Review for The Firekeeper's Daughter: Putting the Fire in Firekeeper

While packing up the inordinate amount of crap I own before moving to Toronto, I would sit in my bed at night and stay up too late reading Angeline Boulley’s thrilling YA novel, The Firekeeper’s Daughter. I know, two YAs in a row seems a bit much for a page that’s well entrenched into adult fiction, but I couldn’t help myself – and with good reason.

Boulley’s book tells the story of a young eighteen-year-old Ojibwe woman, Daunis Fontaine, and the whirlwind months that follow her high school graduation. It’s such a cliché to use the term “it begins in the middle of things,” but in this case, the novel sets that cliché up for the best possible use. The Firekeeper’s Daughter is one of those mystery tales that must start in the middle of things with little detail given to the audience so we can peel back the layers of clues and mystery along with the protagonist. All we really know in the beginning is that Daunis is an ex-hockey player who runs every morning, is half sister to one of the most prominent high school hockey players on her reserve, and that there is a new guy on the team that has been assigned to her as a mentee – and he’s super hot.

Soon, Daunis is thrown into an emotional journey as she gets wrapped up in an FBI investigation surrounding the curious surge of meth availability and use in and around her town that has led to some terrible deaths. As we sort through the layers of both the investigation and Daunis’ character, one of the most essential pillars of the story is revealed to be identity in both the mysterious and coming-of-age way. From Daunis’ connection to her Elders, to her troubled relationship with her deceased father and grief-stricken mother, each element is both a clue into who Daunis could be and a building block towards finding out who is distributing the drugs. So, in many ways, solving the mystery is the method for Daunis to become who she is meant to be.

This isn’t to say that the identity is uncovered easily, though. One of my favourite reoccurring images in the novel is within Boulley’s use of border lines as it ties into this overarching theme of identity. Because Daunis is biracial, she is constantly straddling the border between her Ojibwe and European ancestry. Even the reserve itself is positioned right on the border between the United States and Canada and Boulley makes a point of showcasing Daunis’ ease in flowing between the two countries (which feels like a call out to Thomas King’s work with borders in his fiction). She has a foot in each world both literally and figuratively, and throughout the story, she struggles to find the balance not only between her racial identity, but also her identity as a friend, community member, girlfriend, daughter, and granddaughter. Honestly, she probably needed a Libra in her life to strike the balance sooner.

All jokes aside, this novel is a beautiful story about love, friendship, family, and overall connectedness. Boulley teaches many lessons throughout the story, with safe sex, experimentation, communication, and empathy being some key takeaways for a YA novel, but to me, one of the biggest lessons is in her clear painting of connectedness. I enjoyed how Boulley showcased the parts of life that are bound to be awful, yet how the awfulness has a part to play in the massive web of connection between you and everyone around. Even the bits we don’t like, such as mean girls and betrayal, all have a part to play in crafting identity.

However, there are some aspects of life that I just can’t get behind as crafting part of identity, and I think Boulley understands this as well. I think she understands that the FBI and justice system more broadly, which is something that is central to the story, is corrupt and always going to be corrupt. So, however much charm and morality are added to the cops, they’re still choosing to work for a crappy colonial organization, but I like how Boulley doesn’t shy away from exploring the toll that has on the agents and how they got to this point in their lives.

Overall, this isn’t just a great YA fiction. The Firekeeper’s Daughter is a thrilling, wonderful story for all ages to read that has incredibly smart and intricate writing. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a little excitement in their reading life!