Trigger Warnings: Drug Addiction, Suicide, Murder, Sexual Assault, Racism 

While Firekeeper's Daughter was written for the young adult reading level, as the trigger Warnings indicate, the novel explores very mature themes. I won't say that the themes are too mature. These are all issues that impact people of all ages and were treated realistically in this work. 

The overall realism is what made this novel extremely compelling. Readers are immediately immersed in the life of Daunis Fontaine, an 18 year old young woman whose father was Native American and her mother is white. Her mixed heritage plays a major part in her daily life as she is very close to both sides of her family despite the scandal of her birth. The way Angeline Boulley balances the impacts of her maternal and paternal sides perfectly. 

As far as protagonists go, Daunis was extremely compelling. She's far from perfect as she has a temper and jumps to conclusions that aren't always right, even as she is shown to be competent and learning from her mistakes. She guided the story from start to finish, going through realistic struggles as well as earned triumphs.

While we follow Daunis through her tragedies and the overarching mystery, we're introduced to a wide variety of characters who make up the community around her. Every supporting character felt just as well fleshed out as Daunis with personalities and lives that felt like they extended beyond the story being told.

The female dynamics were exceptionally well done. Daunis' friendships and familial relationships felt so authentic. They tease each other, argue, lie for both good and bad reasons, and had each other's backs. I particularly loved how sex positive the novel was, which was reflected in how the women spoke to and supported each other. 

This was a solid 5 stars. I'll be going directly into the sequel.