Title: Firekeeper's Daughter
Author: Angeline Boulley
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., March 16, 2021
Pages: 496
Genre: YA Fiction
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.
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.
I started this book because my friend experienced a severe book hangover thanks to it. She was seeking other books with similar themes and she couldn't stop raving about it. I didn't know much about it, so when it started out as an own voices hockey book, I was SO EXCITED!!!
"Own Voices Hockey Book." What a joke. That is, in fact, a correct descriptor for this book, but it's so much more than that. It's a book about learning your power, and the power of your people. Finding your community and living your truth. Protecting the people you care about, even when they don't want to protect you or themselves.
There are some heavy themes in this book. Death, and how to survive your grief. Sexual assault. The delicate and toxic relationship between the US government and Native American tribes. The violence and disregard that Native women face at an exponentially higher rate than other people in this country. Daunis says it in the book, "I am so tired. The weight of my expendability is crushing."
And then, we have the mystery. Daunis uses all of the knowledge and wisdom that she has collected, to puzzle out who is targeting her community. Meth has taken over some of the people in her tribe, and she works to find out who brought the bad medicine in. There's another quote in the book, "It wasn't just generational trauma that got stored in our blood and passed along, but our resilience and language too." And Daunis uses every ounce of resilience that she inherited on her journey.
Ratings
Stars: 5/5
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