Firekeeper's Daughter
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4.5 • 512 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
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 PICK
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
Soon 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 Selection
Amazon's Best YA Book of 2021 So Far (June 2021)
A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List Selection
An Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2021 Selection
A PopSugar Best March 2021 YA Book Selection
With 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Saving your town from an insidious threat isn’t something the average teen girl has to do—but Daunis Fontaine is far from average. The independent premed student has always struggled to fit into her community in rural Michigan as the child of both Native and non-Native parents. When her best friend is murdered right in front of her, Daunis is drawn into a deadly plot involving the production of a highly addictive new drug that could lay waste to her small town. Angeline Boulley takes us on a heart-pounding journey as Daunis goes undercover for the FBI, using her knowledge of both chemistry and Native medicine to avenge her friend and save her community from ruin. We loved following along as this young heroine faces her fears and makes discoveries about her combined identities. A thriller that explores the realities of modern Native life, Firekeeper’s Daughter is one unforgettable ride through the northern wilderness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With sharp turns and charming characters, this debut thriller by Annishinabe author Boulley centers 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine, who loves and fits into her community but yearns for official citizenship in the Sault tribe. Science-minded Daunis had planned on going away for college, but after her uncle overdoses on meth and her grandmother has a stroke, she stays closer to her Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., home, negotiating a complex familial situation having to do with her deceased Annishinabe father. After witnessing her best friend's murder by her meth-reliant boyfriend, she begins looking into the mounting local meth overdoses, using her knowledge of chemistry as well as traditional plants and medicine to source the drug and, amid growing danger, reveal its seller. Featuring prolific use of Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language), this wonderfully tribally specific story offers powerful messages about what it can mean to be an Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman): "complex and sometimes exhausted, but mostly brave." Hitting hard when it comes to issues such as citizenship, language revitalization, and the corrosive presence of drugs on Native communities, this novel will long stand in the hearts of both Native and non-Native audiences. Ages 14–up. Author's agent: Faye Bender, the Book Group.
Customer Reviews
Culture clashes
Interesting view of Native American culture as it interacts with current times. A strong young indigenous woman attempts to solve a mystery in what is a drug invested environment.
A thrilling and profound experience.
I could not put this book down and turned pages until it came to the end. There is so much wisdom between these pages even in those that hold sorrow. Truly beautifully written.
Amazing!
This book has a forever place in my heart.