Firekeeper's daughter by Angeline Boulley

When a reader continues to think about the themes in a book and returns to it repeatedly as I did in Firekeeper’s daughter, then it is easy to state that it is outstanding. The awards that Firekeeper’s daughter has won (Michael L. Printz Award (2022), American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book (Honor Book) (2022), Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction and Nominee for Debut Novel (2021), Walter Dean Myers Award, Teen category) also reinforce its excellence.

Told in the first person by Daunis Fontaine, the reader learns about this 18-year-old, a member of the wealthy Fontaine family and an unenrolled tribal member of the Ojibwe tribe. Fitting in has always been a problem for her, never quite accepted by either Ojibwe people or the white people. She is very intelligent and dreams of leaving town to study medicine but has put her life on hold to look after her mother, while her grandmother is in care. When she meets Jamie, an attractive hockey player on her brother Levi's team, she finds herself in the centre of a criminal investigation led by the FBI, working as an undercover agent and looking into murder and drug trafficking.

Confronting themes in this book include racism, drug taking, murder and rape and the meaning of love but what stood out for me was the author’s ability to blend all of these around the character and actions of Daunis. She is a strong young woman who faces difficult dilemmas around her love for her family and her identity as a bi-racial young woman. I was left knowing much more about First Nations People and their justice system and the inequities that women faced when violence or rape occurred. I was particularly taken with the idea of a Blanket Party to help sexual assault victims and the strength and resilience of First Nations women stood out for me. Daunis really loves Jamie but knows that it is important for him to be healthy and strong without leaning on her. Meanwhile the mystery, action and suspense surrounding  the murders and running the drug traffickers kept me enthralled and keen to find out who was perpetrating these crimes.

In the Author’s note she writes ”I sought to write about identity, loss, and injustice . . . and also of love, joy, connection, friendship, hope, laughter, and the beauty and strength in my Ojibwe community.” She certainly succeeds. Readers will find the Book Club kit useful particularly as it contains a list of books to read next, and the teachers notes are detailed. This would make an ideal literature circle or class novel.

Themes: Love, Mystery, Friendship, Drugs, Sexual assault, Ojibwe tribe.

Pat Pledger