Boulley, Angeline. Sisters in the Wind. Macmillan, 2025. 978-1-250-32853-3. 368 p. $19.99. Grades 9-12.
With her third book, Angeline Boulley establishes herself as an author who writes page-turning thrillers with fully-developed characters who provide eye-opening information on subjects significant to the Native American community. A companion piece to Boulley’s other books, this work is set in Michigan in the years between The Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed. The plot flips between the past and the present as the main character, Lucy Dolce Smith, mends from injuries from a targeted explosion and recalls her life first, with a devoted single father and then with a series of foster homes. Though Lucy’s father kept her Native American heritage from her and said nothing of her biological mother, a Potawanomi attorney and former FBI agent, John (Jamie) Jameson comes to her rescue. Daunis, a good friend of Lucy’s dead aunt, joins Jamie in protecting Lucy as she recuperates. The story builds as Lucy becomes aware that her life is threatened by an unknown person while Jamie and Daunis work to clear her culpability for the explosion. As time progresses, Lucy grows close to the two young Native American adults. She helps Jamie in his organization Raven Way to research the impact of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and the readers learn about the injustices foisted upon Native American families and their children. She also has time to reflect on her past, dealing with her father’s illness and losing him at a young age, and the good and bad experiences she had at different foster placements. A coming of age story in each detail, Sisters in the Wind, explores Lucy’s ambivalence in meeting her birthmother and deciding what her next move should be. The reader follows her maturity in the various foster homes, in particular, her pregnancy at Hoppy Farm. Past and present meet in dramatic turns as secrets become revealed and pieces of the puzzle fit together. Boulley’s newest book is a compelling read.
THOUGHTS: Though the ideal grades are 9 to 12, my 7th and 8th grade mature readers are devouring this book. Boulley intends to dispense information on ICWA and expose the wrongdoings of Native American boarding schools, which can get a bit polemic but underscores a central idea of the book. A few paragraphs describe a sexual encounter delicately. Lucy is straight forward describing the bodily changes pregnancy and birth bring. Teen pregnancy is part of the story, inferring sexual intercourse. A son in foster family deals drugs and molests his younger sister and attempts to molest Lucy, but she puts him off and tells on him. In one foster home, some of the teens smoke weed and drink. All these elements do not deter from an authentic, suspenseful yet heart-wrenching story. Loved it!
Realistic Fiction