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A review by kingrosereads
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? No
5.0
An incredible upper YA mystery thriller that incorporates drug abuse and issues within and around Native communities, specifically the mistreatment of Native women.
Firekeeper’s Daughter follows 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine just before she begins her freshman year at university. Daunis is half-white/half-Ojibwe woman and has never really fit in with either. She hopes her first year of college will help give her a fresh start, but after witnessing the murder of her childhood best friend, Daunis is determined to discover all the factors that went into her friend’s death. This is when Daunis is brought into an FBI investigation to help track down the source of a new form of meth that’s entering several Native communities around the Great Lakes. Daunis discovers many secrets and is pushed to the point of breaking to discover the source and protect her community.
I think this was an incredible story. It made me cry like so much. There were so many things that weren’t resolved (much like in life) and it’s left a bit open ended. One of the few books I liked that didn’t have a satisfying (or vindicating) ending. I think it’s written well and introduced me to a lot of things I didn’t know about the Ojibwe community, the Great Lakes area, and hockey. I know the last seems silly, but it really is part of that area’s culture and it seems like a useful tool that could bring the Native communities and non-Native communities together.
(Spoiler) I think a lot of readers will have wanted the “bad guy” to be a white dude, and in a lot of ways it was a white dude that took advantage of Native boys that trusted him, but also some of the Native guys were bad on their own. Which is accurate. There’s a lot of people that actively work against their minority communities and I think this book shows how both these individuals as well as oppressors from the majority both take advantage.
I learned about the politics and social issues that play into becoming a federally recognized tribe and a full member of that tribe. And it really pisses you off once you realize how a member can be taken advantage of by outside groups.
It takes place in the early 00s, but I’m not really sure why. It kind of just made things difficult because of the restrictive cell phones of the time. It also seems far fetched that such a young officer would be a detective and qualify to be undercover. Also, where’s the DEA? I’m sure we had that in the mid-00s. Just little things that kind of nagged me, but I loved the book of course.
It’s definitely worth the read whether you’re 17 or 70. Read this book!
Firekeeper’s Daughter follows 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine just before she begins her freshman year at university. Daunis is half-white/half-Ojibwe woman and has never really fit in with either. She hopes her first year of college will help give her a fresh start, but after witnessing the murder of her childhood best friend, Daunis is determined to discover all the factors that went into her friend’s death. This is when Daunis is brought into an FBI investigation to help track down the source of a new form of meth that’s entering several Native communities around the Great Lakes. Daunis discovers many secrets and is pushed to the point of breaking to discover the source and protect her community.
I think this was an incredible story. It made me cry like so much. There were so many things that weren’t resolved (much like in life) and it’s left a bit open ended. One of the few books I liked that didn’t have a satisfying (or vindicating) ending. I think it’s written well and introduced me to a lot of things I didn’t know about the Ojibwe community, the Great Lakes area, and hockey. I know the last seems silly, but it really is part of that area’s culture and it seems like a useful tool that could bring the Native communities and non-Native communities together.
(Spoiler) I think a lot of readers will have wanted the “bad guy” to be a white dude, and in a lot of ways it was a white dude that took advantage of Native boys that trusted him, but also some of the Native guys were bad on their own. Which is accurate. There’s a lot of people that actively work against their minority communities and I think this book shows how both these individuals as well as oppressors from the majority both take advantage.
I learned about the politics and social issues that play into becoming a federally recognized tribe and a full member of that tribe. And it really pisses you off once you realize how a member can be taken advantage of by outside groups.
It takes place in the early 00s, but I’m not really sure why. It kind of just made things difficult because of the restrictive cell phones of the time. It also seems far fetched that such a young officer would be a detective and qualify to be undercover. Also, where’s the DEA? I’m sure we had that in the mid-00s. Just little things that kind of nagged me, but I loved the book of course.
It’s definitely worth the read whether you’re 17 or 70. Read this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, and Murder