The Firekeeper\u2019s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley is a contemporary mystery novel published in 2021. The story follows Daunis Fontaine, a recent high school graduate of French and Ojibwe descent, who is pulled into an FBI investigation regarding the finding of meth in her community; she is tasked with finding evidence of suspicious dealings on her Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Along the way she uncovers more mysteries, and her trust in her closest friends and family wanes. Who can she trust and who is guilty? Curious? Then you\u2019ll have to pick up the book and learn for yourself\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing I will mention is that this is a slower paced book, and has 488 pages, which takes a reader with a 300 words per minute reading speed about 7 hours to finish in one sitting, and more if you space it out. I personally spaced my reading out over the span of 17 days, as I was also re-reading another book at the same time. So, depending on time, this may take a reader a while to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This book has triggers that need to be discussed before we go any further. The triggers in this book are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colorism, alcoholism, suicide, drug overdose, drug use (specifically meth), murder, sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, physical violence, car crash\/accidents, and guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If these topics are triggering to you then proceed with caution or refrain from reading this book. Drug abuse and drug overdoses are a primary part of the book\u2019s themes and story, and the murder\/suicide is part of the inciting incident. Rape and sexual assault are events that take place near the turning point of the plot as well and the character who is assaulted dissociates for the entire duration of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Proceed with care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firekeeper\u2019s Daughter is an emotional rollercoaster in all the best ways, the star of it all being Daunis, \u201cDauny Defense,\u201d Fontaine. Daunis is a former hockey player who can still throw down if need be. She\u2019s stubborn and determined, but ultimately kind and conflicted. While it may be uninteresting to some, I found her conflicting nature intriguing. After experiencing a huge loss like she has, it is understandable that she won\u2019t make sense. Grief does interesting things to people and Daunis goes through it all while still continuing with the investigation, keeping close to her friends and family, and following Ojibwe traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I loved how close she was to her aunt, Teddie Firekeeper, and her little cousins Perry and Pauline Firekeeper-Birch. Perry and Pauline star in the sequel to Firekeeper\u2019s Daughter, \u201cWarrior Girl Unearthed,\u201d which takes place when Perry and Pauline are teenagers. Something I also loved was her close relationship with her dead uncle, Uncle David. She picked up her uncle\u2019s work on the FBI investigation, and there\u2019s really sweet moments when she\u2019s recounting how her uncle nurtured her love of chemistry and science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My favorite part of the book was seeing the moments of joy in Daunis\u2019s life. Her friend\u2019s grandmother gives her Lily\u2019s old car, trying on Shagala outfits and incorporating and referencing the women in her life into the outfit. Her joy was infectious, and I loved reading it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A theme that I was interested to see woven throughout the book is that Daunis, the tribe members, and the reservation as a whole, are often systematically discriminated against by both Canadian and American officers and officials. Which ties into something that I was quite saddened to see later on in the book. Daunis herself didn\u2019t get justice in the end, but in the context of the story and what happens in real life, it makes sense and adds to the themes of the book. The federal government often doesn\u2019t give indigenous people like Daunis justice when they are harmed or assaulted by non-indigenous people. So, despite how integral she has been to the investigation, she is left out to dry by the people she was helping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An element I\u2019m unsure about is her fake and complicated relationship with FBI agent, Jamie Johnson. The fact that he\u2019s 22, while she\u2019s only just turning 19 by the end of the book bothered me. Although I wasn\u2019t very fond of their relationship, fake or real, there seems to be some hope of a friendship. He\u2019s moved onto a new part of his life without getting Daunis caught up in it, and for that I can feel some pride in him for trying to be better than he was at the beginning of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something else to mention is that I had to put the book down and take a short break during a specific scene relating to the rape trigger. It had been more than what I thought, and I was a little blindsided despite having looked up the triggers and content warnings for the book beforehand.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, I would highly recommend \u201cFirekeeper\u2019s Daughter,\u201d and I am looking forward to buying the sequel, \u201cWarrior Girl Unearthed.\u201d I loved how Daunis described and interpreted the different aspects of her life, and how clever she was in the investigation. The world and the energy that Boulley crafted in her writing was a delight to be a part of.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Firekeeper\u2019s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley is a contemporary mystery novel published in 2021. The story follows Daunis Fontaine, a recent high school graduate of French and Ojibwe descent, who is pulled into an FBI investigation regarding the finding of meth in her community; she is tasked with finding evidence of suspicious dealings on her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment","category-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\n