#18 - Fire Keeper's Daughter by Angeline Boylley

 Just The Basics

    Published: March 16, 2021

    Genre: Coming of age, realistic fiction, crime. 

    Pages: 494 pages

    Acknowledgements:  Edgar Allan Poe Award (Best Young Adult) Winner (2022)

        "Wisdom is not bestowed. In its raw state, it is the heartbreak of knowing things you wish you didn't.” 

    "Firekeeper's Daughter" is a combination coming-of-age and crime novel, focusing on Daunis, a biracial Ojibwe native. In her community, plagued with drug abuse, crime, and somehow still an interconnected network of tribal elders, Daunis finds herself plagued by tragedy after tragedy. Meth has taken hold of many of her close friends and distant relatives, and while still battling with the recent death of her uncle, the catatonic state of her GrandMerry, and the tensions between her best friend Lilly and her meth-addicted boyfriend Travis, Daunis finds a way to serve her community profoundly. Even as her tribe has always ostracized her due to the scandal of her birth (her Firekeeper father's affair resulting in the birth of her half-brother Levi). Daunis struggles to find her place in her tribe even after she can no longer play hockey, the local favorite sport. While her brother Levi might excel on the ice, Daunis learns uses her intellect and strengths as both a student and a young Ojibwe woman to get to the bottom of the meth epidemic on her reservation. In a story with twists, turns, and heartbreak, Firekeeper's Daughter is a modern tapestry of community and folklore. As Daunis, along with her blooming love interest with the new boy in town, Jamie Johnson, readers will find themselves entangled in a compelling mystery thriller that almost seems impossible to summarize. 

    Why "Firekeeper's Daughter"?

    This book is all over the top YA book lists, and came into my hands as one of the most recommended works for English teachers to read at my school. I borrowed a copy from the ELA workroom and finished this book almost immediately. Boylley also won the Edgar Allen Poe award for best YA novel in 2024, and I completely understand why. This was one of the longest books on my YA list this year, but the 494 pages went quickly as this book swooped me up in it's story. It's hard to not give any spoilers; however, it would be tragic for any potential readers to have the experience of reading this novel ruined. What begins like a typical high school hockey-related love story between Jamie and Daunis quickly becomes a mature commentary on the ravages of drug abuse on small communities, as well as creating a thrilling crime novel.  This book is transcendental in its tragic moments and an action-packed crime thriller when it gets the ball rolling. As Daunis learns how connected her life is to the meth epidemic, she also learns about the web of lies lying just beneath the surface of her close-knit Ojibwe community. This book is about grief as much as it is about the power of a young woman. 

    Teaching Considerations

     I would adore teaching this novel to a whole class. It's dense, especially in its use of Ojibwe language, cultural tradition, and mysticism, so I would recommend older readers beyond the 10th grade. There are serious trigger warnings for violence, sexual assault, drug abuse, and heartbreaking betrayals. However, it is in these hard moments that this novel shines the brightest. Boylley is not afraid to have horrible things happen to characters, especially after lulling the readers into a false sense of narrative safety. This book is realistic in both how sudden tragedy can strike and how deep the trauma these events can cause. However, Daunis is overwhelmingly resilient and overcomes events that would crush lesser people. I would love to teach this book on a unit about grief, about the power of community, about the power of women, or on the hardships caused by drugs. This book is multifaceted in its coloring of themes, making it a strong contender for full class study under many different thematic lenses. 

      Sections to Read Aloud & Reasoning

1. Chapter 9

• "A brave hand reaches for the gun. Lily's fingers outstretched. Demanding. Give it. Now." (page 86)

    While I have to avoid a lot of the context here, chapter 9 is when this novel really turns a corner. What happens between Daunis, Lilly, and Travis has a tragic ripple effect that reverberates through the rest of the story. This section would be an important close read for students. Certain events of this chapter, and particular phrases heard by Daunis, become refrains repeated again and again as the story continues. These passages are important thematic statements that encapsulate this novel's themes of grief, loss, and the betrayal of those whom Daunis thought she knew. 

        2. Chapter 33

• ''If you knew it was the last time you were going to see someone, would you say something profound? Would you share how much they meant to you? Would you ask any burning questions? Would you ask for forgiveness? Would you thank them?" (page 320)

    A lot of this novel is also about unlearning things you have known to be true before. In the wake of her uncle's mysterious death, Daunis learns that she has to seize every last moment with her loved ones. Passages like the one above are full of potential for analysis for thematic subtext. Her questions posed to the reader are great moments for students to respond for themselves. If you were in Daunis's shoes, how would you react? Who in life do you need to hold a bit more closely? 

        3. Chapter 52 

• "I'm reminded that our elders are our greatest resource, embodying our culture and community. Their stories connect us to our language, medicines, land, clans, songs, and traditions. They are a bridge between the Before and the Now, guiding those of us who will carry on in the future." (page 453)

    The elders of Daunis's community are a crucial part of her support system as well as important characters in the story. These older Ojibwe natives serve as both role models and hilarious foils to the young people of the reservation. Each elder has a lesson to teach, and a deeper analysis of these teachings in read-alouds would allow for easy essay questions and thoughtful discussion. Much like when Danis talks about grief and regret, how might students use this text to better understand the elders in their own lives? In a Western culture detached from that of the Ojibwe people, the centering of the elders and their stories bridges the teaching of Daunis's tribe in an easily accessible and thought-provoking way. 

    Overall Thoughts

        This has been one of the best books I have read, period. This story has a way of pulling the rug out from under you as you read. In both the moments of intense sadness and loss, this book finds transcendence, healing, and power. In its moments of thrilling action, Firekeeper's Daughter finds a way to turn the tension up another notch after the reader has come to understand these characters and their relationships so clearly. This book centers on the teachings of a tribe in a way that readers can understand and come to appreciate as Daunis uses her culture to help her navigate the mystery she's involved with. I wish I could write a blog post containing all the spoilers, so as to discuss how each moment compounds on another to make this story so compelling. This does not read as a YA novel at all, but instead a novel that anyone could enjoy, come to appreciate in its teachings, and then ponder further. 

    Future Explorations

     I would love to explore this book's sequel, Warrior Girl Unearthed, just to return to this world and reconnect with these characters. This book is smart, well-written, and is an incredible showcase of Boylley's talents. Even though my life seems a million miles away from Daunis's, I felt close and connected to the characters I met along my way. I think I will read more of Boylley's works, for both the love I have developed for her style, her storytelling, and the realism she brings to the YA genre.