Reviews

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Only show reviews with written explanations

vic_the_postie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

quigleybeau's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

"I am overcome with a mix of emotions. Sad that their innocent eyes are open to the trauma that still impacts our community today. Angry they must learn these truths in order to be strong Anishinaabeg in a world where Indians are only thought of in past tense. Proud that they -- smart, sturdy, and loved -- are the greatest wish our ancestors had, for our nation to survive and flourish."

kaybel's review

Go to review page

Found another book about indigenous people for summer challenge and was having a hard time wanting to read this one.

mamthew42's review

Go to review page

4.0

I've had a number of people - friends, co-workers, and patrons - recommend Angeline Boulley's Firekeeper's Daughter to me. A few times, I almost picked it up but then didn't, because of part of the basic plot summary. I'd bristle at the prospect of a story about a young Ojibwe woman working with the FBI and I'd put it back down. I'm wary of stories about law enforcement and intelligence agencies as it is - I'm pretty familiar with the long history of "copaganda" and the ways it has been used to turn public opinion in favor of pretty reprehensible state violence - but when those stories are also about Indigenous people, it kinda sits heavy in my stomach a little bit. Imperialist violence against Indigenous Americans is not only a constant throughout the history of the colonies-that-became-a-state, but also through into the present day. There are true stories about law enforcement or the alphabet agencies doing the right thing by Native Americans, but there's a difference between a true story and an honest one. An honest story must still put forth that those occasions are exceptions rather than the rule, and that the imbalance there can never be redressed.

Now that I'm trying once again to get a YA book club off the ground, I chose to start with Firekeeper's Daughter. That way, I couldn't walk away from it yet again, and I'd have coworkers who've already read it to participate in discussion. It probably wasn't the best choice for a first book simply because it's pretty long - a respectably intimidating 500 pages - and because it's pretty frank about sex, drugs, and sexual assault in a way that might put off parents or cause teenagers to clam up in a discussion. But I'm glad I chose it, because that means I've finally read it, and it was worth the read.

Firekeeper's Daughter is about Daunis Fontaine, an eighteen-year-old biracial Ojibwe living in Michigan whose life is split between her Aashinaabe and Zhaaganaash (white people) worlds. As her birth was a bit of a local scandal, she's not technically a certified Aashinaabe like her father was, and her mother's side of the family is rich enough and prejudiced enough that there's no love lost between her reservation community and her hometown community. Daunis is smart and inquisitive enough that she's picked up more of the Aashinaabe culture and language than many of her reservation peers, but she's still kept at an arm's length and barred from many ceremonies and civic duties.

When Daunis's friend is murdered in front of her in a meth-related altercation, she's approached by a pair of undercover FBI agents to assist them as a Confidential Informant to figure out who's supplying this new strain of hyper-addictive, mildly hallucinogenic meth that's plaguing the reservation. One of the agents poses as her boyfriend in an arrangement that becomes complicated as the two develop real romantic feelings for each other.

It's a compelling setup - even taking into account my hesitancy around the FBI element. Daunis is the right protagonist for this story, too. That's not usually a way I think about protagonists, since...like...they were written for their story, so of course the two mesh if the story's written well. Daunis's strengths, however, are presented so naturally that they feel incidental rather than plotted. Her position between two worlds and minor hockey celebrity status give her access to many people, stations, and stories. She's sharp and deeply passionate about the sciences, especially anatomy and chemistry, which allows her to pick up on details about drugs and the drug-making process.

Daunis is generally a joy of a narrator, always ready with some science fact or cultural touchpoint that connects to her current situation. Some of her peers have nicknamed her Bubble - a name Daunis hates as it's just a reference to her ass - but at risk of offending her, it's actually a pretty fitting name for less misogynistic reasons. Daunis constantly has thoughts and ideas bubbling to the surface of her mind, helping her make connections others wouldn't necessarily see.

That said, she's still very young, and much of her association with the FBI feels pretty exploitative as a result. That's definitely intended to an extent, but I think I read the situation as much worse than intended - or at least I read it as much more exploitative than someone in the intended audience's age bracket would. A 22-year-old FBI agent using an 18-year-old college freshman as a cover and falling in love with her has a much worse power differential than the narrative's framing suggests. When reading this while keeping in mind an aged 13-18 audience, I'm not sure that those readers would necessarily get much squick from that imbalance, as at that age, 18 seems plenty adult, and college already seems like a professional setting.

The story is, to use my own framing from earlier, an honest one, in that the novel does go into detail on ways that the federal government has failed Native Americans, and it's pretty critical of the FBI as an institution that's even capable of helping reservations with internal issues. But several of the failings of the FBI agents in the novel - like Jamie's willingness to use Daunis as a cover - are framed as personal, rather than structural. On top of that, the tribal leadership itself is also pretty useless at routing the drug problem at the heart of the story, to the extent that the narrative pretty heavily suggests that some kind of authority external to tribal communities is necessary to make sure that justice is done. While within the narrative the FBI is an imperfect external authority, it still fills that role well enough that having their presence is better than not. I don't think that's the intended message of the novel, but it is a message that comes through, which is pretty uncomfortable.

That's me Delving While Communist, though. On the surface, it's a great novel that's plenty critical of the role of state power in Indigenous communities, and it makes those criticisms with an unforgettable protagonist who's smart, clever, resourceful, and well-rounded. I really enjoyed the book, and I hope this book club goes well enough that I get to discuss it in person soon.

mercedes3295's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious tense

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was a book that when I first came across it, I knew I would love it BUT it definitely exceeded expectations.

Although Firekeeper’s Daughter is a mystery determined to find the truth behind a meth ring, it’s bigger than that. Daunis is an incredibly strong female character and the strength and bravery of women is such a prominent theme of the book.

Native American culture is weaved through every bit of this book. It was beautifully written and incredible to see strong Indigenous women at the forefront. Especially seeing Daunis grieve the death of her loved one’s deaths, and the ‘loss’ of her brother.

The consequences and complexity of drugs was also portrayed well. It was so important to me to see these loveable characters betray their morals and lie to their loved ones because it represents how power and drugs change people for the worst. This goes hand in hand with how relationships are tested in Firekeeper’s Daughter as a result of drugs.

And lastly, the actual mystery plot is so well thought out I truly didn’t see the twists coming. At points the plot could be a bit cliche, but it didn’t take away any of its value. I also liked that Jamie’s background is kept kind of ambiguous.