Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (Warrior Girl Unearthed) is a shocking, urgent YA thriller that centers Native voices and cultural identity as it reveals the failures of the foster-care system.
Six months after aging out of the foster-care system, 18-year-old Lucy survives a pipe-bomb attack. She wakes in a hospital with two strangers at her bedside: Daunis, her dead biological sister's best friend (and the protagonist of Boulley's debut, Firekeeper's Daughter), and Jamie, an attorney who helps Native American foster kids reconnect with their heritage. While recuperating, Lucy learns her birth mother is alive, her biological father lied about Lucy's heritage (telling her she was Dutch and Italian instead of Ojibwe), and someone might be trying to kill her. Is it her bio-dad's widow, who would be thrilled to inherit Lucy's college fund? Her "horndog" foster brother from a "godly" family? Or is it her most recent foster parents who are doing shady things on their farm? If Lucy doesn't figure it out, fast, she's at risk of becoming just another statistic.
Boulley delivers a taut YA mystery with unexpected twists that is deeply rooted in reclaiming one's cultural identity and critiquing social systems. Flashbacks deftly reveal Lucy's time in foster care and her negative experiences while in the system, including social workers suppressing her heritage, foster parents threatening her, and foster siblings betraying her. Present-day scenes intensify the suspense as Lucy slowly heals from her injuries and receives threats. Through Lucy's fierce, astute narration, Boulley effortlessly unpacks themes of survival, belonging, and intergenerational trauma, all framed by an engrossing mystery. A powerful testament to restoring one's heritage. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader