There’s no such thing as a “girl book,” but there is definitely such a thing as girl power. And it is on full display in today’s featured young adult books.
Exhibit A: Perry Firekeeper Birch, the MC in Warrior Girl Unearthed (sequel to CYBILS 2021 YA Fiction finalist Fire Keeper’s Daughter). After attending a meeting at a local university, Perry learns about the “Warrior Girl,” an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives. In that moment, everything changes. Perry – with the help of her twin sister and friends – are determined to return Warrior Girl to her tribe and make things right for the ancestors and for their community.
Exhibit B: Cast, the MC in Clock Striker, Volume 1: “I’m Gonna Be a SMITH!” No one in Cast’s small town ever realizes their dreams. She doesn’t want to be one of those people. She wants to be a warrior engineer … an occupation that does not welcome females among its ranks! Then Cast meets Ms. Philomena Clock, the last surviving member of the legendary warrior engineers, who agrees to take Cast on as her apprentice, or striker. There is no shortage of dangerous adventures – or opportunities for Cast to use her mind and her remodeled robotics-lab prosthetic hand in this quest to become a SMITH.
Read the review excerpts. We think these ladies will make your day!
Summaries via Goodreads. Clicking the cover takes you there.
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Perry Firekeeper-Birch was ready for her Summer of Slack but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she’s stuck working to pay back her Auntie Daunis for repairs to the Jeep. Thankfully she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline.
When Perry learns about the “Warrior Girl,” an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives, everything changes. Perry is determined to return Warrior Girl to her tribe.
Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline’s perfectionism takes a turn for the worse.Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right – for the ancestors and for their community.
Gina @ Goodreads – The joy I feel knowing I decided to read Firekeeper’s Daughter IMMEDIATELY before this came out…. the wait would have killed me even knowing they have literally no plot in common. Angeline Boulley is such an amazing writer. She can write about characters doing very mundane things and you still just crave her words. Like, there’s multiple times in the book where Perry gardens and I just ate it up. The switch between books from a drug-based community focus to an artifact-based one is a wonderful way to continue sharing information about the harm that can come to Native communities without telling the same story over and over.
Alexis @ Goodreads – This is a book that will leave you with just enough knowledge to want to learn more. About boarding schools for indigenous people. About Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. About Tribal laws. About returning native artifacts to their rightful place. I loved this book and how Angeline Boulley intertwines typical teenage life with a thrilling adventure. Also, watching Perry transform was powerful.
Sondy @ Sonderbooks – I love the way this story is told, because we feel Perry’s heart for her people. If I read simple facts – for example, that Harvard has more Native remains than it does living Native students – I am bothered with my mind. But Perry’s story makes my heart hurt for them and helps me understand the significance more deeply. Another amazing and wonderful book from Angeline Boulley. I hope there will be many more to come.
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
Cast dreams of being a SMITH , and though she’s rather handy with her tools, no one in her small town ever realizes their dreams. Besides, these legendary warrior engineers haven’t been seen in years and were never known for having female members. Fortunately, Cast meets one surviving member named Ms. Philomena Clock, who agrees to take her on as her apprentice, or striker. Now Cast is thrust into one deadly adventure after another! From cybernetic desperadoes to technology thieves and more, Cast has to use her mind and her remodeled robotics-lab prosthetic hand , which offers unfathomable offensive power in the form of scientific experiments.
Tamara @ Bookish Things – There was a really fast pace to the story that reminded me of anime that I watched in the TOONAMI days. It was reminiscent of Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist with the over-the-top characters and fight scenes. There was some worldbuilding dabbled throughout, but you got the sense that there is definitely more to explore, which I’m glad they didn’t just try to infodump the whole world in one volume or do a really boring lead up to the action. I will definitely be picking up the next in the series and also looking into more being published by Saturday AM.