Boulley weaves fantastically fluid and frequent details of indigenous tradition into Daunis's everyday life, pivotal moments, and her personal and cultural history.
Teenaged Daunis Fontaine has never fit into her hometown or the Ojibwe reservation. She must stay home from college to care for her ailing mother, which puts on hold her hopes for her future.
When she meets Jamie, a handsome young man on her brother's hockey team, he seems like a much-needed bright spot in her life--but Daunis is sure that he's hiding something. And when she witnesses a shocking murder, Daunis finds herself in the middle of an FBI investigation of a drug ring.
With her knowledge of traditional Ojibwe medicine and her brave willingness to go undercover, Daunis unearths dark secrets that could tear apart her community.
Boulley explores Daunis's complex feelings of loyalty and duty to her community—but her potential betrayal of (and by) individuals within it.
I was distracted by some jumpy transitions between action, thought, and feeling, especially in the earlier sections of the book, but Boulley weaves fantastically fluid and frequent details of indigenous tradition into Daunis's everyday life, pivotal moments, and her personal and cultural history.
Daunis is a wonderfully self-possessed teenage girl character I loved following through her story.
I received a prepublication version of this book courtesy of Henry Holt and Company and NetGalley.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
Boulley's story is soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with the Obamas' production company, Higher Ground.
I mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/10/21 Edition.