Angeline Boulley stopped by Good Morning America to discuss her latest book, Sisters in the Wind, the show’s September young adult book club selection.
Boulley’s novel, published earlier this month by Henry Holt, follows Lucy Smith, a young Ojibwe woman who has aged out of the foster system and is being stalked by someone from her past. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “a powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.”
The novel is set in the same world as Boulley’s bestselling Firekeeper’s Daughter. Asked why she chose to expand that universe in her new novel, Boulley said, “I think it’s a really Native way of telling stories, to have a whole community,” she said. “You mention one family in one book, and three books later, it’s the main character.…For example, Daunis and Jamie from my first book, they make an appearance in this one.”
Boulley shared advice for young authors, saying, “Write. Write freely, write whatever you want. It’s in the editing process that you really think about, OK, should I be writing this story? What considerations do I need to make?...Making sure you’re not piling too much on, giving breathing room.”
Asked how she writes for young adults, Boulley said, “I look at it as like the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm. You can write [about] any topic, any sensitive topic. It’s the way that you do it, the care and respect that you have for your youngest reader.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
