Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Exciting tale pits Ojibwe teens against grave robbers.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED, set in 2014, finds 16-year-old Pearl Mary (Perry) Firekeeper-Birch looking forward to spending the summer, and pretty much her life, on Sugar Island fishing with her dad. Perry was one of the twins her Auntie Daunis wanted to protect so much that she took on a meth cartel in Firekeeper's Daughter 10 years ago. Now Perry couldn't be more different from twin, Pauline, an academic overachiever and "good girl." Perry's plans and life change when a summer internship brings her up close and personal with the Warrior Girl, the skeleton of a long-dead Indigenous girl that's part of a museum collection. It's the beginning of a long discovery process as she learns about the ancestral remains removed from graves by archeologists over the decades, the theft of their grave goods by collectors, and other wrongs that resonate with her own family's history. Soon, along with her fellow interns, Perry develops a plan to remove a collection of skeletons from a local archive and restore them to the tribe. But there are unexpected consequences that complicate their efforts and could affect so much more than just the artifacts.
Is It Any Good?
This is a deeply moving, thoughtful read with a fierce, kind-hearted 16-year-old narrator. Returning to the world of Firekeeper's Daughter 10 years later, Angeline Boulley's Warrior Girl Unearthed offers plenty of thrills, plot twists, and heart as Perry makes new friends, falls in love, and learns that not all seemingly kind adults can be trusted -- and that ethics can get complicated. Fortunately, she finds wise mentors along the way. "Everything is connected, Little Sister," one counsels. "The past. The future. The beginning and ending. Answers are there even before the question. You're supposed to go back to where you started. And if you step off the path, you better keep your eyes wide open." This satisfying sequel is highly recommended.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about different cultures and their beliefs about death. In Warrior Girl Unearthed, how do characters treat bodies after death? Do they show reverence? What ceremonies happen? How do people's deeply help beliefs about this affect who they are?
Have you ever done something you were sure was the right thing to do, only for it to have consequences you hadn't anticipated -- maybe for your loved ones? What happened, and how did you deal with it?
Does your family or community have cultural traditions you'd like to help carry on? What are they, and what would you like to do?
Talk about how characters showed courage and worked as a team to reach their goals.
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Activism , School ( High School ) , History
- Character Strengths : Courage , Humility , Integrity , Perseverance , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
- Publication date : May 2, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 400
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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