NPR called the novel 'absolute powerhouse of a debut,' saying the novel 'is so, so much more than a thriller or a mystery.
Kristina Pino, writing for Booklist highlighted how Boulley 'doesn’t shy away from or sugar-coat the very real circumstances that plague reservations across the country.' She concluded that Firekeeper's Daughter is 'an incredible thriller, not to be missed.' Publishers Weekly wrote, 'Hitting hard when it comes to issues such as citizenship, language revitalization, and the corrosive presence of drugs on Native communities, this novel will long stand in the hearts of both Native and non-Native audiences.' Time magazine named the book one of the '100 Best YA Books of All Time.' It also received a starred review from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. The book follows Daunis Fontaine, a half-native, half-white young adult who witnesses her friend's murder and becomes involved in an FBI investigation revolving around a new drug.īoulley, who is Ojibwe, spent 10 years working on the novel as she researched 'the intricacies of illegal drugs, to law enforcement, to hockey, to the ways of her own tribe, the Ojibwe people.' Reception įirekeeper's Daughter is a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller. The book is a New York Times best seller and won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel in 2022. Firekeeper's Daughter is a young adult novel by Angeline Boulley, published March 16, 2021, by Henry Holt and Co.
