Firekeeper's Daughter
"Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after 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, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug. Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims. Now, as the deceptions-and deaths-keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she'll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she's ever known."
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a thrilling and enlightening read about a girl experiencing an incredible amount of change-and deception. Daunis is so fiercely strong, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Native American culture. I felt anger with her and her people as they experienced prejudice from the government that should strive to help them. In nursing school, we learn that the Native American population is riddled with comorbidities, but we don't spend nearly enough time discussing the source of these. For their people are an ancient kind that honor tradition and nature, but have been the victim of so many atrocities throughout history. The mistrust in governing forced is palpable and all-present throughout this novel. Daunis must constantly balance helping her people and rationing her trust in a force that has wronged them over and over.
I came very close to going to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for my birthday this year, but I could not because of a wedding right before my birthday. I longed to experience the northern foliage and Lake Superior coves that it is most known for. Lucky for me, I still got to experience those things through this book. It is. beautiful thing to read the ancient histories of cultures and peoples that have survived a land for generations. For that, I am thankful.
I found Daunis to be so incredibly inspiring. She is fiercely intelligent, selfless, and (living up to her Firekeeper name) fiery in nature.
This novel is romance, suspense, thriller, coming-of-age, and murder-mystery all in one. I look forward to the next installment of this series next summer.