kayaguthrie 's review for:

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

4.25

---

A YA thriller with depth?? Say no more! While the plot definitely has some very typical (and only tenuously believable) YA thriller components, they were woven together with unique concepts involving indigenous culture, grief, and family to make a really compelling story. Though there were some unnecessarily slow spots in the middle, I appreciated that the book had a slower paced start. I liked that I was able to acclimate to the setting and characters before the action started, and it allowed me to more acutely identify with Daunis’ feelings. I enjoyed that this book acknowledged a lot of aspects of YA thrillers that are often glossed over—the trauma the main character endures, the sketchy ethics of involving a teenager in a case, the aftermath of uncovering the truth in a criminal investigation. On the flip side, I liked that this book also knew when less was more aka being able to de-center violence while still acknowledging its presence.  I was not really invested in the romance, but I was presently surprised with the way their ending was handled. I personally think Daunis deserved to scream at a whole host of people that she didn’t, but that’s just how I deal with things, so I can’t blame her for not participating in that.