Title: Firekeeper’s Daughter
Author: Angeline Boulley
Publication: March 16, 2021
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Genre: Teen and YA Fiction
Pages: 496
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for 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, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.
Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.
Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.
REVIEW:
I have had this book on my TBR list for a while, however, I didn’t actually own the book. I had heard good things about it and I knew that I needed to get it, so that is how it ended up on my Christmas list this year. Low and behold my sister got it for me. This was the major push for me to assign it as the YA book for the book club that I run.
Daunisis a Native. She lives with her mother in the Soo (Sault Ste Marie) in Northern Michigan. She lived and breathed hockey until she damaged her shoulder beyond repair. She also had aspirations to go to University of Michigan and study medicine and play hockey. She decides to stay in the Soo and study at the local university, when she makes that decision her whole world changes, and maybe not for the better. Holy cow this book. It was absolutely stunning and left me wanting more. I was so bummed with how it ended and when it ended. I wanted more chapters. This book had it all, romance, adventure, mystery and secrets. Secrets that could ruin a family if they got out. Honestly, I spent the last 40% literally sitting on the edge of my seat, chewing my nails and gasping with shock.
I love the character of Daunis. She was plucky and she was tenacious. She knew what she wanted to do and did it. She did it for her family, the most important thing to her. Learning her culture was a great part of this book and understanding their beliefs more. I loved the interaction between Jamie and her. It was a nice banter that eventually blossomed into something more. My gripe is that we never learned his real name. I needed to know it. I wanted to find out more about his story. The relationship that Daunis and Auntie had was fantastic. Kind of reminded me of the relationship I have with my aunt. I thought that the Mother/Daughter relationship seemed backward but that is how it worked with them and that is fine. I was really shocked by the whole best friend situation. I really liked that character and was sad about the outcome. I really loved this book and have already recommended it to several people already. I will be on the lookout for more books by the author, I hope we get a follow-up story, I would be the first in line to get it.
