"This coming-of-age thriller explores themes of white male entitlement, rural despair, generational trauma, colonialism and gatekeeping with a nuance that makes you forget its Swedish setting. Scandinavia, it turns out, is not as cozy-cabin-core as Americans like to imagine. In fact, it's just like us." –
NPR, Best Books of 2023 "
Stolen is an extraordinary novel. A coming-of-age-story you'll get lost in, about youth and heritage and the never-ending struggle to be allowed to exist. Although set in the coldest and most northern part of Scandinavia, I'm convinced it's a universal story to be loved everywhere in the world."–
Fredrik Backman, internationally bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Anxious People "[Written] with sensitivity and insight for the subtleties of Sámi life." –
New York Times "A moving account. . . . The heart, and the great appeal, of this novel is its empathetic portrait of a young woman who flourishes in this harsh, but beautiful, landscape." –
Financial Times (UK) "Like all good thrillers, the book moves quickly, but what I most enjoyed were Laestadius's complex, sympathetic characters and her nuanced portrait of a way of life under threat." –
Words Without Borders, Best Books of 2023 "Powerful. . . . [Laestadius] has neatly side-stepped cliches about Indigenous communities to reveal a loving portrait of a community fighting to survive. . . . What
Stolen may do best is make clear how hollow words ring when world leaders talk about protecting Indigenous land and people. . . .
Stolen is both a lesson and a warning." –
Grist "A revelatory account." –
Kirkus "Sámi author Ann-Helén Laestadius has written a fresh, devastating, and insightful novel about Sámi life and the struggle for justice in a rapidly changing world. A love for the imperiled landscape reverberates throughout this engaging read." –
Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of How Strange a Season "
Stolen is in equal measure a gripping and thrilling mystery as it is a testament to the continued beating heart of Sámi life. Ann-Helén Laestadius takes her place as an important voice in world Indigenous literature."–
Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians "Shattering and thought-provoking from the first to the last page! . . . An illuminating portrayal of a part of Sweden where villagers, neighbors, and families are set against each other through generations." –
Book of the Year Award Jury Citation (Sweden)