"At a moment when young adult literature is dominated by dystopias and romantasies, one bestselling author has dispensed with dragons and death matches. Who needs them, when you can suck readers into dramas about foster care, grave robbers, meth dealers or high-stakes, high-school hockey matches? Author Angeline Boulley has written her third thriller for teenagers, Sisters in the Wind, which came out the first week in September."
"An enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Boulley worked for her tribe for decades, then served as director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. "So my stories are all set in this fictionalized version of my tribe and my community," Boulley told NPR. Her characters' conversations include debates over the pros and cons of tribal enrollment and issues around casinos, Ojibwe mythology, the preservation of ancient medical practices and generational trauma from boarding schools."
"Boulley grew up in New Buffalo, Mich. When she was in high school, a friend told her about a cute new student. Boulley never met him; she was an overachiever and he hung out with kids involved with drugs. He turned out to be an undercover police officer. ("This was before 21 Jump Street, with Johnny Depp!" she laughed.) But still, she wondered at the time: What if they'd met, and liked each other?"
Sisters in the Wind follows Lily, a young woman on the run after multiple tragedies within a loosely connected YA thriller series set in a fictional Ojibwe community in northern Michigan. Earlier entries, Firekeeper's Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed, share characters and some plot elements. Plots center on realistic, high-stakes dramas such as foster care, grave robbing, meth dealing, and high-school hockey. Characters debate tribal enrollment and casino issues, and engage with Ojibwe mythology and the preservation of traditional medical practices. Generational trauma from Indian boarding schools and contemporary social challenges inform character motivations and community tensions.
Read at www.npr.org
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