"Stolen" by Ann-Helén Laestadius is a poignant and powerful novel that delves into the heart-wrenching realities of cultural identity, loss, and resilience. Set against the backdrop of Sweden's indigenous Sami community, the story follows the journey of its young protagonist as she grapples with the trauma of being forcibly removed from her family and assimilated into mainstream society. Laestadius's lyrical prose and intimate storytelling illuminate the struggles faced by marginalized communities, offering a profound exploration of the enduring strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity. "Stolen" is a deeply moving and thought-provoking read that sheds light on a dark chapter of history while celebrating the resilience of those who refuse to be silenced.

At times as dark as the Arctic nights but threaded through with the same beauty as the Northern Lights. I didn't exactly "enjoy" this read but deeply appreciated the opportunity to learn something about the Sami people and their way of life. The author's lens of love and heartbreak was evident in every word.

Stolen is a bestselling and award-winning debut novel follows the life of a Sámi girl, Elsa, and her struggle to defend her family’s reindeer herd and their traditional way of life. Full of references to the Sámi culture and way of life, good and bad. This novel is fiction,however it is so close to current events that it could easily be truth. The author used actual police reports (over 100 of them) to make the story as accurate as possible. Nothing I could write can do this novel justice. It is equal parts inspiring and heartbreaking. Not only is it an important piece of writing, but it is phenomenally written. The characters have such depth that they feel like people I actually know. One of the best novels I have read this year. Highly recommended!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

So this book was provided to me as an ARC which was very exciting :) it's beautifully written and is an important story to read, to learn and to educate about a culture that I've never learned much about in school. However, I'm not quite sure why but I've had an incredibly hard time getting through the book and at about the half way mark it is hard to keep reading. So I'm going to put this book on pause for now and hopefully come back to it but my main comment is that it is a very slow read with very minimal action or plot. But a lot of beautiful description of scenery, cultural elements and character development.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this e-book for an honest review.

The story begins with young Elsa whose family is part of the Sami Reindeer Collective. Early one morning she decides to go out early to the reindeer corral to see her reindeer calf and witnesses a man brutally murdering her beloved calf. She is afraid to identify the man because of possible consequences that her family could face.
In the town she lives in there is a division between the native Sami people and the townsfolk, which leads to acts of violence aimed at the Sami people.
The first half of the book is about the fear Elsa is living with and justice being sought by her family for the poaching of their reindeer. The second half of the story takes place ten years later with Elsa trying to find herself, living the way she wants as a modern Sami woman.
There is heartbreak and tension between family members trying to maintain a traditional life in a modern world.

This was a really interesting novel set in Northern Sweden set among the Indigenous Sami people who are historically reindeer herders. It was very interesting to learn about their lifestyle and culture. The book does contain some very disturbing situations of racism against them. It reminded me of Canada's treatment of Indigenous.

Overall a really interesting book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for the eARC! This was such a powerful book. I didn’t really know what to expect going into the story, but wow, it was good. I found it to be a super easy read in terms of complexity of language. However, the content was really tough to read at times, especially the moments of discrimination, the dealings with the police, the mental health struggles, and the animal cruelty. The ending really got to me too. I thought the characters were really well-written and nuanced as well. I really highly recommend this book! Definitely a 5⭐ read.

I loved a lot of things about this book, but ultimately it started off pretty slow which made it difficult for me to get as fully invested as I would have liked to! Despite the slow start I did feel an immediate connection to these characters and their story - learning about the Sami people and getting to experience their way of life and culture was very interesting! The writing was also fantastic, simplistic yet very poignant with super important messaging. I can see why this book is being recommended to those who love writing styles similar to Fredrik Backman! Looking forward to trying out the audio for this one as well!

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this read, great writing, great story and intrigue. Would reccomend

This is by far one of my favourite coming-of-age novels. Even though it’s been translated to English, I don’t think that anything was lost.

Told in three parts, it follows a young Sami girl named Elsa who witnesses a murder of one of her family’s reindeer, and must prove that this is only one part of the racism that she and her family face everyday.

I did find the book a little slow at the beginning, but by the end of the first part I found it hard to put down. This will appeal to fans of Fredrick Backman and Michelle Good.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have thought about this book several times since finishing it; especially the way it ended. Such a beautiful story. Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. The exposition felt incredibly long and I lost interest in the build up. I found a lot of it very interesting, especially in that I learned so much about the Sami people and tensions with the rest of the country (i.e. the racism and oppression they experience) which I did not know much about before. I think if you're a Backman super fan you'll definitely love this book. There is the same "feeling" as you are reading!

There are so many ways to describe this book, yet no review will ever do it justice. This is by far one of the best books I've ever read, the easiest five-star rating I've ever given.

There are many words to describe this book: Powerful. Impactful. Remarkable. Unforgettable. It has tug at my heartstrings and I am almost mourning the end of the book, almost like a nostalgia.

This is the story of a young Sámi girl named Elsa and her family, who are reindeer herders in northern Sweden. The family is in a constant battle to protect their reindeer, who are victims of frequent gruesome slaughterings by racist members of the community. These killings are not only attacks on their animals, but also on their culture, tradition, and way of life. When Elsa witnesses one such killing at a young age, she receives a death threat if she so much as says a word about what she's witnessed. But Elsa grows up to become an incredibly strong woman, and the fight for justice is only beginning.

While this is a work of fiction, events in this book are based on reality.

Fans of Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy will enjoy this book. Stolen is also being adapted into a Netflix movie, so keep an eye out, and make sure you read the book first!

Thank you @netgalley and @simonschusterca for my free e-copy of Stolen in exchange for an honest review.

This book was originally published in Swedish in 2021, but the English translation was published on January 31st, 2023. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends, family, and to my library!

⚠️ Trigger Warnings: suicide, animal cruelty, racism/discrimination, xenophobia, depression, colonialism, trauma (may not be an exhaustive list).

Stolen is centred around a young- Sami girl named Elsa, living in Scandinavia. She and her family have raised reindeer for generations, but racially driven acts of hate impact their livelihood. The story is broken into three parts, and we see Elsa and the people around her growing up, dealing with struggles, and trying to find justice.
Being Canadian, I am more familiar with the discrimination and unjust behaviour towards indigenous people here than in Eastern Europe. I found this novel very eye-opening and saw similarities to the systemic hurdles built around indigenous populations. This subject matter initially intrigued me about the book; I wanted to learn more about this group of people and the hardships they face.
The story was all right. The characters were very fleshed out and were facing real-world problems. I was not too fond of some of the characters and was rooting so badly for others. The book’s pacing was slow, but I felt that Laestadius captured the setting and culture through her storytelling. The chapters are short, which made it a little easier to read long chunks at a time, but it took me longer than I expected to finish the book.
Some parts of the book were quite ominous, and I found the third part intriguing. I was super excited to see what would happen. It also took much work to predict the ending. I want to give a slight disclaimer that I found scenes of animal cruelty pretty hard to read. Overall, a great book!
I want to thank Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an e-ARC copy of Stolen, for an honest review in return.

The writing was so good, everything about the story was so well done. Heartwrenching but worth the pain.

On her own during a snowstorm storm, nine-year-old Elsa checks on the family’s herd of reindeer. In the cold blowing wind, she arrives to find a reindeer, HER reindeer, and a horrible man threatening silence. The threat is real. She must never tell anyone who killed her reindeer. With her father demanding answers, they come few and far between as the police don’t take the awful events seriously. Forward to years later when Elsa comes head-to-head with the man who started it all.

Divided into three parts, you experience coming-of-age, family traditions, and cultural bias’.
This was an amazing novel. Elsa is the young, strong protagonist that makes this book. I have little knowledge of the Saami people, but I can tell you that I have since spend much time learning of some of the history and culture of the Saami.

4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Elsa is nine years old when she sees a man kill her reindeer. He threatens to hurt her if she tells anyone, so she never does, but the crimes never stop and aren't taken seriously by police. Watching it all play out years later will bring attention to the way police and community members treat the Indigenous people, and time will tell if anything is done to fix the problem...

Big warning, a lot of reindeer are killed graphically in this book. I know it's to make a point, but it is definitely not a light story. The author shared that it was based on true events, so I do think it's an important story to tell, but a heavier one for sure. I'd recommend it, but only in a clear head space!

CW: animal cruelty and death, suicidal ideation/death by suicide, violence, hate speech and hate crimes, death, mental illness

This novel, voted Sweden’s 2021 Book of the Year, has now been translated into English. It focuses on the Sámi living in northern Sweden.

When the novel opens in the winter of 2008, Elsa, the daughter of a reindeer herder, is 9 years old when she witnesses the killing of her beloved reindeer Nástegallu by Robert Isaksson. Because he threatens death if she speaks, she remains silent about his identity. In the second part, Elsa is 19 and has completed high school. Reindeer continue to be slaughtered but the police do nothing. Frustrated with inaction, Elsa speaks to the media but her outspokenness results only in her becoming more of a target for Isaksson so that her life is in danger.

The Sámi and their way of life are constantly under threat from a number of sources. Many Swedish people do not value the way of life of its Indigenous Peoples; the government is claiming Sámi lands for mining; and poachers like Isaksson hunt reindeer for sport and to sell the meat on the black market. In addition, climate change threatens their livelihood.

As I read, I could not but think of Canada’s First Nations who have also been subjected to systemic racism. The Sámi are sometimes called Lapps when such a term is considered a slur. Some people claim that the Sámi collectives steal each other’s reindeer; one man says, “’The Lapps were always going on about how their reindeer were starving, demanding subsidies to feed them.’” When a temporary ban is placed on snowmobiles in the reindeer pasturage when the cows are pregnant, people complain that the Sámi are unfairly given “extra rights.” Elsa’s grandmother carries traumatic memories of the nomad school which she was forced to attend. There is also a high suicide rate amongst the Sámi.

The police do nothing about the many reports of reindeer killings. Legally, the killing of reindeer is considered theft/property damage and so not a priority. A policeman argues, “’Reindeer are on par with domesticated animals like dogs or sheep, so it’s not a matter of poaching. Moose, however-‘” But reindeer are central to Sámi life, an integral part of their culture and identity, so attacks against them are perceived as attacks against the community. Elsa explains, “’But to us, it’s not a theft. It’s murder, it’s a deliberate killing.’” The Sámi attitude towards reindeer is eloquently expressed in the words whispered into a calf’s ear: “’I do not own you, you belong to yourself. You are only mine on loan.’”

The development of Elsa’s character is exceptional. We see her as a young girl and also as a young woman. As a child she is fearful, but she grows into a fighter – a feisty, determined and brave woman who wants justice for herself and her people and their way of life. Elsa also challenges Sámi patriarchal society with strict gender roles: “there was no chance that the girl in the family would take over her father’s reindeer lands or become head-of-household.” But “’what Elsa wanted was the prescribed male role. Entirely by herself.’”

Elsa is not the only character developed. The point of view of other secondary characters connected to Elsa is also included. The perspectives of Elsa’s neighbour Hanna and Elsa’s brother Mattias draw attention to the plight of young men. Hanna believes that “Boys can manage” and don’t require emotional support, but Mattias’s thoughts suggest that this belief is false, the latter being confirmed by an article I read: “Certain subgroups of the Saami – male reindeer herders, for example – are at greater risk of depression and alcoholism than their Saami peers” (https://deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/arctic/articles/2017/08/15/introducing-a-saami-centered-solution-to-substance-abuse).

I also appreciated that there is an attempt to humanize the villain, Robert Isaksson. We learn about his background. His being abandoned by a parent resulted in an upbringing void of kindness so his behaviour as an adult, though inexcusable, is understandable.

The book touches on some heavy topics: systemic racism, intergenerational trauma, graphic descriptions of animal torture, and mental health. There is little humour, though I smiled at Elsa’s comment as a young girl: hearing about her parents’ wedding, she “was grumpy that Mom couldn’t have waited for her [to be born]” so she could have attended the party.

The novel begins slowly but tension does ramp up as the danger to Elsa increases. What I most enjoyed is learning about Sámi culture. I found myself going online to learn more and to see photos of the clothing and to listen to a joik. And I learned that the Sámi count eight seasons of the year, each closely linked to the reindeer's natural migration and the reindeer owner's tasks during a year.

Read this book and then watch the Netflix film adaptation when it is released in 2024.

✨Review - Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius
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Happy pub day to this important read. Based on true events, voted Sweden’s book of the year in 2021, and soon to be a Netflix movie, Stolen tells the story of Elsa, a young Sami girl, and her community in northern Sweden. For Elsa’s family, reindeer herding is foundational to their culture and identity, but their herd and livelihood is being threatened by climate change, violent poaching, racism, and xenophobia. As Elsa grows from a young girl to a woman and comes to intimately understand these threats, she does everything in her power to protect her reindeer, her family, and her people.
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While this book started slow, I found it hard to put down by the end. My favourite part was learning more about the Sami people and Scandinavian landscape. The characters are memorable and my heart broke for them as they suffered from systemic racism and violent attacks. I’ll admit that some parts were hard to read, but I’m glad I did. I’ll be looking forward to seeing the impact this book makes on North American readers.
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TW: suicide, animal abuse, bullying
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Thanks to @simonschusterca for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Stolen.

Stolen is a story about a young Sámi woman, Elsa, from a reindeer herding family in northern Sweden. At the age of nine, Elsa sees her favourite reindeer killed by a man from a neighbouring community. The story unfolds over the course of a decade as her community deals with hate crimes against the people and their reindeer, climate change and more.

I thoroughly enjoyed Stolen. The story was at times hard to read because it deals with very real and awful realities that Sámi communities face. But, I was easily invested in Elsa’s story and her world. And the growing tension made it a real page turner.

The author did a great job at creating the people and atmospheric setting around Elsa, to the point that I could almost see the characters and the beautiful northern nature surrounding them. The Sámi culture is also painted in such detail; I learned a lot from this book.

I will say that there are graphic scenes detailing the cruelty against reindeer, so anyone sensitive to that should be aware before reading. Suicide and other mental health themes also come up throughout.

The only thing that threw me off was the seemingly random and occasional POV switching between some of the secondary characters. And I wanted more loose threads tied up at the end. But overall, I recommend Stolen. It’s a heart-wrenching and compelling story set in a beautiful, northern world.