User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Let’s dive into one of the best and most anticipated debuts of the year!
Well I had truly wonderful reading experience! I learned tons about Native American culture including traditions, language, history, the way how they use plants to turn them into natural medicines, their deep knowledge about chemistry, the survival skills!
Instead of great introduction to native culture, the powerful, layered characterization were the basic strength of this journey. The intense back stories, strong construction around tribal council which is an independent character of this book with its own dynamics, functioning mechanisms, beliefs, its uniqueness pick your interest and drag you into this vivid, eccentric and enigmatic world.
The heart wrenching story inside the tribe, the young adults’ murders related to drug trafficking which slowly spreads and takes more innocent lives were the powerful mystery of plot line.
18 years Daunis, biracial, dork, smart, sensitive, tough, powerful heroine you truly want to hug and care for! She’s a scandalous child of underage white mother from wealthy family and Native American father who loses his hockey career after a terrible accident and cheats on Daunis’ mother with another girl.
Even though Daunis deeply connects with her Native American heritage, she’s still not part of the tribal. She’s pale like a ghost, feeling like not belonging to any community, an outsider who recently loses her dream to pursue her career in sports. And her uncle David’s sudden relapse and dying from overdose, her grandma’s stroke forces her to change her plans about college. She is not gonna live her hometown!
It seems like relieving news for her star hockey player brother Levi and her best friend Lily who recently broke up from meth addict boyfriend Travis.
And of course there’s a new hottie hockey player Jaime joined the team might be good reason for her hanging around. She becomes ambassador of mysterious, charming athlete. Even the scar covers his face makes him more charismatic. They slowly get closer but Jaime has so many secrets.
Those secrets break out as someone so close to Daunis get hurt which put her difficult situation. Somebody is drug trafficking inside her community, taking innocent lives and with her connections, science knowledge, Daunis can be great asset for the investigation to solve the mystery. And of course she gets nothing to lose because she cannot let something happens to her loved ones! She already lost too much!
The author professionally handles so many sensitive and triggering subjects including abuse, addiction, sexual assault, grief in this book and her emotional wrapping up the story made me cry so hard! It was so deep! So meaningful! So inspirational!
I was planning to give four stars but I decided it was not fair. I truly invested in this story so I’m giving my full shiny five Ojibwe stars!
This is one of the best books of the year and one of my favorite reads I highly recommend!
Rating: really liked it
this reminded me of one of my favourite books,
‘beartown.’ not because of the hockey, but in the way that both are about small communities affected by the actions of their youth.
im not sure how realistic the entire plot is, but i was fascinated by it. i found the stakes to be high and the investigation to be compelling. i also loved learning about the ojibwe, their tribe, and their culture. that was probably my favourite aspect of the entire book.
this is such a strong debut and i cant wait to see what this author comes up with next.
↠ 4 stars
Rating: really liked it
This was a lot different than I was expecting, but not in a bad way. It was really interesting and provided a lot of information, some well fleshed out characters, and an intriguing but heartbreaking mystery. To be honest, this isn't something I would generally pick up or think I'd enjoy. I don't really love mysteries and crime stories don't usually appeal to me. But I was drawn in by the cover of this one and the cultural elements it tied into the story. The writing was really great. It was uncomplicated yet really beautiful. It built up this beautiful community that you could tell the main character cared for deeply. I felt like a part of all of it. I found some parts of the story were a bit predictable for me. I didn't particularly care for the romance subplot really, but it didn't bug me either. I just could have done without it. The thriller elements could be a bit overdone at times, but that might just be my own personal relationship with not caring for thrillers that much. Overall though, this was a really great debut. I'm glad I went out of my comfort zone and picked it up!
Rating: really liked it
Not my usual cup of tea but I ended up overall enjoying this!
Rating: really liked it
This is a stunning debut from Angeline Boulley, set in Sault Ste. Marie, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, amongst the Native American Ojibwe community. 18 year old Daunis Fontaine is biracial, an unenrolled tribal member, the child of a scandal, who whilst never quite fitting in with her fragile and vulnerable white mother's family, nor the other half of her Indigenous family, and community, nevertheless lives her daily life immersed in both. She is weighed by down by the disappointing loss of her Uncle David, a teacher, a meth death, and the stroke suffered by GrandMary, they say bad luck comes in threes, Daunis is sincerely hoping not. A gifted scientist, Daunis has put off going to the University of Michigan, and is instead intending to attend college locally with her lifelong best friend, Lily Chippeway, so that she can be there for her mother. Hockey mad, Daunis agrees to act as ambassador and introduce new player, Jamie, to the area and community as he joins her on her early morning runs.
The first part of the book embeds the reader into Daunis's life and history, her close relationship with her protective hockey playing half brother, Levi, and the rest of her indigenous family, including her badass Aunt Teddie. We are immersed in the historical atrocities and racism that have marked the painful history of the tribes, along with a picture of the culture, structures, contemporary politics, traditional medicine, rituals, ceremonies, tribal elders, with everyday community and family interactions. There is a focus on the growing blight of lives lost to meths, with the rising numbers of 'lost' boys and girls, as can be seen with Travis, Lily's ex-boyfriend. There is prodigious use of and explanation of indigenous words and concepts, the teachings of the good way of life by the 7 grandfathers through love, humility, respect, honesty, bravery, wisdom, and truth, pillars that are to inform Daunis's harrowing investigation. As tragedy strikes, shattering Daunis, she finds herself agreeing to go undercover as a confidential agent, looking into meths production and distribution that is destroying the future of the community.
Boulley writes a utterly riveting, complex and multilayered novel, rooted in, insightful and informative of, the Ojiwbe community that the central protagonist, Daunis, belongs to and is committed to, as she tries to protect their interests and future, outside agencies like the FBI may not necessarily do that or even see this as important. This is a fascinating and thrilling read, tense and suspenseful, with a strong central protagonist facing the complications of hockey, community and family ties, corruption and murder, not to mention a personal relationship that is hard to trust and believe in. Given the sexism, misogyny and sexual assaults, I took comfort in the depiction of the strong independent women and the ritual of the 'blanket party'. Part of the joy of reading this is the educational elements of learning about indigenous communities, such as the traditions and rituals that lie behind the critical role of the Firekeeper. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Oneworld Publications for an ARC.
Rating: really liked it
Honestly, who could resist this cover? I find it so compelling that I simply had to read the story that inspired such beauty. Plus, Firekeeper’s Daughter is an #OwnVoices tale, written by an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians about her Ojibwe community, solidifying its place as one of my most anticipated books of 2021.
With the gorgeous cover and #OwnVoices lineage in the Pro column, the glaring Con for me was that it’s also a Young Adult novel. I find the YA genre less enjoyable with each passing year, but my hope was that the storyline - an 18-year-old girl works as a Confidential Informant for the FBI to expose her community’s meth dealers - would transcend the classification. Unfortunately, it didn’t.
There was much to love about Firekeeper’s Daughter, particularly the immersion in the Ojibwe’s community, culture, customs and language. But the writing often felt juvenile, as did many of the scenes. The plot was bursting at the seams with far too many characters and events, and no trigger warning was left behind: drug addiction, suicide, murder, assault, rape. (Well, I guess no animals were harmed, so that’s something.)
Any review less than 5 stars for this book is a minority opinion, so I’d encourage interested readers to look at all the raves before deciding to pick it up or cast it aside. (At almost 500 pages, you’ll want to know how you’ll be spending your time!) You can count Netflix and the Obamas as surefire fans, because a series is already in the works. I’m looking forward to that, as Firekeeper’s Daughter’s many storylines will likely make a stellar transition from page to screen.
3.5 stars
Blog: www.confettibookshelf.com
IG: @confettibookshelf
Rating: really liked it
This book is set in my home town and is a fictionalized version of my home tribe. It's safe to say I am the target demographic here, as 'Nishnaabekwe.
I adore reading a story where I can vividly imagine the setting, where I know all the places the author mentions. I love reading stories with people like me from my own culture, and very seldom get to do so. Boulley gives all sorts of incidentals to 'Nish readers. Touches that are normalized for us. This book reads equal parts YA thriller and love letter to me. My language. My history. My people. All of these things are on the page.
That alone would have had me pick up the book, and honestly it is why I did. I'm reviewing it because it's good. It's smart. It's well-paced. It uses heavy topics to show the tenacity of a people, and also the way topics such as drug abuse and sexual assault eat at tribal communities. Daunis is a wonderfully fleshed character, and every bit the 'Ojibwe Nancy Drew' Boulley says she is.
I'd love to see this book find its way into classrooms, if for no other reason than getting a modern story about Natives out there. So that other people like me, who grew up with only Princess Tiger Lily and other racist depictions of Natives have something that is for them.
Rating: really liked it
DISCLAIMER: If you are thinking of reading this novel
I recommend you check out some more positive reviews, especially ones from #ownvoices reviewers (such as
Brandann Hill-Mann's review).
I didn't hate this book it but I would be lying if I said that it didn't really, really, really frustrate me (because it did).
2½ stars (rounded up as this is a debut)
I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't been for Daunis being the definition of
Not Like Other Girls.
Nancy Drew meets
Winter Counts in this YA debut. The cover (look at that BEAUTY), the premise, the overwhelmingly positive reception, all lead me to believe that I too would love this. Fifteen-year-old me probably would have (loved it that is) but I am now at a point in my life where I am tired of reading books that elevate girls who are
Not Like Other Girls and shame Other Girls.
Firekeeper's Daughter follows eighteen-year-old Daunis, the daughter to a white mother, who happens to belong to one of the most 'powerful' families in her town, and an Ojibwe father. Understandably Daunis has always felt like an outsider as she is not an enrolled tribal member. Daunis feels deeply invested in her Native heritage and throughout the novel, we see her observing many Ojibwe customs and beliefs. Time and again she has to reconcile herself with the knowledge that white people such as her maternal grandparents see her Ojibwe side as "a flaw or burden to overcome". There are also those within the Sugar Island Ojibwe Tribe who view her as white, not truly part of their community.
After witnessing a murder Daunis becomes entangled in an FBI investigation. Daunis agrees to help their investigation hoping to put an end to prevent drug-related deaths. A
coming-of-age tale meets a
slow-burn mystery-thriller that touches upon many serious and relevant issues while also including a
not so unnecessary romance subplot and
Riverdale-levels of drama.
Before I move on to what I didn't like in this novel I will mention a few of the things that did in my opinion work. Angeline Boulley does a stellar job in bringing to life both Sault Sainte Marie and Sugar Island to life. Throughout the course of the story, Boulley celebrates Native, specifically Ojibwe, practices, beliefs, and history. Daunis is clearly proud of her Ojibwe heritage and this is wonderfully reflected in her narration. There are a lot of terms and expressions in Ojibwemowin, and that made Daunis' world all the more vivid. I also appreciated that the story doesn't shy away from showing the ramifications of colonialism, the everyday injustices faced by indigenous individuals and communities, the consequences of substance abuse (without wholly demonising drug abusers), how harmful stereotypes about indigenous cultures and peoples are, and how disrespectful cultural appropriation is. Through the mystery-thriller storyline, the narrative also explores drug trafficking and violence against indigenous women. Additionally, the story had a nice body-positive message which is always a nice surprise. And Granny June. She was cool, probably the only character I liked.
I will take a leaf from Daunis (who is list-obsessed, because like all sciencey people she likes facts & logic) and list my various criticisms (
SPOILERS BELOW ):
1. Daunis being
Not Like Other Girls. She excels at science, loves sports (BIG BOY sports like hockey, none of that girly bullshit), hates lipstick and makeup, doesn't wear skirts (puh-lease, she isn't one of Those Girls). Daunis is also
FLAWLESS. You read that right. And please don't @ me saying that she makes some mistakes in her investigation. She is not a bloody detective. She's 18. No one expects her to be Hercule-bloody-Poirot. If she makes any injudicious choices these are nullified by the fact that she is ‘always' acting from a good place. She cares TOO much (about her community, her loved ones) and wants to protect those around her. How is that a flaw? So she doesn't trust the two undercover FBI agents and begins running her own investigation. I mean, how is not trusting the law enforcement a flaw? She's a bit quirky but that makes her all the more special (here we have the love interest saying to her: "I love how you see the world" *bleargh*). Curiously enough while the story tries to show how harmful misogynistic and sexist attitudes/mentalities are we have our female lead either
slut-shaming Other Girls or making incredibly
judgmental comments about them. She calls Other Girls, for example, the girlfriends of hockey players '
parasitic': "I won't be a wannabe anglerfish, trying to latch on to a guy who is already taken.". Other Girls are vain, they care about their looks, they go after guys who already have girlfriends, they have fake friendships with each other (not like Daunis and Lily), they are catty, superficial, stupid, girly, you name they are it. And at first, I genuinely thought that this would be Daunis' 'flaw'. The storyline would have her realise along the way that she is acting just like those men she dislikes so much...but no. Ah. As if. Daunis was right all along, time and again
Other Girls are shown indeed to be horrible (we have the basic white girl with her inappropriate dreamcatcher tattoo or cruel Macy who has no female solidarity and does Daunis dirty). And why does Daunis always blame Other Girls instead of the guys who actually do the cheating? Because her dad cheated on her mum? Give me a break. The same happened to me but I am certainly not out there whining about 'anglerfishes'. Grow up Daunis. The only person who points this out is a Bad Guy so his comment is moot. How convenient. Worst of all, for all her specialness (Daunis is sciencey and sporty and look now she is involved in an undercover case and falling in love with a handsome and mysterious stranger) she was just such a dull character.
2. The jarring dissonance between
the tone of Daunis’ narration (which makes her come across as being 14 rather than 18) and
the story’s content (which include murder, drug abuse and trafficking, sexual assault, kidnapping, and many other clearly YA and up things). On the one hand, we have Daunis’ referring to anything related to her role in the FBI’s investigation as
Secret Squirrel (the first Secret Squirrel lesson #1 was actually funny, “I am not paranoid, but the men listening to me are”). Secret Squirrel appears 36 times in the book. One too many if you ask me. Anyway, we have this silly squirrel nonsense that seems more suited to a Middle-Grade novel and then we have
a rape scene. And don’t even get me started with the
Guy Lies. Bah! Sometimes juxtaposing a cutesy protagonist with a story that has mature/serious content can work (I’m thinking of Harley Quinn) but here...it just did not work for me. Daunis’
childish language brought me out of the story.
3. The thriller storyline. It is
Riverdale-levels of overblown. And yet also incredibly predictable. Who would have thunk it, the golden boy is not so golden!
I am shook. This is the third book I can think of that does a similar not so shocking reveal. The baddies are
so cartoonish it was just plain ridiculous. They had their
villainous monologues in which they gloat as they explain their scheming to our heroes. Come on. Most of the ‘twists’ were either entirely predictable (Levi) or just OTT (the coach is also involved!).
4. The
romance is low-key questionable. Yeah, she’s 18 but the guy, Jamie or whatever his name is, is 22. And an FBI agent. Working on this drug trafficking case. His
main quality is that
he is hot. He’s got abs, which our Daunis checks him out all of the time (a tad creepy if you ask me), he has a handsome face but no wait, he has a facial scar. Wow. Doesn’t that lend him an air of mystery?! He also pinches the bridge of his nose, all of the time. Their chemistry...wasn’t there. It seemed way too quick,
insta-love sort of speed. Daunis acts like she doesn’t like him or trust him but she never shuts up about him or the feelings he makes her feel (butterflies and all that). To be fair, I liked the note the author ended their romance on (Daunis calling out Jamie for ‘needing’ her when the guy clearly needs some alone time). Jamie was boring, a
generic YA male love interest (✓ mysterious past ✓ hot ✓ Not Like Other Boys).
5.Daunis’ parents are very...undefined. The mother is sad and sometimes talks to herself (revealing SECRETS). And yeah, the father is dead by the start of the story but it would have been nice to know his character, really know him.
6. The dynamics between secondary characters were vague. Don't Daunis and Levi share an auntie? Yet Levi and this auntie two never seem to mention each other or have scenes together (and if they do they certainly don't give us an impression of their relationship).
7. The
time period...why was this story set in 2004? I still don’t get it. A way out of having characters use the internet? Search me.
8. Chapters ending in
cheesy cliffhangers.
9. The lists.10. The only gay character is dead...
If you liked this novel, I'm honestly kind of jealous. I so wanted to like it. But much about it just did not work for me.
Rating: really liked it
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DNF @ p.51I have too many books and too little time, so I no longer finish books I'm not interested in. That doesn't necessarily mean a book is objectively bad but please keep in mind that when I review, I am writing a review for ME, so "good" and "bad" for me might not be "good" and "bad" for you. I say this because even though this book has wildly positive ratings on Goodreads, I kind of feel like I read a totally different book from everyone else who liked it and sometimes I think people think I am speaking for all and sundry when I write my reviews. There were things about it I loved: the cover (obviously), the premise (it kind of sounded like an #ownvoices YA version of
Longmire, which would be AMAZING), and the emphasis on Ojibwe culture (including language).
What ended up making this book a miss for me is that it was really boring. Not a lot was happening. There were a ton of info-dumps and it felt like there were way too many characters introduced too quickly which made it hard to figure out who was who and what their relationships to one another were. The heroine also came across as sounding slightly bland just because she came across as a vehicle for all of this weighty info-dumping, so by the time the murder
finally came around (I skimmed to about p.200 to try to see if it was worth reading), I was just feeling completely exhausted by the thought of continuing.
You might very well enjoy this book if you enjoy really dense, really long books that are more about the scenery than they are about the plot. I have trouble focusing on books that don't have a lot happening, but I know some people are really into setting. If you're into setting, this will be great for you. Likewise, the heroine's voice felt kind of "generic teen girl" to me but I know some people like a more unobtrusive narrator because it enables them to project into the head of the main character more easily. So the two things that made this a "bad" book for me might make it "good" for someone else.
I'm sorry I didn't enjoy this more, but oh well.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!2 stars
Rating: really liked it
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is one of the most powerful and important books I’ve ever read. It made my heart feel so full and broken at the same time. As a Lingít reader, I appreciated how unapologetically Anishinaabe this novel was in it’s use of language, traditions, and culture that created such a rich world. The community was so real and visceral, I felt like I knew the characters, and I absolutely loved all of it. This book shines a valuable light on Anishinaabe people and issues, which many other Indigenous communities across Turtle Island will see themselves reflected in. Boulley has delivered a masterpiece of Indigenous literature. It’s one I’ll be revisiting many times, and pushing on everyone I know.
I would classify this as a young adult crime fiction, so I highly recommend going in as blind as you can. It added to my reading experience and had me gushing, screaming, and wishing I could talk to someone while I read it. And if you are usually turned off by a book being young adult, please don’t let that turn you away from this book. I highly recommend this to teen and adult readers.
CW: Meth addiction, murder, grief, mourning, kidnapping, mention of drug overdose, rape, suicide
Rating: really liked it
I am so torn about this one. There is a good book in here, but there's a lot of other stuff piled on that, for me, detracted from what made it good. I think it needed a stronger edit to remove a plot thread or two, and take down the page count, to get it to really shine and be what it could be. I'll be following Boulley after this, hoping that's what comes next. It has been optioned for a series and I think that is where all these extra plots could work really well! It's just a bit much for a standalone novel.
This book wants very much to present you a full picture of Indigenous life in Michigan's Upper Peninusla, specifically around the Ojibwe tribe and Sugar Island. It does a great job of capturing culture and setting, of showing the tensions within the tribal community and the tensions coming from outside of it. Daunis has a deep respect for her tribe's religion, and I particularly liked how her belief is given so much weight, it's unusual for any religious character in any novel, but particularly around Native religions, which are often treated more like myths and fantasy.
On the crime novel side, I have some notes. (And things will get mildly spoiler-y here, although they're the same spoilers as the jacket copy.) Having a CI as a protagonist is a great approach. Lets you have the point of view of an amateur, where it also makes sense that they're investigating and poking around and potentially putting themselves in dangerous situations. Having the CI fake-date her handler is okay I guess, but because it's obvious from the beginning that Daunis and Jamie really like each other, this puts us in a constant back and forth that never moves the plot forward and often pulls away from what's actually interesting.
Lately I am also approaching crime novels paying attention at how they manage violence and trauma. This is an even bigger question when we consider the violence and trauma towards marginalized communities. There are a lot of Native women who die in this book. And yes, this is the reality of the world, but also it's something I think readers should know going in. For better or worse, Daunis is deeply traumatized, so we get to see how trauma can play out, but also Daunis's trauma isn't the center of the book really, it's a subplot, and that feels weird a lot of the time. There is also a sexual assault that occurs in the book, which I was not expecting, and which happens right as the plot picks up. It is, obviously, a tightrope walk to want to bring attention to the ongoing violence against Native women, and the way the justice system overlooks and devalues them. But it's tricky to do those things in a crime novel, where they can seem like plot devices. Boulley doesn't get it totally wrong here, but there were some parts that felt like missteps to me. For all Daunis's worries about her community, we don't actually get a good look at how the broader community problems play out.
I think if Boulley had slowed down her plot it could have made these elements gel better. The thing is, this is a LOT of plot. So much! I can't remember a crime novel I've read recently that had this much going on. Daunis is being pulled in like 50 different directions. Boulley is trying to do so much with this one person, and in the end it's spread rather thin. There is Daunis's biracial identity, her sick grandmother, her recently overdosed uncle, her troubled mother, her dead father, her charismatic brother, her efforts to find info at the senior center, her college transfer, her suddenly ended hockey career, her best friend, her best friend's addict boyfriend, her aunt's part in a "blanket party", her struggle with her fake boyfriend's lies about his identity, her interest in science and botany, her infiltrating of the hockey club, a teammate's creepy dad, her conflicted feelings about not being an enrolled member of the tribe, and the list goes on. It's a lot! To her credit, Boulley keeps you feeling up to speed, I was mostly able to keep track of the many characters. But not only do we have all these issues, but Daunis can get rather stuck on them, repeating the same things over and over again.
There is a lot of explaining that happens here, early chapters are almost eye-rolling as Daunis explains everything about how the local community runs to new-guy Jamie, and things are better when Daunis doesn't explain things. But when she does explain, we often get the same thing explained to us again a few chapters later when it circles back in the plot. Less explaining could have made this more efficient, and now that I look over everything I think inefficiency is the chief issue.
As always, when I nitpick this heavily it is because there's a lot to like here and that makes the things that held it back more obvious.
Rating: really liked it
CW: sexual assault, suicide, death of a loved one, addiction, drug use, fatphobia
Rating: really liked it
This was a great thriller. 🤗 There was a lot of steps in the “investigation”, which kept me guessing (incorrectly) as to what was really going on. 🤔 It feels a bit unfinished to me, but I think that’s a matter of personal preference. 😉
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars -- I'm not sure if it was just my mood or the book itself, but this one really destroyed me emotionally (that's a compliment, BTW). This was much harder hitting than I expect from YA, but it felt totally earned. Often in YA thrillers, I feel like there's the attempt to make the teen characters "relatable" by making them overly cynical and angsty in a way that rings a bit hollow. This is a great example of a YA thriller that has our characters going THROUGH IT in a way that completely makes sense for the situation and keeps a level of emotional realism that I appreciated. I was so moved by the way this incorporated the real situations that Native women and girls are put in all too often into a page turning thriller. Totally recommend, particularly as a transition book for YA readers starting to grow into adult books or adult readers looking for a gateway into YA literature
Strong CWs for drug use/abuse, sexual assault, racism
Rating: really liked it
This was surprisingly good.
