Booklist Reviews

What starts out as the perfect lazy summer for Perry Firekeeper-Birch—aka the "chill" twin, the one with no desire to leave her home of Sugar Island—turns into a life-changing experience when she's forced into a summer internship that teaches her about the harsh realities of how the outside world views her ancestors and their remains. Throw in missing Indigenous women, family secrets, her very first crush, and a couple of murders, and Perry is going to learn the lengths to which she'll go to enact her ideas of justice. Boulley gives us an extremely engrossing story that occasionally gets bogged down by taking on too much: there are mentions of sexual assault, grooming, the politics behind repatriation efforts, tribal politics, a heist gone wrong, and so on. That said, Perry Firekeeper-Birch is an incredibly engaging protagonist and a great example of a flawed yet relatable character. Highly recommended for thriller fans and readers who loved Boulley's debut, as well as Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give (2017) and Jen Ferguson's The Summer of Bitter and Sweet (2022).High-Demand Backstory: This quick follow-up to Boulley's best-selling, award-winning Firekeeper's Daughter carries over all the same intrigue, tension, and heartbreak. Expect requests! Grades 9-12. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Black and Anishinaabe high schooler Perry Firekeeper-Birch tackles issues surrounding U.S. repatriation laws as well as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in this page-turning companion taking place 10 years after Firekeeper's Daughter by Anishinaabe author Boulley. After dropping off her twin sister Pauline at the Sugar Island Ojibwe Tribe's summer internship program, where she will be working with the Tribal Council, Perry is ready to begin her summer of slacking off and fishing with Pops. But when her aunt foots the bill for car repairs, Perry is forced to get a job at the program to pay her back. She's working at the tribal museum when she discovers that a local university has been taking advantage of legal loopholes to hold on to deceased Anishinaabe remains. Determined to return them to their rightful homes, Perry devises a ploy with the other interns, uncovering a deadly mystery involving missing Indigenous women along the way. Conversations surrounding colorism contribute to the characters' authentic renderings, and Perry's snarky first-person narration propels this intelligent heist narrative, culminating in a thrilling and empowering read. Ages 14–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (May)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Perry Firekeeper-Birch wrecked the Jeep and had to join her twin sister, Pauline, in a summer internship offered by their tribe to pay for repairs. The summer is harrowing, with local Indigenous women going missing, and the murders of Black people by police that have the twins concerned for their father's safety. Perry's internship begins with Cooper Turtle, curator of the Tribal Museum. Perry is less than enthused, but after visiting a local college and seeing the bones and artifacts of her ancestors stored there, she finds her passion—to bring her ancestors back to Sugar Island. Cooper helps educate her on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Impatient with the red tape involved with NAGPRA, Perry repatriates seeds from a college backlog collection and loses Cooper's trust. Bouncing around different tribal departments for the rest of her internship, Perry is encouraged by the sub-Chief to lead her sister and friends into a heist to repatriate a private collection. Their plan takes a dark turn, and Perry finds herself in the hands of a predator. Though a sequel to Firekeeper's Daughter, it can be read as a stand-alone. VERDICT Perry's dreams, desires, culture, traditions, and actions create a compelling narrative about one teen's attempt to undo some of the injustices her community and people have faced. Strong first buy.—Tamara Saarinen

With the rising number of missing Indigenous women, her family’s involvement in a murder investigation and grave robbers profiting off her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry takes matters into her own hands to solve the mystery and reclaim her people’s inheritance. 250,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

With the rising number of missing Indigenous women, her family's involvement in a murder investigation, and grave robbers profiting off her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry takes matters into her own hands to solve the mystery and reclaim her people's inheritance. - (Baker & Taylor)

An Instant New York Times bestseller!
A #1 Indies Bestseller!
An Amazon Best Book of the Year!
Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award!
A BookPage Best Book of the Year!
An Indigo Teen Staff Pick of the Month!
An Indie Next Pick!
FIVE STARRED REVIEWS FOR WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED!

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter Angeline Boulley takes us back to Sugar Island in this high-stakes thriller about the power of discovering your stolen history.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch has always known who she is - the laidback twin, the troublemaker, the best fisher on Sugar Island. Her aspirations won't ever take her far from home, and she wouldn't have it any other way. But as the rising number of missing Indigenous women starts circling closer to home, as her family becomes embroiled in a high-profile murder investigation, and as greedy grave robbers seek to profit off of what belongs to her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry begins to question everything.

In order to reclaim this inheritance for her people, Perry has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She can only count on her friends and allies, including her overachieving twin and a charming new boy in town with unwavering morals. Old rivalries, sister secrets, and botched heists cannot - will not - stop her from uncovering the mystery before the ancestors and missing women are lost forever.


Sometimes, the truth shouldn't stay buried.

Pick this up if you love:
? high stakes heist
? will-they-won't-they romance
? family secrets spanning decades

Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Her debut novel Firekeeper's Daughter, a Reese's Book Club selection, is a #1 New York Times bestseller, was named a Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time, and has been optioned by the Obamas' production company to be adapted into a Netflix series. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Angeline lives in southwest Michigan, but her home will always be on Sugar Island.
angelineboulley.com