Review: The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

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. ~Goodreads

Source: Library Format - audiobook, narrated by Isabella Star LeBlanc

The bookpusher: Jen - "This was a story about grief and loss. The book tackled the complexity of family relationships. It had classic YA themes of finding yourself as a young woman, and especially as a biracial young woman. And it was so deeply and movingly rooted in the customs, practices, beliefs and traditions of the Ojibwe/Anishinaabe  people."

My Review: This is really a stunning debut that deftly balances a story that defies genres. It's a bit of a thriller, mixed with coming of age, while exploring culture, class and feminism and many issues that stem from those subjects. 

Daunis is a biracial girl born from a relationship between her white mom, who is from a prominent (rich) local family and her dad (now deceased) who is Anishinaabe and an enrolled member of the Ojibwe tribe on Sugar Island. She is not enrolled but spends much of her time on the Ojibwe reservation and feels very close to that side of her family, including her aunt and a step brother (same father - different mother) and best friend Lily.

Although she feels very connected to the traditions and people of the reservation, and is very close to her white mother and grandmother, she also feels like she never quite belongs in either world. She still grieves for the loss of both her dad and beloved uncle David (her mom's brother), a local teacher, who died of a drug overdose.

After a tragic event  that upends Daunis's world, she agrees to work as an informant with the FBI, using her knowledge of both chemistry and native culture/medicines to track down who is funneling drugs into the reservation.

This story is so hard to pin down. There is a romance but this is NOT a romance. There is a mystery to solve but it's NOT just a mystery. It's a coming of age story but so much more.  

It all hinges on the wonderful Daunis. Smart, loyal, vulnerable Daunis. She follows the family tradition of playing hockey, although an injury has mostly side-lined those dreams. She's a chemistry whiz, and she gives off strong Nancy Drew/Veronica Mars vibes when it comes to deduction skills and her tenaciousness in crime solving. Her tender heart and love for her friends and family make her a fierce protector.

She's caught up in something much bigger than her. Joining the FBI case pairs her with Jamie, a young agent posing as a student and her boyfriend. They bond and it slowly develops into more but she's never sure what's real or just part of the charade for the case. Daunis is also torn about whether helping Jamie and his boss , Ron, will hurt the tribal community more than it will help.

I was listening to this on audio and had 3 hours left when my phone died and loan ended. I had to wait 12 weeks to finish the last 3 hours. I had left off with Daunis putting clues together and figured the last 30% would just be her cementing a relationship with Jamie and wrapping the case up. Boy was I wrong!

The Firekeeper's Daughter takes a lot of turns in that last few hours. While the first 70-ish% of the book is mostly a fascinating character study and exploration of Ojibwe customs, the last 30% is a twisty action packed, shocking, ultimately satisfying race to the finish line. 

This was an ambitious undertaking and occasionally tries to cover too many topics but Boulley somehow pulls it off, maybe not totally, but enough that Daunis and her story will stay with you long after you put this book down. I especially loved how the romance element was written. Without revealing too much, I felt it was understated and handled in both a realistic yet satisfying way. 

There are a few nitpicks - pacing issues, a lot going on in one book, an event that happened that I'm still not sure needed to but wow is this an impressive book for a debut author!

The book has also been optioned by The Obamas’ Higher Ground production company to develop as a Netflix series.

Content warnings: drug abuse, sexual assault - both talked about abstractly and an instance semi on page, kidnapping, violence, suicide, murder, death of family members, racism. If there is a more complete list somewhere or something I missed, let me know.