Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

A striking debut novel for older teens that is simultaneously gritty and tender, gripping and thought-provoking.

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. Henry Holt, 2021. 496 pages.

Reading Level: Teens, Ages 16 and up

Recommended For: Ages 16 and up

First: can we all admire this stunning book cover? It’s even better in person and, frankly, without all the award stickers on the front. But those stickers indicate the following awards: William Morris Award for debut author, American Indian Youth Literature Award (Honor), and the Printz Award (the Printz is like the Newbery for teens). Firekeeper’s Daughter is gripping, gritty, and emotionally intense, a thriller for those who want some depth along with the action.

Firekeeper’s Daughter: the Story

When Daunis sees her best friend gunned down, followed by the shooter’s suicide, she’s gripped by inexpressible grief. At the tender age of eighteen, she’s already lost a beloved uncle and her father; she’s also lost her future hockey career, although this is a secret she’s hiding. Determined to stay in shape and in the sport, Daunis agrees to mentor a new, young hockey recruit named Jamie. Jamie is hiding secrets of his own, though, and soon, Daunis and Jamie both get swept up in forces beyond their control. Drugs, greed, and the FBI swirl with the very incense Daunis offers on her morning run: who can she trust? Is her father’s Native community in danger? Can she honor her mother’s white side of the family and serve her father’s also? Where does she really fit in anyway?

Themes and Considerations

The aforementioned beautiful cover alludes to some very significant events and themes in the book, all revolving around Daunis’s self identity: the two halves of her heritage. Pictured on the left is a darker-skinned woman, on the right, a lighter-skinned woman. I think these are the two halves of Daunis herself as she grapples with her biracial heritage and seeks to honor (and enjoy) both. Daunis is an admirable young woman who strives to be true to her beliefs and convictions, even as she’s struggling to flesh those out. Deeply committed to her Native religious traditions, she faithfully offers prayers and incense, respects and serves the Elders in the community, and is fiercely loyal. But justice doesn’t always line up with our loyalties. Daunis is forced to confront truth and justice, even when it means that her loved ones are caught in the cross-fire.

Gritty and real, this novel serves as a cautionary tale for drug use and promiscuity. Daunis’s own mother was an unwed mother, and both she and Daunis suffered the repercussions. Frank discussions of sexuality and expected responsibility are a welcome counterpoint to much teen literature today, but the realism will be too much for some readers. Sexual assault is a real threat to Native women, and this reality is present in the book. Simultaneously, though, the strong community that surrounds these women is also present.

This is a book to read and discuss; we recommend previewing it before handing it to teens, particularly young teens. If you work with Native youth, at-risk youth from any background, or in a community that struggles with some of these same issues, this should be a must read. It’s ultimately a tender, triumphant story with a hopeful ending, even as it deals with very hard and difficult situations that are all too real. The conclusions Daunis comes to won’t line up exactly with traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs, but her resolve to stick to her convictions is one we can embrace.

Considerations:

• Language: Remarkably few instances of outright profanity,* but copious crude and vulgar terms (especially for women’s anatomy) along with four-letter words sprinkled around.
• *Other Religions: Firekeeper’s Daughter offers tremendous insight into the Ojibwe religious traditions, and Daunis refers to Creator in much the same way Protestant Christians refer to God.
• Cultural Insight: Boulley seamlessly works in Nokomis/Ojibwe words and traditions. This novel never feels like a book-that-teaches-a-culture. Rather, the reader flip flops between the Native and white cultures as Daunis herself does, learning a lot about Ojibwe culture and traditions along the way.
• Sexuality: one sexual assault scene and two consensual scenes are present, but not graphically described (the reader will readily grasp what’s going on, but the details aren’t overly graphic compared to most contemporary teen novels).
• Homosexuality: Daunis’s uncle was a gay man, but this is downplayed; otherwise, the novel is thoroughly heterosexual (and binary gendered), a welcome shift from many teen novels today.
• Drug Use: Drugs (meth) are a key part of the plot but nowhere proclaimed as laudable or desirable.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

• Worldview/Moral Rating: 3.5 out of 5
• Literary/Artistic Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Read more about our ratings here.

Related Reading From Redeemed Reader:

• A Review: Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri (last year’s Printz Award winner: we loved it!)
• A Review: The Barren Grounds books: books for middle grades by a Native author
• A Resource: 7 Books for Thoughtful Teens (a list of books great for older teens)

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