Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter was my first audiobook of 2022. I’d been waiting to get my hands on this audiobook since I read The Yield by Tara June since this indigenous story bore similar vibes for me at first glance(probably the vibrant-looking book covers of both books). The cover art has to be a gorgeous cover I have seen on a book so far. Despite my poor attempt to judge the book by its cover, I have to give my honest review.
Plot Summary
Daunis Fontaine has never felt at home in her father’s Ojibwe tribe or her mother’s French heritage. She meets Jamie, a gorgeous new member of her brother’s hockey team who she quickly falls for despite the hidden signals she senses. Daunis witnesses a tragic death and becomes embroiled in an FBI investigation of drug trafficking in her neighborhood. However, the investigation will reveal secrets and endanger many of the people she cares about.
Character development and depths?
The charcatar potrayal was too YA for me. The main character is just corny and confusing. Some characters The character portrayal was too YA for me. The main character is just corny and confusing. Some characters were likable and well built up, but the main characters were too dense and predictable. However, since it’s a YA story, the characters appeal more to the young adult audience.
Writing style
The author has a great writing style. It included a lot of colorful vocabulary and phrases, and it was also quite instructive about topics like the Ojibwe tribe, ecology, and science. Even though it is easy to integrate indigenous culture and environment, trying to bring science into that equation would have placed any author in a difficult situation. Yet, unexpectedly, I did not have any estranged feelings while reading this book.
Readability
I picked up the audiobook, which was a good choice. It was effortless to listen to. The audiobook narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc has gotten several Bookstagram reviews compared to the physical copy. The narrator did an excellent job making the audience understand the Ojibwe culture and the language.
The message
The story includes messages such as identity, communal misogyny, the patriarchy, and the importance of keeping women safe. Since the novel is more young adult-focused, there are times these messages were lost in the details.
Originality
I found the setting of an indigenous story with a drug trafficking incident plotline unique. However, if you talk about the character originality they lean more towards conventional and predictable than original.
Immersion
An excellent and meaningful world-building by the author on the Ojibwe community. It was informative, colorful, and fresh. Even the descriptions of nature and the fictional Sugar Island made clear images of the surroundings in my head.
Plotline
However, the story did lose me at several moments. Considering the length of the book, those losing parts were very memorable. Also, the culprit of the whole incident was very predictable from the start and the romance in the story was corny and weak in a very Twilight-y way. Also, the fact the FBI got a teenage girl involved in a drug trafficking incident seems too unreal to me.
Ending
Regardless me not liking the story much, the ending was satisfactory. The main characters, no matter how corny their love-hate relationship was, the ending made sure to come and press the original themes of identity and community instead of giving it a fairytale ending.
Emotions
Unfortunately, I was not having a fabulous reading time with this book. There were too many main character-focused writing. I prefer story-focused novels rather than character-focused ones. Even though my review may sound harsh, please do not discourage yourself from reading this. Always keep in mind not all books are made for everybody. Unfortunately, this book happens to be not my cup of tea.
Would I recommend it to someone?
Having said all that, I would recommend this to any young adult crowd or anyone who would enjoy a light YA reading or even for a person who is looking for Indigenous-centered stories. And probably the audiobook.