Firekeeper's Daughter

Firekeeper’s Daughter (2021) is a debut young adult thriller by Angeline Boulley. The novel’s plot centers on Daunis Fontaine, an 18-year-old girl with a French mother and an Ojibwe father, who often feels torn between cultures. When she witnesses a murder and goes undercover for the FBI, Daunis uses her knowledge of both cultures to unravel the case. Themes include navigating ancestry, embracing community, and the dangers of punitive justice. Boulley is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians located between the Great Lakes of Northern Michigan. Boulley had a long career in Indian Education before writing Firekeeper’s Daughter. She also served as her tribe’s Education Director/Assistant Executive Director before becoming the Director for Indian Education at the US Department of Education. This groundbreaking novel garnered the attention of Higher Ground, Michele and Barack Obama’s production company, which picked the novel for a Netflix TV deal. Boulley's 2023 novel Warrior Girl Unearthed is a New York Times best seller and a Boston Globe-Horn Book award winner.

Note: Firekeeper’s Daughter contains drug abuse, suicide, rape, and relationship abuse.

Plot Summary

Daunis Fontaine is torn between two worlds and families: her white French/Italian mother’s side and her father’s Ojibwe Firekeeper’s side.