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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Daunis, 18, has postponed attending the University of Michigan to stay in Sault Ste. Marie for her mother, who is reeling from the recent death of Daunis’s uncle and the failing health of Daunis’s grandmother—the wealthy white woman who wouldn’t allow Duanis’s Ojibwe father to be named on Daunis’s birth certificate. Daunis is close to her late father’s family regardless, including half-brother Levi, and immersed in her Ojibwe community. A stellar hockey player in high school, Daunis’s prospects were ended by injury, but she remains a fan. Levi asks her to show a new player on the local team around town, and she can’t deny—at least to herself—the attraction she feels to Jamie. But when Daunis’s best friend, Lily, is murdered by Lily’s estranged boyfriend, a once funny, smart kid now addicted to meth, she discovers that Jamie, also Native, is an undercover FBI agent investigating an especially dangerous strain of meth traced to the area. Feeling both betrayed and grief-stricken, Daunis eventually agrees to be a confidential informant; a role she learns her late uncle also played. This riveting thriller weaves irresistible elements of the genre—rising action; mounting tension; a smart, capable protagonist both sure-footed and uncertain—with a nuanced portrayal of the complexity of contemporary Native identity and experience. It confronts painful truths, including racism and violence against Native women, and lingers on beautiful ones, especially the role of community in healing and thriving. (Age 14 and older)

CCBC Choices 2022 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

Starred review from May 1, 2021
Recent high school graduate Daunis Firekeeper (known for much of the book by her white mother's family name, Fontaine) decides to stay in Sault St. Marie, Michigan, and attend Lake State with her best friend, Lily. She is then -devastated when Lily is killed by her meth-addicted boyfriend. Soon after, two undercover agents approach Daunis about taking her late uncle's place as a confidential informant investigating meth that included "hallucinogenic additives...Psilocybe caerulipes from near Tahquamenon Falls." Daunis has strong scientific knowledge and a close connection to the Native community, despite being unenrolled (her father, a member of the Sugar Island Ojibwe tribe, is not on her birth certificate). Readers are introduced to the Anishinaabemowin language and, as Daunis calls on traditional knowledge to assist her in the investigation alongside her scientific knowledge, to the customs of the Sugar Island Ojibwe. This is a gripping page-turner, multifaceted, authentic, and suspenseful, that will keep readers wondering who is responsible for the meth that is taking over Daunis's community -- and who exactly she can trust. Nicholl Denice Montgomery

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

March 1, 2021

Gr 9 Up-This #OwnVoices novel is a character-driven crime thriller packed with Ojibwe culture and high-stakes tension with themes of identity, trust, and resilience. The journey of 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine is told in four parts overlaid by the four directions of Ojibwe medicine wheel teachings. Daunis should be focused on a fresh start at college after her uncle's untimely death. She is sucked back into the world of ice hockey and starts slowly falling for Jamie, one of her brother's new teammates. Soon she finds herself living two disparate lives: one as a loving daughter, niece, and granddaughter in her family and tribal community, and one as a confidential informant to the FBI as they investigate a deadly new drug. She dangerously furthers the investigation on her own after witnessing a murder, and ultimately must choose between protecting the people she loves or protecting her tribal community. Native cultural aspects, such as the central role of Elders in tribal life, the special relationship between aunts and nieces, and decentering of the individual in favor of the tribe are included, as are some darker aspects of life including drugs, violence, and sexual assault. Daunis, Jamie, and other characters are fleshed out, relatable, and believable, and Daunis's journey to become a strong Ojibwe woman is compelling. VERDICT A strong crime fiction addition to any library, educators will find this text useful in discussions of character growth, social justice, and Native issues.-Kara Stewart (Sappony), Literacy Coach & Reading Specialist

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from February 15, 2021
Grades 10-12 *Starred Review* Reeling after the death of her uncle, Daunis is trying to adjust to her new normal, a challenge at the best of times in her gossip-prone town, especially when her scandalous origins leave her caught between two worlds: Ojibwe on her father's side, but not officially enrolled as a member of the tribe, and French, dating back to fur traders, on the side of her mother, who considers the other half of Daunis' heritage a defect. When she witnesses a murder at the hands of someone who is addicted to meth and from a prominent family of her tribe, she has a choice: let the cycle of pain continue or protect her community. This debut novel is gripping from the start, letting the reader know that they're in for wild ride. Boulley, herself an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, writes from a place of love for her community and shares some key teachings from her culture, even mixing languages within the context of the story. She doesn't shy away from or sugar-coat the very real circumstances that plague reservations across the country, and she tackles these through her biracial hero, who gets involved in the criminal investigation into the corruption that led to this pain. An incredible thriller, not to be missed.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Kirkus

January 1, 2021
Testing the strength of family bonds is never easy--and lies make it even harder. Daunis is trying to balance her two communities: The Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, teen is constantly adapting, whether she is with her Anishinaabe father's side of the family, the Firekeepers, or the Fontaines, her White mother's wealthy relatives. She has grand plans for her future, as she wants to become a doctor, but has decided to defer her plans to go away for college because her maternal grandmother is recovering from a stroke. Daunis spends her free time playing hockey with her Firekeeper half brother, Levi, but tragedy strikes, and she discovers someone is selling a dangerous new form of meth--and the bodies are piling up. While trying to figure out who is behind this, Daunis pulls away from her family, covering up where she has been and what she has been doing. While dealing with tough topics like rape, drugs, racism, and death, this book balances the darkness with Ojibwe cultural texture and well-crafted characters. Daunis is a three-dimensional, realistically imperfect girl trying her best to handle everything happening around her. The first-person narration reveals her internal monologue, allowing readers to learn what's going on in her head as she encounters anti-Indian bias and deals with grief. A suspenseful tale filled with Ojibwe knowledge, hockey, and the politics of status. (Thriller. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Horn Book

January 1, 2021
Recent high school graduate Daunis Firekeeper (known for much of the book by her white mother's family name, Fontaine) decides to stay in Sault St. Marie, Michigan, and attend Lake State with her best friend, Lily. She is then devastated when Lily is killed by her meth-addicted boyfriend. Soon after, two undercover agents approach Daunis about taking her late uncle's place as a confidential informant investigating meth that included "hallucinogenic additives...Psilocybe caerulipes from near Tahquamenon Falls." Daunis has strong scientific knowledge and a close connection to the Native community, despite being unenrolled (her father, a member of the Sugar Island Ojibwe tribe, is not on her birth certificate). Readers are introduced to the Anishinaabemowin language and, as Daunis calls on traditional knowledge to assist her in the investigation alongside her scientific knowledge, to the customs of the Sugar Island Ojibwe. This is a gripping page-turner, multifaceted, authentic, and suspenseful, that will keep readers wondering who is responsible for the meth that is taking over Daunis's community -- and who exactly she can trust.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)