Firekeeper's Daughter

Books | Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense / General

4.2

(9.6K)

Angeline Boulley

A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER!A MORRIS AWARD WINNER!AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK!A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICKAn Instant #1 New York Times BestsellerSoon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground. “One of this year's most buzzed about young adult novels.” —Good Morning America A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time SelectionAmazon's Best YA Book of 2021 So Far (June 2021)A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List SelectionAn Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2021 SelectionA PopSugar Best March 2021 YA Book SelectionWith four starred reviews, Angeline Boulley's debut novel, Firekeeper's Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, perfect for readers of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange.Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team.Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug. Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.Now, as the deceptions—and deaths—keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.Return to Sugar Island in Warrior Girl Unearthed...

Thriller

Coming Of Age

Mystery

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More Details:

Author

Angeline Boulley

Pages

320

Publisher

Henry Holt and Company (BYR)

Published Date

2021-03-16

ISBN

1250766575 9781250766571

Community ReviewsSee all

"Listened to the audiobook and it was OUTSTANDING!!!! I was brought to tears many times, which is super awkward when you’re at work lol This is a YA book but definitely doesn’t feel like it. A Native American teenager becomes a CI for the FBI to find out who is flooding her community with the meth that is killing their people. Gripping story with so much Native American history, culture and language. I learned a lot, everything is so well woven. Highly, highly recommend. This would make an excellent limited series or movie."

Danielle Henry

"This book was really good. I enjoyed the culture, the mystery, the romance, and the sadness."

Skye Edelson-Bennett

"Just a very good book, it definitely sticks with you after you finish it,that's for sure!"

Jonathan Kent

"if you love thrillers and suspense-filled stories with amazing female leads, beautifully written insight into the mc’s culture and traditions, and a dash of romance… READ THIS DEFINITELY CHECK TWS!!! this is legitimately the most heartbreaking yet amazing story i’ve read in a while like truly incredible daunis fontaine i love and adore you"

Ta’Corei Brown

"I could not put this one down! I feel like this has so many great elements to it while still holding true to the realities of Indigenous communities. You get the thriller, the murder-mystery, drama, horror, and romance elements all wrapped into one with this book. The plot was unique and the characters had depth to them. I will say that it’s a tad bit of a long read but I didn’t mind that all that much since the chapters are short and easy to get through. All in all, a solid fiction read! "

Sara SoDeezy

"3.25. I initially started reading this book physically but found myself not returning to it as quickly as I’d hoped, so I switched to the audiobook. This was my first time listening to an audiobook, and honestly, I didn’t care for the narration—it just didn’t work for me. I also struggled with the writing itself, though it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why. Maybe it was the dialogue, which often felt cringy—like it was trying to be funny but falling flat. The story also felt unnecessarily long and could have been tightened up, especially with the repetitive moments, like Daunis constantly overthinking certain things. That said, the plot did pick up toward the end. I started enjoying the mystery once the pieces began falling into place, and I appreciated the cultural and political commentary woven throughout. The exploration of drug abuse and the treatment of Native Americans stood out to me. I’ve always found it fascinating to learn about other cultures and histories, and I loved how Native American history played such a significant role in the story. Aunt Teddy was a complex character—while she was clearly looking out for Daunis, her jealousy, and snarkiness sometimes got on my nerves. For example, when Daunis keeps something private, Aunt Teddy jumps to conclusions, thinking she is "becoming the girl who loses herself in relationships." It felt unnecessarily judgmental. As for Daunis herself, I found her lack of street smarts frustrating at times, especially given how intelligent everyone says she is. Her push for a relationship with Jamie, even knowing it was inappropriate, came off as naive. And despite her trauma involving men—stemming from her father and her ex-boyfriend—she let Jamie in far too quickly, which didn’t feel consistent with her character. Lily also annoyed me at times. She seemed overly pushy about Daunis getting together with Jamie, even though Daunis had legitimate reasons to hesitate. One major issue for me was the lack of a trigger warning for t"

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Zariah Grant

"A girl living on the border of Canada and the US is a part of a tribe. She has first hand seen all the issues natives face from prejudice to violence to addiction to the dangers of per cap. It is frustrating but hits to close to home when someone close to her is killed. Suddenly she is pulled into an investigation that is pulling loose threads from her community and making holes. The danger grows as the truth become more twisted and close to her life than she predicted.<br/>This book was oh so good! I loved it so so much! The story was so layered and suspenseful while also being so different than anything I’ve read before."

Abby

"Twists and turns and culture and mystery.... it has it all!"

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Samantha Goodnight

"just finished this like a few seconds ago. wow. I am overwhelmed!! Very suspenseful and emotional- I nearly cried every time I picked it up. I would reccomend for sure, but if you tend to be empathetic to characters in books, you might want to make sure you are in a good headspace for lots of Bad Things happening rapidfire. "