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rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
'Warrior Girl Unearthed' by Angeline Boulley is a great companion to 'Firekeeper's Daughter,' taking place in the same community but a few years later.
Forced to join summer internships to pay back her aunt Daunis after wrecking her car, Perry Firekeeper-Birch's summer is not what she planned for. Pleasantly surprised by her internship at the museum and learning more about repatriation, Perry becomes fascinated by an ancestor named "Warrior Girl" whose remains are stored at a local college. She becomes determined to bring home all of the tribal items housed at the college, in the process learning more about how institutions find ways to deny tribal requests. At the same time, Indigenous girls are going missing around the community and an unexpected decision puts a wrench in Perry's repatriation goals. She'll have to bring together all of her new friends made through her internship to help return the ancestors to their rightful place on Sugar Island.
Boulley, once again, creates an incredible YA story with rich characters and a tense plot. 'Warrior Girl Unearthed' has aspects of a heist story, a murder mystery story, coming of age, and light romance. Boulley balances all of these different aspects with expert skill that hinges on how quickly and easily it is to care for her characters. Just as in 'Firekeeper's Daughter, there is a large cast in 'Warrior Girl Unearthed' that are each wholly unique people who feel like you could meet them in real life. On top of the great character work, Boulley also delves into tribal items held in museums and archives and the broken systems that make it extremely difficult for these pieces to be returned to their homes. She also discusses the epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Despite covering so much, each topic is given nuance and lots of consideration. Boulley is quick becoming a favorite author and I cannot wait to see what stories she tells next.
Forced to join summer internships to pay back her aunt Daunis after wrecking her car, Perry Firekeeper-Birch's summer is not what she planned for. Pleasantly surprised by her internship at the museum and learning more about repatriation, Perry becomes fascinated by an ancestor named "Warrior Girl" whose remains are stored at a local college. She becomes determined to bring home all of the tribal items housed at the college, in the process learning more about how institutions find ways to deny tribal requests. At the same time, Indigenous girls are going missing around the community and an unexpected decision puts a wrench in Perry's repatriation goals. She'll have to bring together all of her new friends made through her internship to help return the ancestors to their rightful place on Sugar Island.
Boulley, once again, creates an incredible YA story with rich characters and a tense plot. 'Warrior Girl Unearthed' has aspects of a heist story, a murder mystery story, coming of age, and light romance. Boulley balances all of these different aspects with expert skill that hinges on how quickly and easily it is to care for her characters. Just as in 'Firekeeper's Daughter, there is a large cast in 'Warrior Girl Unearthed' that are each wholly unique people who feel like you could meet them in real life. On top of the great character work, Boulley also delves into tribal items held in museums and archives and the broken systems that make it extremely difficult for these pieces to be returned to their homes. She also discusses the epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Despite covering so much, each topic is given nuance and lots of consideration. Boulley is quick becoming a favorite author and I cannot wait to see what stories she tells next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death, and Murder
Minor: Car accident, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
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
marlihe's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
In her latest book, Boulley has once again proven herself to be a masterful storyteller. As you read you recognize the loose ends that you know will go somewhere, and yet she manages to skillfully surprise the reader with the truth hidden behind the plot. Perry faces challenges that plague every teenager, and ones that are entirely unique to her and to her culture. Boulley tells a compelling story about a girl on a mission that’s bigger than herself, but also the stories of the grave injustices that Indigenous people, their ancestors, and their culture faced and continue to face to this day. It goes beyond being a story that you don’t want to put down, it contains a lot of valuable information about the repatriation of stolen ancestors and “stuff.” This book shines a light on a plethora of serious topics and yet remains hopeful and uplifting. Overall it was an excellent read and a testimony to Boulley’s skill as a storyteller.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Blood
displacedcactus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was an excellent book with just a couple of flaws that in no way detracted from the overall sense of enjoyment I got from reading it.
Warrior Girl Unearthed deals with a couple of subjects that a lot of young people, especially young white people, might not know much about. The secondary topic is the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S, or sometimes just MMIW when being used less inclusively), which some young readers may know about depending on the online circles they hang out in. The primary topic is the Native American Graves Repatriation Act, which I personally only learned about earlier this year, so I was very interested to read a novel with that as a focus.
This is a story about how our country cares very little about Indigenous people, whether they are alive or long-deceased. Despite this heavy material, it's not an overwhelmingly gloomy book. Our main character Perry has a loving family, good friends, and mentors who want to see her succeed. She also has a good dog on her side. I'd say overall it's a hopeful book, a book that shows us what young people are capable of and that there is hope for the future.
That said, there is some very heavy material. I think it's presented in an appropriate way for readers of a similar age to our 16-year-old protagonist, but younger teens and precocious tweens reading in the YA category may be a bit overwhelmed. Consider pre-reading before sharing this with younger or more sensitive readers, and be prepared to have some difficult but important conversations with them.
What I really appreciated about this book was how realistic the teenage characters felt. Perry makes some foolish, impulsive decisions, but she's been established as a character who is impulsive, so they feel natural for her. She has strong relationships with her twin sister, her mother, her Auntie, and her friend Shense, who is a teen mom. I especially appreciated that Shense's motherhood was just treated as part of who she was. She wasn't shamed or judged by Perry or their friend group. She also has non-romantic male relationships, and the romantic relationship wasn't as over-the-top as some all-consuming YA romances can be.
My only real complaint about this book was that the thriller aspect felt a little tacked on and the ending felt rushed. But overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written, enjoyable read by and about Indigenous women.
Warrior Girl Unearthed deals with a couple of subjects that a lot of young people, especially young white people, might not know much about. The secondary topic is the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S, or sometimes just MMIW when being used less inclusively), which some young readers may know about depending on the online circles they hang out in. The primary topic is the Native American Graves Repatriation Act, which I personally only learned about earlier this year, so I was very interested to read a novel with that as a focus.
This is a story about how our country cares very little about Indigenous people, whether they are alive or long-deceased. Despite this heavy material, it's not an overwhelmingly gloomy book. Our main character Perry has a loving family, good friends, and mentors who want to see her succeed. She also has a good dog on her side. I'd say overall it's a hopeful book, a book that shows us what young people are capable of and that there is hope for the future.
That said, there is some very heavy material. I think it's presented in an appropriate way for readers of a similar age to our 16-year-old protagonist, but younger teens and precocious tweens reading in the YA category may be a bit overwhelmed. Consider pre-reading before sharing this with younger or more sensitive readers, and be prepared to have some difficult but important conversations with them.
What I really appreciated about this book was how realistic the teenage characters felt. Perry makes some foolish, impulsive decisions, but she's been established as a character who is impulsive, so they feel natural for her. She has strong relationships with her twin sister, her mother, her Auntie, and her friend Shense, who is a teen mom. I especially appreciated that Shense's motherhood was just treated as part of who she was. She wasn't shamed or judged by Perry or their friend group. She also has non-romantic male relationships, and the romantic relationship wasn't as over-the-top as some all-consuming YA romances can be.
My only real complaint about this book was that the thriller aspect felt a little tacked on and the ending felt rushed. But overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written, enjoyable read by and about Indigenous women.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Violence, Racism, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual harassment and Rape
There's quite a bit of reference to skeletons and human remains, and the disrespectful handling thereof which may be especially disturbing for anyone who reveres their ancestors and ancestral remains. There are multiple references to rape and rapists, but no actual on-page rape or sexual assault.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
marywahlmeierbracciano's review
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
An Afro-Indigenous girl takes the repatriation of stolen ancestors and artifacts into her own hands in Angeline Boulley’s thrilling follow-up to Firekeeper’s Daughter. Underestimated by those in power and infuriated by institutional red tape, Perry and her friends must decide if it’s better to take shortcuts or to play by the book—which will bring their relatives home safely? Set in 2014, this story is tightly woven with the ongoing crises of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People and violence against Black Americans. Read this, then take action!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Mental illness, Car accident, Grief, Pregnancy, and Confinement
Moderate: Violence, Rape, Murder, Blood, Kidnapping, Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Child death
Minor: Vomit, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Addiction, Police brutality, and Death of parent
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