Angeline Boulley

Initially I was fine with the slow pace, it made sense to take time to introduce the characters, the community and the culture, really set the scene and get the reader invested before things escalated, only that sluggish feeling never went away, even at the height of the action, the book kind of did that horror movie thing where every time the heroine wriggles free of one jam she falls directly into another which for me almost always feels more tiresome than propulsive.

I liked Daunis, she show more cares about her family and community, she’s smart, she’s persistent, I just wish she’d been an amateur sleuth here stepping on the toes of law enforcement, I could have bought into that, instead I struggled with the plausibility of the FBI recruiting an eighteen year old informant, teaching her to make meth and asking her to source ingredients all because she excelled in high school science? There was no one else who could compare samples to photos online? Wouldn’t the FBI have their own experts who test drugs and identify ingredients?

There were also already two undercover officers who seemed interested in solving the case yet we never see them so much as ask anyone (other than Daunis) a leading question or really do anything that resembled undercover investigative work. They mostly just accompanied Daunis places and conveniently disappeared from those scenes while a teenager with no investigative experience was always the only one ever shown investigating anything.

The guilty, as well as the method for transporting the meth seemed too obvious and then there was the Scooby-Doo of it all, that moment where the guilty just proudly unburden themselves of the who, what, where of their criminal enterprise, spelling everything out. It’s a clunky way of conveying information and that wasn’t the only time this book tended towards info dumps which is an understandable issue for a first time author but something the editor probably should have intervened on.

Despite decent chemistry, the romance didn’t entirely work for me, either. Since Daunis has baggage involving guys lying to her and this guy seriously lies to her, it puzzled me as to why she showed so little resistance to him and I wondered at his lack of resistance to her, too, when he seemed ambitious and involvement with Daunis could have hindered those ambitions. For me, it would have made more sense if the romance had been restricted to the tension and sparks of them denying/not acting on their attraction.

The author crafted other far more compelling aspects of this novel that unfortunately more often than not took a backseat to the investigation and the romance. The book was at its best, the writing at its most confident and least labored whenever the book pushed the genre stuff aside. I would have been more than satisfied to read an entire book about Daunis and Lily’s friendship, about their status issues and how any change in that may have affected their tight bond, about Daunis interacting with the elders, about Daunis dealing with her grandmother’s racism, about the experience of two Indigenous girls in college which I mean how many books have ever shown Daunis and Lily’s real-life counterparts what college life might look like for them? This could have been that book, it should have been, there are already enough half-baked crime stories in the world. show less

This wrecked me.

Firekeeper’s Daughter is one of the best books I’ve read in my decade as a high school librarian. The followup, Warrior Girl Unearthed, was interesting but not as strong, in my opinion.

This third book, Sisters in the Wind, raised the bar again. How can I prove this? My eyes are red, my nose is running, and my heart feels like it was pummeled. What a freaking ride.

The issues explored in this book are heartbreaking and urgent. The characters BREATHE. The plot doesn’t quit show more for even a second and the twists slap you in the face. Angeline Boulley is a YA legend.

Spoiler: I LOVED that Jamie and Daunis were in this book. That greatly added to my enjoyment because they are endgame, but it also (again, spoiler but I won’t give details!) utterly destroyed me when things played out the way they did in the showdown at the end.

I wonder if HR would let me use bereavement days for recovering from this book because I AM HURTING. show less

Fascinating and well-written thriller set in 2004, about a young woman straddling two cultures, her white ancestry and her Ojibwe Native American heritage. She suffers great personal losses and shows amazing strength of will and physical strength as she navigates the grieving process while working undercover with the FBI, trying to figure out who is involved in a drug ring in her town, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Daunis is an impressive character--she plays hockey, is studying to go to show more medical school but also knows Native plants and medicines, and has a close bond with her family members and best friend. She's smart and self-assured. But she also finds herself falling for the mysterious new player on her brother's hockey team, against her best intentions. And she'll find herself falling afoul of some equally tough characters. I loved learning all of the Ojibwe cultural traditions in this story, and listening to it on audio let me hear the correct pronunciations of the Ashinaabe language, which is extensive throughout. Top notch book. A few f-bombs, and some mature situations that I think would be best for grades 9 and up. show less

This took me on an exhilarating journey from start to end. Throughout this book, I was swept up in the excitement and emotion of Daunis' journey. The pacing was great, especially in the second half where I couldn’t put it down. While I wished for a bit more depth in the relationships between the main characters, I couldn't help but be drawn to Daunis. She's strong, smart, and funny, and I found her instantly relatable and compelling. Boulley's portrayal of Ojibwe traditions and culture was show more masterful. Instead of bogging the story down with pedantic explanations, she wove them seamlessly into the character interactions, allowing me to learn and appreciate without feeling overwhelmed. Themes of womanhood, grief, and identity were beautifully explored, adding layers of depth to the narrative. As a mystery thriller, the book had me hooked. However, I am a bit unsatisfied with some loose ends left hanging. While it might be truer to reality, I couldn't help but crave a bit more closure. Despite its heaviness, I highly recommend reading this one. It's a story of strength, independence, and self-discovery that left a lasting impression on me. show less