Firekeeper’s Daughter
Firekeeper’s Daughter
By: Angeline Boulley
[Winner of ‘Best YA Fiction’ category and nominated for ‘Best Debut Novel’ of the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“I never thought about secrets being like a bull’s eye. The smaller the circle, the bigger the secret.”
When I first started this book I was a little overwhelmed. I was confused and asking ‘Where am I?’
The bird’s eye view of the book is: a science-minded, hockey-playing Ojibwe girl helps the FBI investigate a meth ring in her tribe and nearby town in the Upper Peninsula (Sault Ste Marie) while also struggling with grief from the loss of several people close to her.
So from the very start I felt inundated with lingo and culture that was new to me. There are a lot of Anishinaabemowin words, Yooper slang, anatomy/science-related terminology, and hockey jargon. We are dropped right into Daunis’s life with little context. We find out immediately we’re in the ‘New Normal’ of her life but with no knowledge of what ‘Before’ was.
After several chapters I was able to be more engaged with the book and really enjoyed reading it. I learned a lot about the Ojibwe culture in a modern setting. I think it’s true that the US at large tends to think about Indigenous tribes as a historical thing and thing of the past, but they are still a people in the world today, operating in a modern society but preserving ancient traditions.
I don’t have any knowledge of what that looks like so this was an insightful read in that regard.
This is a pretty long book and I tend to side with the other reviewers who say it was too long. I, personally, didn’t feel like it was a slog to get through, but I do think it could have been shorter or told more efficiently.
It’s told from Daunis’s POV so we are privy to all of her thoughts. They are disjointed and confusing at times, but I think Boulley did a good job of capturing an authentic train of thought. I think it would be hard to write that; when I think about my own thoughts, they do jump around a lot or make random connections. To an outside viewer it would take a minute to catch up. It is a unique aspect of the writing, but I’m unsure if it added enough to justify the extra pages and confusion.
Part of the length of the book is due to the complexity of the story. There are a lot of threads woven together:
Daunis’s uncle died under suspicious circumstances recently and she and her mom are struggling with his loss and his supposed involvement with meth.
“When someone dies, everything about them becomes past tense. Except for the grief. Grief stays in the present.”
Daunis’s dad, Levi, cheated on her mom (a non-Native) with a woman named Dana and essentially chose Dana over Daunis’s mom. Levi and Dana had a son, Levi Jr., three months after Daunis was born creating a complicated relationship between Daunis and her half-brother as well as with the tribe as a whole because of the circumstances surrounding her birth. Her father’s name is not on her birth certificate which has prevented her from being considered an official tribe member which is important to her.
Daunis is part Ojibwe and part-white. She has very pale skin and struggles with identity in the sense of skin color and belonging in her tribe, yet loving her non-Native family, especially her grandmother (even though her grandmother says some racist things)
“It’s hard to explain what it’s like being so connected to everyone and everything here… yet feeling that no one ever sees the whole me.”
There is the emotional complexity of loving people but not certain parts of those people— the things they say or the bad choices they make that hurt people. Reconciling who she knows people to be with who they are becoming.
Daunis loves hockey and feels closest to her dad when she is on the ice. But something happened to her and she has hung up the skates. She is struggling with losing that part of her identity as well.
Daunis is working with an undercover FBI agent posing as a high school senior to investigate a meth ring that is affecting a lot of Natives in reservations up north. (They call themselves the Meth Blasters. JK.) Daunis is struggling with wanting to protect her tribe from unfair government treatment or judgment but also wanting to protect her tribe from the devastating affects of meth use and drug distribution and keep it out of her community.
“I’m the only person looking at the whole person, not just the wound.”
This is a YA novel so we also have a romance thread. The undercover FBI agent and Daunis are pretending to be in a relationship as their cover story but the lines between business and personal are blurring and they are falling in love with each other.
“All’s fair in love and hockey. And meth.”
Near the beginning of the book Daunis witnesses her best friend Lily being killed by her on/off boyfriend and recent meth-user, Travis, who then turns the gun on himself and commits suicide. Daunis is haunted by this scene and the loss of her best friend. This is the catalyst that drives Daunis to want answers and to protect anyone else from being hurt.
As you can see, there is a lot of struggle at play in this book. We learn about the Seven Grandfathers of living the good way of life: love, humility, respect, honesty, bravery, wisdom, and truth. All of the story’s threads take Daunis through each of these traits as she navigates her life and who she wants to be.
Some other random comments/observations:
Sault Sainte Marie is not pronounced ‘Salt’ but ‘Soo.’ So I’m going to have to change my pronunciation the next time I play Ticket to Ride.
I learned this fun fact: the liver is the only internal organ that can regenerate.
This book takes place in 2004. I’m not entirely sure why. The only thing I can think of is if meth use/distribution was particularly popular during that time as opposed to something more recent. But otherwise it seems like a random choice for a time period.
I didn’t like the way Boulley wrote the text messages. T9 existed in 2004. It seems like it would be harder to abbreviate than just write words out. Am I just in denial about how everyone else in the world texted? This always bothers me in any book. Type out the words!!
Also there is group texting happening in this book and I don’t think that existed in 2004.
Some of the Yooper slang was saying ‘yous’ like how the South uses ‘ya’ll'.’ They also said ‘eh’ or ‘hey’ a lot at the end of their sentences. I’m not sure if the ‘hey’ one is Canadian or Yooper or Ojibwe slang?
Granny June is a great character! She offered some comedic relief. She named her dog Tribal Council just so she could yell at him. And: “Just wait till you realize everything she says is either raunchy or a quote from a fortune cookie.”
Daunis means daughter but it also sounds like ‘dauntless’ which I think is an appropriate adjective for her!
Boulley kept using the phrase ‘pointed her lips at’ something or someone and I can’t picture what this gesture is. It was a bit annoying and definitely overused.
I liked the main character—Daunis. It’s not often you have a tall female protagonist either. Some reviewers were annoyed at the ‘not like other girls’ trope and didn’t like how she judged the other girls by calling them anglerfish for latching onto their boyfriends. I think some of this is fair. But it is a YA novel and I think it would resonate with some high schoolers. Plus Boulley is trying to make a heroic character for young women to look up to. She may overdo Daunis’s intelligence, skill, or altruism, but I think it fits with the story.
I think a lot of YA novels focus on identity. Young adults are trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be. Firekeeper’s Daughter covers a lot of aspects of identity and how our choices affect other people. YA novels also focus on relationships. I really like the emphasis on the idea that if you need someone and you can’t imagine life without them, then you probably aren’t ready for a relationship. If you don’t need someone, then you are able to enter into a romantic relationship without turning it into your identity. You don’t come across that idea very much.
“Love is not control.”
It is not new that Native American tribes treat Elders with a lot of respect and honor, but it was a good reminder seeing that portrayal in this book. I think it’s really cool to see cultures that take care of their elderly and recognize their wisdom and experience, who treat their stories with such reverence and respect. For Daunis, at that age, to spend so much of her free time at the center with the Elders says a lot about her.
It was interesting how Daunis’s aunt seemed more important and present than Daunis’s mom. Daunis even says that she has always wanted to be like her aunt. We don’t really get much insight into her dad or mom’s personalities or development. Her dad has passed and her mom seems like she is in another world. Daunis has a good relationship with her mom but it is more like Daunis took care of her mom than the other way around.
Boulley shares in her author’s note: “4 in 5 (84%) Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime and more than half (56%) have experienced sexual violence. Nearly all (97%) of the Native women who have experienced violence had at least one non-Native perpetrator.”
I had no idea the stats were that high! Add to that the complications of different court jurisdictions between the tribe and the American government and justice is not usually served. I’m glad Boulley exposed that in this book and hopefully more awareness will lead to better ways of prosecuting offenders and Native women can feel safer in their communities and feel like what happens to them matters and deserves justice.
The last scene of women around the fire was pretty powerful.
I’m learning more about domestic and sexual violence. If you want to hear of another woman’s story, you can check out Trauma Bonds.
One of the parts of the book that was NOT complex is the mystery. There weren’t really any red herrings and I had most of it figured out. I would have liked a few more surprises in that sense.
Recommendation
I think this is a great read. Even though it’s long and overwhelming at times, I think it covers a lot of important topics. It’s interesting and there is a mystery aspect to it which helps the length seem less.
It would make a good book club book. But I’m not going to attempt to write any book club discussion questions for this one because I’m sure I didn’t fully grasp all the meaning and symbolism in it and I wouldn’t do the book justice with my questions.
It sounds like this could be coming to Netflix as a limited series. I’m really looking forward to that happening so that I can visualize more of what I read. So many cultural aspects for them to depict and Boulley made sure that they would have Native people working alongside every part of the production so I feel like it will be pretty authentic.
I would for sure read the book before watching so you know what to look out for and can get the word picture before the visual.
I can see why this was nominated for a debut book— for a first book she took on a big and complex project and handled it very well! I’m glad she is sharing her culture and community with us and I will definitely read more of what she writes.
[Content Advisory: a handful of f-words and quite a few s-words; trigger warnings for rape (it’s not very descriptive) and suicide]
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