Book Review: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Title: Firekeeper's Daughter

Author: Angeline Boulley

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction

Pages: 496

Publisher: Henry, Holt and Co.

Year Published: 2021

Format: Audiobook

"As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, bother 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."

My Rating: 4/5

This is such a wonderful debut novel from Angeline Boulley. The representation in this book is something I want to read more about, and want to see published more and more. Everyone deserves to see themselves in a story. The characters in this story were incredible to read from. I found the different characters distinct without being stereotypical. Interactions did remind me of my small hockey town, especially with the way the boys acted about women. Unfortunately, it also reminded me of my hometown with the racist elements that were written about. The plot is really where this book lost a star for me. I was interested in the mystery, but not enough to hold my full attention throughout. I was more interested in hearing about Daunis's story about her growing, and hearing about her life and what her community had gone through. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny