Title: Fire Keeper's Daughter
Genre: YA Thriller
Targeted Age: 7th-12th grade
Plot Summary: In Fire Keeper's Daughter, we experience life in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan through the eyes of Daunis Fontaine as she tries to balance her Anishinaabe Fire Keeper and wealthy white heritage. Daunis loves and respects her Ojibwe community even though she is considered an outsider. When a threat in the form of a new type of meth emerges, deaths follow and Daunis finds herself involved in the mystery. Lives affected by rape, drug abuse, murder, and secrets are set in the Anishinaabe traditions that affect the what, why and how in this enjoyable thriller.
Justification for book choice: This title was a 2022 Printz winner. It focuses on the Ojibwe traditions which was a new topic for me. I enjoyed listening to the book as I was able to hear the pronunciations of names and words correctly.
Evaluation:
Accuracy: Author Angela Boulley was raised in an Ojibwe community. She based the fictional tribe on her own. I appreciated that this was a story of modern Native American rather than a historical one. She stated in the WBUR interview. (Clayson & Beiner, 2021) that violence agains Native women has also been under reported and she wanted to include that as part of her narrative as well. Live in a tribe is not all dark and gloom and Boulley also treasured the time she spent with the tribe elders, hearing their stories. (Clayson & Beiner, 2021)
Character: Daunis Fontaine is a believable character. It was easy to accept her as a protagonist and be drawn into the emotional struggles she encountered in this story. She was portrayed with so many complexities in her life. Daunis balanced two different family cultures that were completely separate except in her own life. She was torn between her dreams and the necessities of life. Her participation and care for those in her tribe was in opposition with her exclusion of full inclusion in it. These contrasts felt authentic and reflective of modern life as nothing is simple.
Tension: Tension seems to be a theme in Daunis' life. Nothing is simple and she is constantly being pulled in different directions. As the story unfolds, additional questions and facts bring additional problems to be solved and leave the readers questioning and interested how things will be resolved.
Citation:
Clayson J. and Beiner C. (2021). Author Angeline Boulley mines Native American roots in bestselling YA novel 'Firekeeper's Daughter'. WBUR. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/07/06/firekeepers-daughter-angeline-boulley