Stolen [B2034]

2023 french-flap PB in gift-worthy condition. NOW A NETFLIX FILM * AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * #1 International Bestseller. A spellbinding Swedish novel that follows a young indigenous woman as she struggles to defend her family's reindeer herd and culture amidst xenophobia, climate change, and a devious hunter whose targeted kills are considered mere theft in the eyes of the law. On a winter day north of the Arctic Circle, nine-year-old Elsa-daughter of Sámi reindeer herders-sees a man brutally kill her beloved reindeer calf and threaten her into silence. When her father takes her to report the crime, local police tell them that there is nothing they can do about these "stolen" animals. Killings like these are classified as theft in the reports that continue to pile up, uninvestigated. But reindeer are not just the Sámi's livelihood, they also hold spiritual significance; attacking a reindeer is an attack on the culture itself. Ten years later, hatred and threats against the Sámi keep escalating, and more reindeer are tortured and killed in Elsa's community. Finally, she's had enough and decides to push back on the apathetic police force. The hunter comes after her this time, leading to a catastrophic final confrontation. Based on real events, Ann-Helén Laestadius's award-winning novel Stolen is part coming-of-age story, part love song to a disappearing natural world, and part electrifying countdown to a dramatic resolution-a searing depiction of a forgotten part of Sweden.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Excellent book. It took me a quarter of the way to be fully engaged and then I didn't want to put it down. A beautifully crafted coming of age story of a strong woman. I learned a lot about Europe's indigenous people, the Sami. Very compelling story."; "I love anything to do with other cultures, and the Sàmi are especially fascinating to me. As soon as I finished this book and learned there was a movie adaptation, I started watching it. So far, I can say the book is much better than the movie (isn't it always?) because you're left to figure out a lot of details on your own in the movie. I appreciate all the descriptions of the landscape and of the traditional Sàmi clothing in the book. As with a lot of Scandi fiction, there's not a happy-for-everyone ending, but it's a realistic ending."; "Such a powerful story! This one will stay with you long after you finish the last page."