Firekeeper's Daughter

This is the story of a biracial 18-year old named Daunis, daughter of an Anishinaabe father and white mother and not quite fully a part of either community. Although not a registered tribe member, Daunis associates closely with her relatives on that side and participates in and respects the Ojibwe customs and elders. As such, she's a narrator who's able to see both sides as she tries to find her own path between them. Through her eyes the reader sees multiple tragedies striking the tribe, including drug addictions, murders, and sexual assault. With her knowledge of tribal medicine, her aspiration to become a doctor and a scientist in university, and her connections both inside and outside the tribe, Daunis is ideally placed to investigate how meth is being distributed into her communities and to try and stop the damage it's doing.

I really liked the way this book didn't shy away from the multiple problems and tragedies that affect real tribal communities like Daunis's, but also does not paint Daunis and her tribal peers as either "wise native" nor "poor victim". Both the FBI and the tribal elders/members are trying to solve the drug problem, with different approaches and different attitudes, and Daunis has to find her way between the two.

Great opening paragraph, but downhill from there. It just didn’t add up, and kept getting less and less relatable. The protagonist/narrator (age 18 or 19) is hyperprecocious, high IQ and EQ, with a maturity and sensitivity that maybe sets a good example for teen readers (this is YA, after all) but IMO more likely flies right over their heads. The ugly twist early on—the one that sets the story in motion—is both implausible and too-convenient; and so it goes, ever more so as the body count grows. At the end, the number of conspirators is just too unbelievably high. Psychopaths are rare, fortunately for us; more than five of them, in a small community, all of them living productive lives while also cooking and distributing meth (to their community), all of them completely unfazed by more and more murders -- it just didn’t work for me.

There was also an unpleasant and uninformed plot element involving “hallucinogenic” mushrooms. I almost stopped reading then, but went on in the hope that Boulley was using characters’ ignorance to develop an important theme... but no, the ignorance is entirely the author’s and it's the sort of thing she will one day be embarrassed about.

Decent writing, and many beautiful illustrations of Native American tradition, lore, respect, as well as challenges, bump this from 2 to 3.5 stars, almost 4, but in the end I need to round down. Boulley is clearly a compassionate soul and a great writer. Her future work will be more relatable and engaging. I look forward to it.

This is a really slow burn story, so I would hesitate to call it a thriller but I loved how it interwove Daunis’ culture and community around the core plot, it is as much about them as it is the investigation. And yes, I totally bought this for the cover but it has also turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year so far.

Her big passion in life is hockey, but an injury forced her to quit. Her half-brother is on the team and she likes to keep Real World and Hockey World separate. Jamie is new in town and to the team, and Levi asks her to be his “ambassador” to help keep the groupies away from him. Jamie has a girlfriend, Jamie is on the hockey team, Jamie is off limits… but Daunis starts to fall for him, even though sometimes it seems like he’s hiding something.

The FBI hasn’t always had a good track record with the indigenous people of America and Daunis isn’t sure it’s in the tribe’s best interests to get them involved. But she wants answers herself, about her uncle and the reason for Lily’s death. There must have been something more than jealousy to turn the boy who had once been their friend to murder. He was using drugs, maybe dealing, but had they been adding something extra to the meth?

The book poses questions about the ethics of undercover relationships, especially when younger agents are concerned, as well as dealing with substance abuse in tribal communities and violence against native women going unaddressed.

Daunis is no stranger to tragedy, first her father died, then her uncle, leaving her mother all alone. Without her Ojibwe father on her birth certificate or around to vouch for her, she must apply for tribal membership before she turns nineteen, and she’s conflicted about it. Her tribe own a casino and all enrolled members get a share of the profits. This has caused some tension between the Anishinaabe and the Zhaaganaash (white people), but it’s not about money to Daunis. Why should a council get to decide who she is?

I just loved getting immersed in this community and the mystery kept me guessing. I also really wanted a happy ending for Daunis. It’s maybe not fast-paced enough for some mystery fans but I adored it.