Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Yasmin, Grade 12
The Firekeeper’s Daughter
follows the story of Daunis Fontaine as one tragedy after another takes her
life in an unexpected direction. Set in the Ojibwe community of Sugar Island, The Fire Keeper’s Daughter takes pieces
of Native American culture and incorporates it into a high stakes
investigation. After Daunis’s uncle’s death is pinned on drug use, like
countless others before him, the pattern
of deaths in the community grows even more personal when Daunis’s best friend
is shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, a victim of addiction himself. However,
Daunis doesn’t quite believe the claims made about her uncle’s death, and when
she meets Jaime, a newcomer to the community, the pieces begin to come
together. From then on ensues an undercover investigation into native plants,
their medicinal uses, and the role they might have played in the development of
the new, deadly and harshly addictive substance that is slowly eating away at
Daunis’s community each day. I especially enjoyed the unique setting of this
story, since I had never read a story with such a visible foundation in Native
American practices let alone one that combined them with a murder-mystery type
of story. The main character is likable
thanks to the insight the reader gets into her thoughts and emotions,
especially as she grapples with one loss after another. My only qualm with this
book is that the exposition felt lengthy before the story really started to get
going, but I eventually came to appreciate that as it took its time in fully
setting up for future events and allowing the reader to familiarize themselves
with the culture and characters existing in its unique setting. Overall, I
would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good teenage mystery
with a twist!
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