Warrior Girl Unearthed (Hardcover)
May/June 2023 Kids Indie Next List
“Angeline Boulley’s newest YA thriller brings us back to the world of Firekeeper’s Daughter. Perry Firekeeper-Birch follows the footsteps of her Auntie Daunis to find missing Indigenous women, fight corruption, and honor her ancestors.”
— Jennifer Carney, Sidetrack Bookshop, Royal Oak, MI
Staff Reviews
Angeline Bouley does it again!
Firekeeper’s Daughter is one of my faves, so I will admit I was a little apprehensive, but this is another beautifully written masterpiece. I loved catching up with the Firekeeper family and going on another adventure, this time with Perry and Pauline, Daunis’ twin nieces. They are very different girls, with an incredible bond. The teens on Sugar Island, MI enroll in summer internship programs with their tribe, and the girls become part of a group that names themselves "The Misfit Toys." Perry gets assigned to the local museum where she learns about Indigenous artifacts and the processes and laws which have been established to help her community reclaim their ancestors and their belongings from institutions and private collectors. This proves to be an extremely arduous task, and Perry finds herself in an anthropology lab gazing at the skeletal remains of a girl her own age. While she is horrified that this ancestor of hers is kept in a box for prodding and studying, she also finds herself heartbroken for this family member who has not been able to find rest after death.
Perry is determined to do whatever it takes to give the Indigenous ancestors a reburial ,and to return items made and used by past generations to their families. Her passion drives her to take risks and even break the law in her quest to right these centuries-old wrongs. A task this big is difficult to pull off, especially with a fierce auntie like Daunis. Not to mention several young women from various tribes in the area have gone missing; some turning up dead. The Windego (a mythical beast with a ravenous taste for human flesh) myth has struck fear into the hearts of everyone in town. Perry can’t continue on this journey solo and must turn to her band of Misfit Toys for help to do what needs to be done in retrieving what is rightfully theirs. Eluding the authorities has Perry’s heart pounding and then there’s the Windego…
This book absolutely blew me away, taking facts and fiction and weaving them together into a beautiful, literary piece of art. Angeline Boulley once again taught me so much I didn’t know about the Indigenous people and the trials they still face today. These facts combined with the mystery and thrill of solving multiple murders and kidnappings, while ALSO fearing my beloved characters could be the next victims, had me turning pages until well after midnight!
An Instant New York Times bestseller!
#1 Indies Bestseller!
An Amazon Best Book of the Month!
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.
PRAISE FOR WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED
An Instant New York Times bestseller!
#1 Indies Bestseller!
An Amazon Best Book of the Month!
An Indigo Teen Staff Pick of the Month!
An Indie Next Pick!
"A riveting, culturally focused thriller. Bouklley has become a must-read author." -NPR
FIVE STARRED REVIEWS FOR WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED!
*"Heightened tension, dynamic action scenes, a complicated heist and plenty of revelations [make] Warrior Girl Unearthed an edifying and deeply moving read." -BookPage, starred review
*"A compelling narrative about one teen’s attempt to undo some of the injustices her community and people have faced." -School Library Journal, starred review
*"Another powerful, suspenseful page-turner from Boulley"-The Horn Book, starred review
* "A thrilling and empowering read" -Publisher's Weekly, starred review
*"A page-turning heist grounded in a nuanced exploration of critical issues of cultural integrity." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"[I]ncredibly engaging...This quick follow-up to Boulley's best-selling, award-winning Firekeeper’s Daughter carries over all the same intrigue, tension, and heartbreak." -BookList
PRAISE FOR FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER!
A MORRIS AWARD WINNER!
AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK!
A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.
“One of this year's most buzzed about young adult novels.” ―Good Morning America
A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time Selection
Amazon's Best YA Book of 2021 So Far (June 2021)
A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List Selection
An Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2021 Selection
A PopSugar Best March 2021 YA Book Selection
"This is one bold, uncompromising and elegantly crafted debut." ―Courtney Summers, New York Times-bestselling author of Sadie
"Intricate and moving. Boulley takes the reader on an incredible journey with the assurance of a veteran novelist." ―Tochi Onyebuchi, award-winning author of Beasts Made of Night and Riot Baby
“A rare and mesmerizing work that blends the power of a vibrant tradition with the aches and energy of today’s America. This book will leave you breathless!” ―Francisco X. Stork, acclaimed author of Marcelo in the Real Worldand Illegal
"A crime suspense fiction [with] a lot of layers, Indigenous culture, and it's really beautifully written." ―Georgia Hardstark, co-host of My Favorite Murder podcast
"[An] absolute powerhouse of a debut." ―NPR
“Another YA novel that’s absolutely page-turning required reading for adults...Our heroine is so smart, so thoughtful, and so good.” ―Glamour
"Raw and moving. . . Boulley has crafted a nuanced and refreshing protagonist." ―Cosmopolitan
"Sure to be on one of the year's best YA novels" ―POPSUGAR
"A gorgeous insight into Anishinaabe culture and a page-turning YA thriller with a healthy dose of romance thrown in,Firekeeper’s Daughter hits all of the right notes." ―Hypable
"Immersive and enthralling, Firekeeper’s Daughter plunges the reader into a community and a landscape enriched by a profound spiritual tradition. Full of huge characters and spellbinding scenes, it gives a fascinating insight into life on and off the reservation, with Daunis as a tough and resourceful heroine through every vicissitude." ―Financial Times
"Hitting hard when it comes to issues such as citizenship, language revitalization, and the corrosive presence of drugs on Native communities, this novel will long stand in the hearts of both Native and non-Native audiences." ―Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Though Firekeeper’s Daughter contains gripping action sequences and gasp-inducing twists, it’s Daunis’ mission of self-discovery, which begins as a low and steady growl and grows to a fierce, proud roar, that has the most impact... Though it both shocks and thrills, in the end, what leaves you breathless is Firekeeper’s Daughter’s blazing heart." ―BookPage, Starred Review
"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." ―Booklist, Starred Review