teased this in our earlier “If You Only Read One” post, but omg, this book. About halfway through it, I knew I was reading a book that would make my top reads of the year list, and by the end, I was hoping-beyond-hope that Angeline Boulley would have announced plans for a sequel (note: not yet, but omg the Obamas are making it for Netflix!). What can I say? I loved reading about this “indigenous Nancy Drew,” and I was entertained, educated, and challenged by this book in the best way.
Okay, now that I’ve already raved about it, I guess I should tell you about the book?
Daunis is a young Native women, living near a reservation with her family and her tribe (there’s a backstory there, but I don’t want to spoil it), starting what she expects to be a normal year of high school: sports, applying to college, school drama, boys, and tribal rituals. Honestly, I would have been happy just reading that book, as books by indigenous authors about indigenous populations are admittedly a gaping hole on my personal reading list.
Then, the night of the first ritual, some boy drama turns deadly — no, not kidding at all, and not spoiling what’s in the synopsis! — she ends up involved in working with the FBI on an investigation into an illicit drug ring on her reservation. Drug use among Native populations is higher than general populations, due to many issues ably addressed by Angeline Boulley in this book, and to see it be the subject of such compelling fiction is honestly amazing. I feel like we rarely get to see the other side of addiction in fiction; it’s normally closer to trauma porn. Instead, here, we see Daunis put it all on the line for her community and her tribe.
I am not going to get anymore in the plot besides say that the last 100 pages or so are a WILD RIDE and I desperately need to know what happens next, as I mentioned above.
Beyond the incredible story, I really appreciate how honest a portrayal Boulley gave of life on a reservation — particularly for someone with one foot in, and one foot out. I learned so much about Ojibwe culture, and I loved every moment of it. She really did a gifted job explaining in an engaging way, and I can’t wait to see what Boulley does next.
TL;DR: An almost cinematic look at Indigenous culture, told through the eyes of a young teenage girl-turned-FBI informant, trying to protect her family and her tribe.
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