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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Sixteen-year-old Perry Firekeeper-Birch isn’t thrilled to be a summer Kinomaage program intern. Unlike her twin sister, Pauline, she doesn’t have big college dreams but does need to repay Aunt Daunis for car repairs. Perry’s tribal museum position immerses her in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Low compliance since NAGPRA became law in 1990 makes the soul-disturbing sight at nearby Mackinac College of Native bones in stacked boxes and sacred and treasured items disrespected and misunderstood even more agonizing. For fiery Perry, quick action seems better than long-term negotiations for their return, and two impulsive decisions threaten her internship and burgeoning romance with fellow intern Eric. Perry’s summer is also shadowed by the disappearance of several young local Indigenous women. After the murder of a college trustee leads Perry to another horrifying, heartbreaking discovery—a silo full of Native ancestral remains—she discovers more than old bones are hidden on the land. Navigating both tribal politics and intense feelings, Perry is grounded by her family (Ojibwe/Black), friendships, and Sugar Island Ojibwe culture and community, where she speaks both Anishinaabemowin and English. The connection between history and present-day violence is found in both government policy and individual acts of racism and misogyny in this riveting mystery/thriller set in 2014. A story distinguished by rich, nuanced characterizations and many moments of humor and warmth is also tender, tense, and eventually terrifying before seeing Perry safely home and considering a surprising future path. (Ages 14 and older)

CCBC Choices 2024 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2024. Used with permission.

From School Library Journal

Starred review from May 1, 2023

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

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Horn Book

Starred review from May 1, 2023
Boulley returns to Sugar Island, Michigan, in 2014, ten years after the events of the multi-award-winning Firekeeper's Daughter (rev. 5/21). This novel's protagonist is Daunis's sixteen-year-old niece, Perry Firekeeper-Birch. Perry reluctantly joins her more-driven twin sister, Pauline, on a summer internship at the tribal museum (laid-back Perry had wanted to spend the summer fishing). At the internship, Perry learns about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and also discovers that a local college has a large, uncataloged collection of human remains and artifacts that likely belong to her tribe, the Sugar Island Ojibwe. When a professor shows her the bones of a teen known as the Warrior Girl, Perry knows she must get them back to the tribe for a proper reburial, even if it involves illegal means. Boulley skillfully weaves in not only the issue of stolen Indigenous artifacts and remains but also that of missing Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. Through Perry, readers learn how lack of federal resources and inadequate federal laws make it nearly impossible to investigate missing-persons cases on tribal land. Another powerful, vividly characterized, riveting page-turner from Boulley that will keep readers rooting for the resourceful Perry on her quest to return the Warrior Girl to her rightful resting place and for Perry's personal growth as she finds her life's passion and purpose. Nicholl Denice Montgomery

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from April 3, 2023
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 14â€"up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group.

From Booklist

April 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 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!

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Kirkus

Starred review from April 1, 2023
Ten years after the events of Firekeeper's Daughter (2021), Boulley's thrilling debut, readers return to Michigan's Sugar Island in this stand-alone novel. It's 2014, and Perry and Pauline Firekeeper-Birch are 16 and still devoted to their Auntie Daunis. The twins are participating in the Sugar Island Ojibwe Tribe's summer internship program: Academically driven, anxiety-prone Pauline is thrilled to be working with the Tribal Council, while impulsive, outspoken Perry, who would rather be fishing, is initially less than excited about her assignment to the tribal museum. But the girls' shared passion for their heritage and outrage over acts of desecration by greedy individuals and institutions lead them, some fellow interns who are dealing with varied life circumstances, and even some elders to carry out a daring, dangerous plan to right a terrible wrong. First-person narrator Perry's voice is irresistibly cheeky, wry, and self-aware, and her growth is realistic as, without losing her spark, she comes to understand why her beloved mentor believed that "doing the right thing for the right reason, with a good heart and clear intentions, matters." Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, sensitively and seamlessly weaves in discussions of colorism (the girls' father is Black and Anishinaabe), repatriation of cultural artifacts and human remains, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and more into a story with well-developed characterization that is both compellingly readable and deeply thought-provoking. A page-turning heist grounded in a nuanced exploration of critical issues of cultural integrity. (Thriller. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Horn Book

January 1, 2023
Boulley returns to Sugar Island, Michigan, in 2014, ten years after the events of the multi-award-winning Firekeeper's Daughter (rev. 5/21). This novel's protagonist is Daunis's sixteen-year-old niece, Perry Firekeeper-Birch. Perry reluctantly joins her more-driven twin sister, Pauline, on a summer internship at the tribal museum (laid-back Perry had wanted to spend the summer fishing). At the internship, Perry learns about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and also discovers that a local college has a large, uncataloged collection of human remains and artifacts that likely belong to her tribe, the Sugar Island Ojibwe. When a professor shows her the bones of a teen known as the Warrior Girl, Perry knows she must get them back to the tribe for a proper reburial, even if it involves illegal means. Boulley skillfully weaves in not only the issue of stolen Indigenous artifacts and remains but also that of missing Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. Through Perry, readers learn how lack of federal resources and inadequate federal laws make it nearly impossible to investigate missing-persons cases on tribal land. Another powerful, vividly characterized, riveting page-turner from Boulley that will keep readers rooting for the resourceful Perry on her quest to return the Warrior Girl to her rightful resting place and for Perry's personal growth as she finds her life's passion and purpose.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From AudioFile Magazine

Isabella Star LaBlanc, a Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota narrator, accurately delivers Native intonations and rhythms while narrating a second book about an Indigenous heroine from Sugar Island, Michigan. Sixteen-year-old Perry Firekeeper-Birch is often compared unfavorably to her anxious, academically driven, compliant twin. LaBlanc portrays Perry's growth after she's forced into a summer internship. She captures Perry's development from a reticent and resentful teen to a warrior girl who is dedicated to defending her Ojibwe ancestors by repatriating their artifacts and remains. She also vows to stand up to racial prejudice, tribal politics, and the victimization of young women. Then she becomes caught up in a murder investigation, a heist, and a kidnapping. LaBlanc excels at weaving a gripping plot, Perry's snarky wisdom, and a lyrical blending of languages. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine