Bibliographic Information:
- Title: Firekeeper’s Daughter
- Author: Angeline Boulley
- ISBN: 9781250766564
- Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
- Copyright Date: 2021
Genre: Thriller/Suspense.
Format: Print book.
Awards or Honors: Nominated for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list (2022).
Reading Level/Interest Level: Grade 9 and Up (SLJ).
Plot Summary: Firekeeper’s Daughter by debut author Angeline Boulley is soon to be adapted for Netflix with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground. This #OwnVoices thriller follows 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine as she navigates life with a foot in two worlds — the Ojibwe reservation of her father, and life in town with her white mom and grandmother. Already stretched thin dealing with her mother’s depression and grandmother’s stroke, Daunis’s life is turned upside-down when she meets a handsome new boy on her brother Levi’s hockey team with a mysterious past. And when Daunis witnesses a murder and suddenly finds herself in the middle of an FBI investigation, she must decide where her loyalties lie.
Author Background: Angeline Boulley is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (Boulley, n.d.). A former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education, Boulley also served as her tribe’s Education Director before authoring her debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter in 2021 (Boulley, n.d.).
Firekeeper’s Daughter draws from Boulley’s personal experiences and family history — her father is a traditional firekeeper, striking ceremonial fires at spiritual activities in the tribal community and storytelling (Boulley, n.d.). Boulley was a 2019 We Need Diverse Books mentee, working with author Francisco X. Stork during the process of developing Firekeeper’s Daughter, which she says was instrumental in getting this book into the world (Ramcharan, 2021). Boulley lives in southwest Michigan (Boulley, n.d.).
Critical Evaluation: From the gorgeous cover art illustrated by an Ojibwe artist (Ramcharan, 2021) to the heart-thumping plot and seamless integration of everyday details of life as a modern Ojibwe teen, Firekeeper’s Daughter by debut author Angeline Boulley is the indigenous #OwnVoices thriller I did not know I needed. 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine is navigating life with a foot in two worlds — the Ojibwe reservation of her father, and life in town with her white mom and grandmother. Already stretched thin dealing with her mother’s depression and grandmother’s stroke, Daunis’s life is turned upside-down when she meets a handsome new boy with a mysterious past on her brother Levi’s hockey team. When Daunis witnesses a murder and suddenly finds herself in the middle of an FBI investigation, she must decide where her loyalties lie.
Written in the first person, we are dropped right inside Daunis’s head (and heart) as she talks herself through a series of challenging moral and ethical dilemmas: If she works with the FBI, considering their fraught history with Native communities, does that mean she’s being disloyal to her tribe? If she chooses not to work with them, does that mean she is responsible for allowing a murderer to go free? Is it better to turn a sexual predator over to the authorities, even though they won’t do anything — or is her tribe’s tradition of vigilante justice in the form of a “blanket party” the better way? While Firekeeper’s Daughter is certainly a fast-paced thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, Boulley also demands that you stop and think about what is happening and why. As Daunis finds her way in the case, she is also attempting to find her path in life, and the story is richer for it.
Throughout the book, Boulley has interspersed words and sentences of the Ojibwe language, but made an intentional choice not to provide a translation or glossary (Ramcharan, 2021). I found this added to the reading experience, and I did not have trouble discerning the meaning (or at least the gist) from the surrounding context. Readers should be aware that Firekeeper’s Daughter includes a scene of sexual assault that, while not graphic, is terrifying. In an author’s note at the end of the book, Boulley shares that 56% of Native women have experienced sexual violence, and she felt it was important to include the painful reality of these experiences on the page. Even through (many) traumatic experiences, Daunis uses her agency and her connection to her family and tribe to find strength and shape her own path. Highly recommend.
Creative Use for a Library Program: Curate a display featuring books and graphic novels by indigenous authors, like This Place: 150 Years Retold, Hearts Unbroken, Elatsoe, Apple: (Skin to the Core), and The Marrow Thieves.
Speed-Round Book Talk: Firekeeper’s Daughter is an indigenous #OwnVoices thriller soon to be adapted for Netflix by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground. The story follows 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine, who after witnessing a murder, finds herself in the middle of an FBI investigation that threatens to upend her Ojibwe community.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Firekeeper’s Daughter could face a challenge because of its inclusion of many mature themes, including drug abuse, drug dealing, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. In defense of this title, I would share that Firekeeper’s Daughter is an #OwnVoices novel written by Angeline Boulley and grounded in her experiences as an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. This title is widely recommended for teens in grade 9 and up, and has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Firekeeper’s Daughter is very popular, with an average rating of 4.49 stars from 5,715 ratings on GoodReads, and is soon to be adapted for Netflix by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground.
Reason for Inclusion: Firekeeper’s Daughter is an indigenous #OwnVoices novel with unforgettable characters and a page-turning plot. Indigenous authors in YA literature have been largely ignored by major publishers for far too long, which only pushed this book higher on my must-read list. Soon to be adapted for Netflix with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, and a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club YA Pick, this book has major buzz.
References:
Boulley, A. (n.d.). About Angeline. Angeline Boulley. https://angelineboulley.com/aboutangeline
Ramcharan, N. (2021, March 16). Q&A with Angeline Boulley, Firekeeper’s Daughter. We Need Diverse Books. https://diversebooks.org/qa-with-angeline-boulley-firekeepers-daughter/
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