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emily_mh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was… incredible. I don’t think I’m going to stop thinking about this read for a very long time, much like I’ve never stopped thinking about Boulley’s debut (and the companion to this novel), Firekeeper’s Daughter.
In her Author’s Note, Boulley states that: “Ultimately, Warrior Girl Unearthed is about the need to control Indigenous bodies - both in the past and today.” I genuinely cannot think of a better way to describe the story here. The narrative is based on both the fact that 108,000 ancestors remain stolen across the U.S. alone (and those are just the reported cases), and the fact that there is a crisis of MMIWG2S.
Through her summer internship, Perry learns about how museums and universities have been resisting the repatriation of Native American ancestors, as well as cultural items, despite legislation (NAGPRA) being made to enforce repatriation. Instead, these institutions find loopholes which they use to avoid this process, which the less-than-watertight NAGPRA allows for. Another massive issue with NAGPRA is that it cannot hold to account private U.S. “collectors”, or public and private “collectors” overseas! It really disgusted me how academics here (reflecting their real-world counterparts) treated the ancestors and the cultural items as monetary assets, as “things” that belonged to them and that they had a right to. It shone a light on the white supremacy inherent in academia, and in particular challenged my view on archaeology. A striking quote found in the book is “one person’s archaeologist is another person’s grave robber.” It made me question how old a grave needs to be before it turns from grave-robbing to academic study - or perhaps a more apt question is, who the grave belongs to? Is it ever okay to place academic study over respect for a human’s burial? Where is that line drawn and why? I’m coming at these questions from my POV as a Classics student; these questions obviously have clear answers when it comes to Native American ancestors.
The same racism, fetishisation, and control that informs the attitude of museums and universities towards repatriation is also behind the epidemic of MMIWG2S that the book includes. Here I learnt about VAWA (the Violence Against Women Act); I don’t know why I didn’t remember this from Firekeeper’s Daughter. It is another piece of legislation that is supposed to protect Native Americans, but its massive blindspot renders it ineffective. Essentially, non-Indigenous folk have a very low chance of prosecution over harming Indigenous people on tribal land due to how jurisdiction is set up by VAWA. This is just such a glaring oversight and enables non-Indigenous people to harm Native Americans without consequence - as is detailed in the story here.
Please don’t go into this expecting a fast-paced thriller. You will do yourself and this book a disservice. There are definitely mystery and thriller elements that propel the story forward, but the focus is on Perry as she learns about and experiences the issues her community is facing, figures out what she can do about it, and takes action. It is slow-paced, but this fits the story well as Boulley uses the space to realistically show an MC learning, growing, acting, and finding her purpose.
Perry’s character development is significant. She does not begin as directionless per se, but there is such a difference in her at the end of the book where she has found something that she is wrapped up in, that drives her, that gives her actions meaning. Perry was a great MC to follow in other ways too. I loved how headstrong and determined she was, how committed she was to her community and ancestors. I liked how she wasn’t perfect, instead a little messy, but her heart was always in the right place.
I cannot wait to be able to read a new Angeline Boulley, whenever that might be!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Cursing, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Car accident, Death, Rape, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Addiction, Slavery, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Animal death, Excrement, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Abandonment, Ableism, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, War, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Child abuse
Major: theft, missing loved one, MMIWG2S Moderate: trichotillomania, blackmailing Minor: menstruation, childbirth, grooming, one use of the anti_Inuit e-slur, blood quantum, residential schools, loss of a loved onecookiecat73's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
wow. this book was really good.
I loved the characters and the themes, thought they were very well handled. The prose was easy to read, flowed well, the sort I'm able to fly through and read lots at once. The only thing stopping me from doing that was how heavy the book was, and even despite that I read it in 2 and a half days.
Some books like this have some sort of emotional climax that I have to pause the book at to cry. That didn't really happen to me with this book. Instead I found myself tearing up at what felt like every other chapter.
I read the blurb for this book when I was around the half-way mark, thinking that it was unlikely to spoil anything that far in. It absolutely did. I guess I'm more spoiler-sensitive than most people, but wow, did they really need to tell you that in the blurb? the thing you're meant to read before trying the book? oh well.
Some thoughts about something that is kind of spoilery: The whole thing with Cooper Turtle felt exactly like it was setting up to be the trope of the quirky old guy who no one really likes and everyone judges and the teen mc hates at first but grows to love and maybe he says something she doesn't like but turns out he was right all along! So I kept that trope in mind while reading. But then the story progressed and I though maybe I was wrong and that although Perry has grown to respect him much more than initially, Cooper Turtle isn't going to be proven right all along, and the message would be that you do sometimes have to go outside the rules to things that are important if going inside the rules won't work. But then later Perry seems to "learn her lesson" that Cooper was right. So it does fit into that trope I thought it would? I'm a little confused at what the message around that is. The main growth of Perry is to be a little less impulsive, as she doesn't always know the full effects of her words and actions - which I generally like as a message, although it skirts the edge of feeling as though it's critising her bluntness at the start, and since being blunt is often an autistic trait, feels a little ehhhh... (btw Perry does feel kind of Autistic coded to me, though I don't know if it was intentional) it only skirts the edge though, I hope that's not the intention. [back to my main point] but it also doesn't seem to condemn Perry breaking the rules at some points, which could make it feel like a good nuanced take, but in my opinon it comes out as just being a bit confusing, I'm not really sure of the intention of the message.
There isn't really anything in this book that I feel able to critisize. There's nothing I want to take out or completely do over. But there are a lot of moments where I think something could be added. In general I just wanted more from the book. I loved following these characters and their lives, and there are so many times when the narrative skips a few days and all we hear about them is a quick summarry from a character. I would have loved some of those days to have been included in the book. It feels like a lot happens off-page, and I know the book is fairly long already, but personally, I would have loved it longer, to have it include those days and moments it skims over. I think seeing some of that would have made the story feel more real and whole to me. (not that it felt not real or not whole! I loved the book, I mean just as an improvement.)
The other main thing I would add is more time for the emotions. Again, there are no descriptions of emotions that I would do differently or take out, but I want more. So many traumatising things happen, there are so many moments when our characters are clearly very shaken up and struggling, and personally, I think the narrative could have done with giving the emotional impact more time and space. Sometimes giving only the bare minimum in describing the characters reactions and feelings feels like a great intentional choice, but I think here we needed a bit more. We are told our main character cries a lot (which is good!) but I would have liked more descriptions of her feelings in those moments. And again it's where we skip over hours or days and processing happens off-page. I think that can work great if it's because the character barely remembers it because of how traumatising it was, but again, I think too much was left out and skimmed over in this case.
The ending and resolution too, feel a bit too fast and rushed for my taste. And I'm left a little confused over some of the things that happened, though I'm not sure if that's something the book did wrong or if not understanding was on me here.
[the "critism" about emotions is the one I stand by here the most, the others I think are very much personal taste, as it's something I've noticed happen quite a bit with books I read. my reviews are always about my personal enjoyment of books though, so I'm still mentioning them!]
Overall though, I loved this. I will absolutely be reading FIrekeeper's Daughter and probably any more books that the author writes if they look like the sort of book I like
I loved the characters and the themes, thought they were very well handled. The prose was easy to read, flowed well, the sort I'm able to fly through and read lots at once. The only thing stopping me from doing that was how heavy the book was, and even despite that I read it in 2 and a half days.
Some books like this have some sort of emotional climax that I have to pause the book at to cry. That didn't really happen to me with this book. Instead I found myself tearing up at what felt like every other chapter.
I read the blurb for this book when I was around the half-way mark, thinking that it was unlikely to spoil anything that far in. It absolutely did. I guess I'm more spoiler-sensitive than most people, but wow, did they really need to tell you that in the blurb? the thing you're meant to read before trying the book? oh well.
Some thoughts about something that is kind of spoilery:
There isn't really anything in this book that I feel able to critisize. There's nothing I want to take out or completely do over. But there are a lot of moments where I think something could be added. In general I just wanted more from the book. I loved following these characters and their lives, and there are so many times when the narrative skips a few days and all we hear about them is a quick summarry from a character. I would have loved some of those days to have been included in the book. It feels like a lot happens off-page, and I know the book is fairly long already, but personally, I would have loved it longer, to have it include those days and moments it skims over. I think seeing some of that would have made the story feel more real and whole to me. (not that it felt not real or not whole! I loved the book, I mean just as an improvement.)
The other main thing I would add is more time for the emotions. Again, there are no descriptions of emotions that I would do differently or take out, but I want more. So many traumatising things happen, there are so many moments when our characters are clearly very shaken up and struggling, and personally, I think the narrative could have done with giving the emotional impact more time and space. Sometimes giving only the bare minimum in describing the characters reactions and feelings feels like a great intentional choice, but I think here we needed a bit more. We are told our main character cries a lot (which is good!) but I would have liked more descriptions of her feelings in those moments. And again it's where we skip over hours or days and processing happens off-page. I think that can work great if it's because the character barely remembers it because of how traumatising it was, but again, I think too much was left out and skimmed over in this case.
The ending and resolution too, feel a bit too fast and rushed for my taste. And I'm left a little confused over some of the things that happened, though I'm not sure if that's something the book did wrong or if not understanding was on me here.
[the "critism" about emotions is the one I stand by here the most, the others I think are very much personal taste, as it's something I've noticed happen quite a bit with books I read. my reviews are always about my personal enjoyment of books though, so I'm still mentioning them!]
Overall though, I loved this. I will absolutely be reading FIrekeeper's Daughter and probably any more books that the author writes if they look like the sort of book I like
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Car accident, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Murder, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Biphobia, Colonisation, Gore, Homophobia, Medical content, and Outing
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Animal death, Sexual violence, Bullying, Cannibalism, Dementia, and Police brutality
rape is discussed more than just in passing but is not shownshelfreflectionofficial's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
“Warriors are willing to do what others can’t or won’t do for their community.”
Warrior Girl Unearthed takes place ten years after Boulley’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, which won many awards and was named by Time in their 100 Best YA Books of All Time.
Firekeeper’s Daughter’s protagonist was Daunis, then- age 18. Warrior Girl Unearthed focuses on Daunis’s niece, Perry (twin to Paulline) who is now 16. She is a good character to use to follow-up to Daunis because their personalities are similar— blunt, strong, outspoken, risk-takers, opinionated, kind, loyal to their tribe and family.
I didn’t feel as lost at first reading this book compared to Firekeeper’s Daughter. It may be because I was already prepared for the Ojibwe language and the Yooper slang to be used. It may also be that this one didn’t ALSO have all the hockey jargon and anatomy terminology that were relevant to Daunis’s character.
It felt like Boulley didn’t take on as many threads to weave together as Firekeeper’s Daughter. The plot and character were a bit simpler. Warrior Girl Unearthed is 100 pages less, as well, so I think Boulley made some good choices with her second book.
Another improvement Boulley made with this book was better writing of the text conversations. They were more realistic. Poorly written text messages is one of my pet peeves so I was happy about this.
This book felt slow in the beginning. Having not really read the Goodreads summary, I wasn’t sure what the main conflict of the story was going to be.
It starts off with Perry wrecking Daunis’s jeep and needing to earn money to pay for the repairs. This drops her into a tribal summer intern program she is less than enthused about.
Her assignment introduces her to a collection of tribal artifacts, sacred items, and ancestral remains held at the nearby university. One of the remains is a woman they call Warrior Girl.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the set-up for the primary plot. Getting these items and remains back to their tribe where they should be. It is a discussion on the repatriation act of 1990 (NAGPRA) which was enacted not only to restore these things to their rightful place, but to make sure remains and items were treated with dignity and respect.
Perry vows to do whatever it takes to stop the college from dragging their feet on inventorying their collection and making sure Warrior Girl is returned to their tribe where she can be returned to the earth from which she was robbed.
The secondary plot is the increasing number of young women from their tribe and others going missing and the laws around what crimes are prosecuted by whom.
There are lesser threads including a small romance plus the relationship between the two sisters (twins) and their differing personalities.
So yes, it was slow in the beginning, but I think all the build-up was necessary to Perry’s character and her devotion to her vow. We have to see the challenges of jumping through hoops and doing things the legal way. We have to see the disrespect of some of the characters and her growing commitment to repatriation. We have to believe that she cares about it so much that she really is willing to do whatever it takes to complete her vow.
It makes the climax of the book and her actions make more sense.
Some things I liked: It was great checking in with Granny June again. It was nice to know where Daunis ended up. I really enjoyed the character (Sam Hill) who was just called ‘What-The’.
I liked the good familial relationships shown and that even though Perry was a teenager, she still loved and respected her parents. I liked that the romantic aspect of the book was not the driving force of the plot nor of the main character’s behavior.
I thought Boulley did a good job of using the Ojibwe language in a major way while also cluing the reader into what was said in a natural way so it didn’t feel like you were just reading a dictionary.
Some things I didn’t like: All the swearing. It was less than some books I read, but for some reason felt like more. It may be because the main character using the f-words is a 16 year-old which feels worse. There is also some drug use (Perry’s twin keeps a stash of weed gummies for her anxiety). There is also reference to ‘sneaky snags’ which is her twin out having secret sex. Nothing is said more than that, but both the drugs and the sex are referenced as if it’s no big deal.
Sure, maybe that’s a normal thing for teenagers— which I’m pretty sad about if it is— but I would not want my teenagers (whenever I have them) reading this book with that content. It’s marketed as a YA book, but in my opinion, the content is beyond that.
One thing that annoyed me, which was also used in Firekeeper’s Daughter, was the phrase ‘pointed her lips.’ It was used 8 times in this book. And I still don’t really understand how this looks in real life.
Did I like it more than Firekeeper’s Daughter?
That is a hard question. I think I liked Daunis better than Perry. But I think the ‘mystery’ part was better in Warrior Girl Unearthed. I think the pacing was better in FD. FD also had discussion around tribal traditions and the challenges they face in America as a whole, but I think it was more dominant in WGU. Really it felt like a book about repatriation but jammed into a fictional YA framework. So I didn’t like that as much.
It’s good to learn things about a culture I know very little about. But it felt a little too political. Espeically with the inclusion of the comments regarding black people shot by police. Perry’s father is part-black but it seemed like a political comment rather than necessary for the story. Or things like this:
“‘You really wanna study where women and people of color are invisible?’” This quote may have been said as an exaggeration by a character, I don’t know the author’s intention, but it’s a bit too mainstream narrative for me. Women and people of color are hardly invisible. They are thriving at all levels! They may face some unique challenges at times, but as a whole I don’t believe they are as disadvantaged as I’m told to believe.
“These moccasins were taken off of ancestors in their graves.’ He looks horror-struck. I take deep breaths before continuing.’”
“‘I saw a ceremonial pipe fully assembled.’ He grimaces. ‘You get it, Web. Lockhart shouldn’t own it, and he for sure shouldn’t be displaying it like that.’”
These two quotes are commenting regarding non-natives. They also talked very negatively about people who tried to sell these items at garage sales or on eBay. One the one hand, yes, there are people who are ‘grave robbers’ and intentionally steal things for their own financial benefit. Who openly disgrace the native traditions. And that’s a real problem.
However, on the other hand, there are people who just don’t know. They don’t know what they have. How are they supposed to know that they have a ceremonial pipe and that it’s horrifying to assemble it?! I don’t know how easy it would be to find out this information, but the book didn’t not give much grace in the way of ignorance. They found any white person touching any Native item or remains as one of the worst things.
I guess I struggle a little with wanting to respect their traditions and the sacredness of their items, but also feeling like their attitude towards this to be pretty harsh.
I do want to learn, and I know that there were terrible things done to Native Americans (like the boarding schools) that stripped them of their culture and lives, but what she was trying to teach me via a novel felt a little too forceful in this book.
So in conclusion, both books had their pros and cons, but overall I think my first impression after reading Firekeeper’s Daughter was a little better than after reading Warrior Girl Unearthed.
Religious Differences
I am not sure how to correctly state the difference between Natives who practice and worship the traditional way and Natives who became Christians, so I’ll probably say something wrong, but I’m still going to state my ponderings anyway.
[I found this article by a Christian Native American that I thought was good]
One thing that was said multiple times in different ways was:
“I stare at random tourists and wonder how they would react to their ancestors being stolen for research. I’m guessing they would see it as sacrilege.”
I would definitely not like if someone exhumed my parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents because that does seem disrespectful or jarring emotionally. But personally, I don’t know if it would really bother me if people decided to study my ancestors’ remains. To me, they are just bones. They are not there anymore. And maybe I could learn something more about my ancestors.
I understand that is not the way non-Christian Natives view it.
“We ask the ancestors to forgive what was done to their physical bodies, and we pray their spirits are at peace.”
Boulley quotes Chip Colwell saying,
“I know for these Native American traditionalists, the bones in the boxes are pulsating with power. For them, the dead are not really dead at all... For them, repatriation is a religious duty, not a political victory.”
And even with the treatment of their funerary items or other other cultural items. They treat bones and items as sacred. They think the bones have power and that their ancestors speak to them from the grave and guide them in their life.
That is different than my Christian beliefs. The Bible teaches us not to worship the body or objects, that it would be idolatry. The only eternal things are God, his Word, and people’s souls. Everything else will pass away.
If someone was going to auction off a stolen Bible for $20,000 in a disrespectful way, we may mourn the treatment of God’s Word, but I don’t think we would buy it just to return it to respect. We would (or should) use that money to help people. People who are living.
The holiest part of Christianity is the holiness of God and of Jesus. And Jesus is alive- there are no remains to protect or preserve.
When I think of bodily remains, I know it’s not my relatives. Their souls have departed. They don’t need that body anymore. They will get a resurrected body that is far better.
I say this because Boulley has brought up something I’ve never thought about before. I am exploring why I have a hard time understanding their traditions. Our religious beliefs drive the way we view the world and what’s in it and it’s very different.
Even though we have differing religious beliefs, I love that in America we are free to have and practice differing beliefs. We should still respect each other’s traditions. Their preservation and care for their funerary items does not hurt anyone so I think the repatriation act is a good and rightful thing.
I don’t think anyone should just go around digging up known burial grounds without proper authorization. That seems like a worthy law. I can understand this sentiment:
“Our ancestors’ bodies and funerary objects have been written on with markers and pens, handled, and studied by professors, researchers, and students for far too long. Their bodies, laid out in cardboard boxes, on metal shelves, is your university’s shameful reminder of the disrespect for human dignity.”
I am also not an anthropologist. If we were to just return all tribal objects from anywhere in America to wherever they go— what would we lose? I don’t know. I don’t know what the aftermath would be. I guess we would then rely on the tribes around the country to educate us on their past and culture instead of studying burial grounds for that information.
“Cooper says museums use that label, ‘culturally unidentifiable,’ as a catchall if they don’t have the resources to do a proper inventory. He says they also use it even after tribes provide evidence, because then, the museum can still hold on to the objects."
I can believe that museums and university departments make little effort in following through on inventorying a collection and actually trying to get it where it needs to go. I can believe there is deception used to avoid following the rules.
Recommendation
Angeline Boulley, a Native and a firekeeper’s daughter, definitely writes unique books and I enjoy reading a book written from a Native author in a setting and culture that I am not familiar with. I always enjoy learning while I read.
This book is long but doesn’t take too long to read. I think the plot is still decent and the characters are mostly likable— though sometimes Perry can be a lot.
If you plan to read this, I think I would still read Firekeeper’s Daughter first, but you wouldn’t have to.
Whether you are a Native yourself, or a non-Native, I think this book will invoke some feelings. Feelings that may be hard to understand and cause you to struggle. I think that’s a good thing.
I did say that it felt too political at times, but as I reflect, I’m glad that it made me think about what I believe and how I should interact with the Ojibwe culture and religion. I don’t have it all figured out, but it’s good for me to think about.
I think the only reason I would stop reading Boulley’s books is if the swearing continued to be as it is. (And I especially wouldn’t recommend this for YA readers as I mentioned earlier.)
Overall, this is a book about a teenage girl who discovers an injustice done to her tribe and, like a warrior, will do anything to rectify it. It’s the (mostly) selfless quest to right a wrong and uphold the religious beliefs she and her family hold.
I think most people will enjoy this book!
[See my original post for a couple other book links and pics relevant to the book]
**Received and ARC via NetGalley**
Warrior Girl Unearthed takes place ten years after Boulley’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, which won many awards and was named by Time in their 100 Best YA Books of All Time.
Firekeeper’s Daughter’s protagonist was Daunis, then- age 18. Warrior Girl Unearthed focuses on Daunis’s niece, Perry (twin to Paulline) who is now 16. She is a good character to use to follow-up to Daunis because their personalities are similar— blunt, strong, outspoken, risk-takers, opinionated, kind, loyal to their tribe and family.
I didn’t feel as lost at first reading this book compared to Firekeeper’s Daughter. It may be because I was already prepared for the Ojibwe language and the Yooper slang to be used. It may also be that this one didn’t ALSO have all the hockey jargon and anatomy terminology that were relevant to Daunis’s character.
It felt like Boulley didn’t take on as many threads to weave together as Firekeeper’s Daughter. The plot and character were a bit simpler. Warrior Girl Unearthed is 100 pages less, as well, so I think Boulley made some good choices with her second book.
Another improvement Boulley made with this book was better writing of the text conversations. They were more realistic. Poorly written text messages is one of my pet peeves so I was happy about this.
This book felt slow in the beginning. Having not really read the Goodreads summary, I wasn’t sure what the main conflict of the story was going to be.
It starts off with Perry wrecking Daunis’s jeep and needing to earn money to pay for the repairs. This drops her into a tribal summer intern program she is less than enthused about.
Her assignment introduces her to a collection of tribal artifacts, sacred items, and ancestral remains held at the nearby university. One of the remains is a woman they call Warrior Girl.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the set-up for the primary plot. Getting these items and remains back to their tribe where they should be. It is a discussion on the repatriation act of 1990 (NAGPRA) which was enacted not only to restore these things to their rightful place, but to make sure remains and items were treated with dignity and respect.
Perry vows to do whatever it takes to stop the college from dragging their feet on inventorying their collection and making sure Warrior Girl is returned to their tribe where she can be returned to the earth from which she was robbed.
The secondary plot is the increasing number of young women from their tribe and others going missing and the laws around what crimes are prosecuted by whom.
There are lesser threads including a small romance plus the relationship between the two sisters (twins) and their differing personalities.
So yes, it was slow in the beginning, but I think all the build-up was necessary to Perry’s character and her devotion to her vow. We have to see the challenges of jumping through hoops and doing things the legal way. We have to see the disrespect of some of the characters and her growing commitment to repatriation. We have to believe that she cares about it so much that she really is willing to do whatever it takes to complete her vow.
It makes the climax of the book and her actions make more sense.
Some things I liked: It was great checking in with Granny June again. It was nice to know where Daunis ended up. I really enjoyed the character (Sam Hill) who was just called ‘What-The’.
I liked the good familial relationships shown and that even though Perry was a teenager, she still loved and respected her parents. I liked that the romantic aspect of the book was not the driving force of the plot nor of the main character’s behavior.
I thought Boulley did a good job of using the Ojibwe language in a major way while also cluing the reader into what was said in a natural way so it didn’t feel like you were just reading a dictionary.
Some things I didn’t like: All the swearing. It was less than some books I read, but for some reason felt like more. It may be because the main character using the f-words is a 16 year-old which feels worse. There is also some drug use (Perry’s twin keeps a stash of weed gummies for her anxiety). There is also reference to ‘sneaky snags’ which is her twin out having secret sex. Nothing is said more than that, but both the drugs and the sex are referenced as if it’s no big deal.
Sure, maybe that’s a normal thing for teenagers— which I’m pretty sad about if it is— but I would not want my teenagers (whenever I have them) reading this book with that content. It’s marketed as a YA book, but in my opinion, the content is beyond that.
One thing that annoyed me, which was also used in Firekeeper’s Daughter, was the phrase ‘pointed her lips.’ It was used 8 times in this book. And I still don’t really understand how this looks in real life.
Did I like it more than Firekeeper’s Daughter?
That is a hard question. I think I liked Daunis better than Perry. But I think the ‘mystery’ part was better in Warrior Girl Unearthed. I think the pacing was better in FD. FD also had discussion around tribal traditions and the challenges they face in America as a whole, but I think it was more dominant in WGU. Really it felt like a book about repatriation but jammed into a fictional YA framework. So I didn’t like that as much.
It’s good to learn things about a culture I know very little about. But it felt a little too political. Espeically with the inclusion of the comments regarding black people shot by police. Perry’s father is part-black but it seemed like a political comment rather than necessary for the story. Or things like this:
“‘You really wanna study where women and people of color are invisible?’” This quote may have been said as an exaggeration by a character, I don’t know the author’s intention, but it’s a bit too mainstream narrative for me. Women and people of color are hardly invisible. They are thriving at all levels! They may face some unique challenges at times, but as a whole I don’t believe they are as disadvantaged as I’m told to believe.
“These moccasins were taken off of ancestors in their graves.’ He looks horror-struck. I take deep breaths before continuing.’”
“‘I saw a ceremonial pipe fully assembled.’ He grimaces. ‘You get it, Web. Lockhart shouldn’t own it, and he for sure shouldn’t be displaying it like that.’”
These two quotes are commenting regarding non-natives. They also talked very negatively about people who tried to sell these items at garage sales or on eBay. One the one hand, yes, there are people who are ‘grave robbers’ and intentionally steal things for their own financial benefit. Who openly disgrace the native traditions. And that’s a real problem.
However, on the other hand, there are people who just don’t know. They don’t know what they have. How are they supposed to know that they have a ceremonial pipe and that it’s horrifying to assemble it?! I don’t know how easy it would be to find out this information, but the book didn’t not give much grace in the way of ignorance. They found any white person touching any Native item or remains as one of the worst things.
I guess I struggle a little with wanting to respect their traditions and the sacredness of their items, but also feeling like their attitude towards this to be pretty harsh.
I do want to learn, and I know that there were terrible things done to Native Americans (like the boarding schools) that stripped them of their culture and lives, but what she was trying to teach me via a novel felt a little too forceful in this book.
So in conclusion, both books had their pros and cons, but overall I think my first impression after reading Firekeeper’s Daughter was a little better than after reading Warrior Girl Unearthed.
Religious Differences
I am not sure how to correctly state the difference between Natives who practice and worship the traditional way and Natives who became Christians, so I’ll probably say something wrong, but I’m still going to state my ponderings anyway.
[I found this article by a Christian Native American that I thought was good]
One thing that was said multiple times in different ways was:
“I stare at random tourists and wonder how they would react to their ancestors being stolen for research. I’m guessing they would see it as sacrilege.”
I would definitely not like if someone exhumed my parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents because that does seem disrespectful or jarring emotionally. But personally, I don’t know if it would really bother me if people decided to study my ancestors’ remains. To me, they are just bones. They are not there anymore. And maybe I could learn something more about my ancestors.
I understand that is not the way non-Christian Natives view it.
“We ask the ancestors to forgive what was done to their physical bodies, and we pray their spirits are at peace.”
Boulley quotes Chip Colwell saying,
“I know for these Native American traditionalists, the bones in the boxes are pulsating with power. For them, the dead are not really dead at all... For them, repatriation is a religious duty, not a political victory.”
And even with the treatment of their funerary items or other other cultural items. They treat bones and items as sacred. They think the bones have power and that their ancestors speak to them from the grave and guide them in their life.
That is different than my Christian beliefs. The Bible teaches us not to worship the body or objects, that it would be idolatry. The only eternal things are God, his Word, and people’s souls. Everything else will pass away.
If someone was going to auction off a stolen Bible for $20,000 in a disrespectful way, we may mourn the treatment of God’s Word, but I don’t think we would buy it just to return it to respect. We would (or should) use that money to help people. People who are living.
The holiest part of Christianity is the holiness of God and of Jesus. And Jesus is alive- there are no remains to protect or preserve.
When I think of bodily remains, I know it’s not my relatives. Their souls have departed. They don’t need that body anymore. They will get a resurrected body that is far better.
I say this because Boulley has brought up something I’ve never thought about before. I am exploring why I have a hard time understanding their traditions. Our religious beliefs drive the way we view the world and what’s in it and it’s very different.
Even though we have differing religious beliefs, I love that in America we are free to have and practice differing beliefs. We should still respect each other’s traditions. Their preservation and care for their funerary items does not hurt anyone so I think the repatriation act is a good and rightful thing.
I don’t think anyone should just go around digging up known burial grounds without proper authorization. That seems like a worthy law. I can understand this sentiment:
“Our ancestors’ bodies and funerary objects have been written on with markers and pens, handled, and studied by professors, researchers, and students for far too long. Their bodies, laid out in cardboard boxes, on metal shelves, is your university’s shameful reminder of the disrespect for human dignity.”
I am also not an anthropologist. If we were to just return all tribal objects from anywhere in America to wherever they go— what would we lose? I don’t know. I don’t know what the aftermath would be. I guess we would then rely on the tribes around the country to educate us on their past and culture instead of studying burial grounds for that information.
“Cooper says museums use that label, ‘culturally unidentifiable,’ as a catchall if they don’t have the resources to do a proper inventory. He says they also use it even after tribes provide evidence, because then, the museum can still hold on to the objects."
I can believe that museums and university departments make little effort in following through on inventorying a collection and actually trying to get it where it needs to go. I can believe there is deception used to avoid following the rules.
Recommendation
Angeline Boulley, a Native and a firekeeper’s daughter, definitely writes unique books and I enjoy reading a book written from a Native author in a setting and culture that I am not familiar with. I always enjoy learning while I read.
This book is long but doesn’t take too long to read. I think the plot is still decent and the characters are mostly likable— though sometimes Perry can be a lot.
If you plan to read this, I think I would still read Firekeeper’s Daughter first, but you wouldn’t have to.
Whether you are a Native yourself, or a non-Native, I think this book will invoke some feelings. Feelings that may be hard to understand and cause you to struggle. I think that’s a good thing.
I did say that it felt too political at times, but as I reflect, I’m glad that it made me think about what I believe and how I should interact with the Ojibwe culture and religion. I don’t have it all figured out, but it’s good for me to think about.
I think the only reason I would stop reading Boulley’s books is if the swearing continued to be as it is. (And I especially wouldn’t recommend this for YA readers as I mentioned earlier.)
Overall, this is a book about a teenage girl who discovers an injustice done to her tribe and, like a warrior, will do anything to rectify it. It’s the (mostly) selfless quest to right a wrong and uphold the religious beliefs she and her family hold.
I think most people will enjoy this book!
[See my original post for a couple other book links and pics relevant to the book]
**Received and ARC via NetGalley**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
lokes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, Cursing, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Car accident, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation, and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Racial slurs, Sexism, Alcohol, Addiction, Medical content, Misogyny, and Murder
readingwithkaitlyn's review
challenging
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Kidnapping, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Murder, Blood, Stalking, Bullying, Confinement, Rape, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Racial slurs, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Police brutality, Colonisation, Genocide, Abandonment, Medical content, Vomit, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization
Rape is not on page, only mentioned and discussed several times on page. There are no child deaths on page, but mentions of young children who have passed.getlitwithamy_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The long-awaited companion novel of FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER did not disappoint!
It was great to see some of the characters from the previous book but for this one to focus on other characters and have a separate storyline. Perry Firekeeper-Birch is so determined and I loved her as a protagonist. Angeline Boulley did such a good job showing Perry's resourcefulness as she is placed in situations she hadn't planned on being in for the summer.
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED is definitely character-driven, but there is still a strong plot to the story. It is a mix of both, as where FIREKEEPER felt like a mix but with more plot development than character development.
I also loved learning more about Indigenous culture! One example is the use of Ojibwemowin and English in this book. While I didn't know some of the terms that weren't translated into English, Boulley was able to place them in sentences that offered easy context for non-Ojibwe people to understand.
What was also interesting to learn more about is the repatriation process of the ancestral remains of Indigenous people. WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED deals with the topic of the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement which is rarely covered in mainstream media that has Missing White Women Syndrome. The mishandling and theft of the remains of Indigenous people is a devastating occurrence since it is yet another example of white people taking something that wasn't theirs to begin with.
The light and dark parts of this book made it such a fantastic read. I loved it so much and hope that Angeline Boulley comes out with more books in the near future.
It was great to see some of the characters from the previous book but for this one to focus on other characters and have a separate storyline. Perry Firekeeper-Birch is so determined and I loved her as a protagonist. Angeline Boulley did such a good job showing Perry's resourcefulness as she is placed in situations she hadn't planned on being in for the summer.
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED is definitely character-driven, but there is still a strong plot to the story. It is a mix of both, as where FIREKEEPER felt like a mix but with more plot development than character development.
I also loved learning more about Indigenous culture! One example is the use of Ojibwemowin and English in this book. While I didn't know some of the terms that weren't translated into English, Boulley was able to place them in sentences that offered easy context for non-Ojibwe people to understand.
What was also interesting to learn more about is the repatriation process of the ancestral remains of Indigenous people. WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED deals with the topic of the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) movement which is rarely covered in mainstream media that has Missing White Women Syndrome. The mishandling and theft of the remains of Indigenous people is a devastating occurrence since it is yet another example of white people taking something that wasn't theirs to begin with.
The light and dark parts of this book made it such a fantastic read. I loved it so much and hope that Angeline Boulley comes out with more books in the near future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Racism
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Violence, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Hate crime, Medical trauma, Genocide, Rape, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
eoviattb's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
mshiiken's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was, once again, absolutely incredible. I got to read it early thanks to NetGalley and I'm so grateful - nmiigwechinendam zaam ngiigindaas! Boulley now has a signature style and it's a familiar presence throughout this book. It's a joy to revisit Sugar Island, and particularly because we get to spend time with the Firekeeper-Birch family. Perry is a delightful counterpoint to Daunis from the first book and we get to see more of her personality. The mystery, the ties to real-life and current concerns around repatriation and reconciliation - this book is another absolute winner that's going to captivate everyone who reads it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Sexual content and Rape
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thanks to Macmillan for the free advance copy of this book.
- WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED is set roughly ten years after the events of FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER, with Daunis' niece as the protagonist. I think you can read this one as a standalone, but certainly more context would be clear to you if you've already read Daunis' story.
- Boulley is so great at writing girls and women who are full of emotions, and their love and rage spills right off the page. And not only are the characters great, but they're set within a tense and compelling mystery built out of real life stories.
- I don't think I've ever read a YA novel (or maybe even adult novel?) that faces the multitude of damages caused by the theft of cultural artifacts and of their repatriation head on like this book. I think it's really going to be eye-opening and perhaps even radicalizing for many readers.
- WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED is set roughly ten years after the events of FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER, with Daunis' niece as the protagonist. I think you can read this one as a standalone, but certainly more context would be clear to you if you've already read Daunis' story.
- Boulley is so great at writing girls and women who are full of emotions, and their love and rage spills right off the page. And not only are the characters great, but they're set within a tense and compelling mystery built out of real life stories.
- I don't think I've ever read a YA novel (or maybe even adult novel?) that faces the multitude of damages caused by the theft of cultural artifacts and of their repatriation head on like this book. I think it's really going to be eye-opening and perhaps even radicalizing for many readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Medical content, Grief, Confinement, Death, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, and Rape
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Sexual content
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