Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius

19 reviews

franzeerdbeerbacke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Self harm, Stalking, Infertility, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Death, Grief, Police brutality, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Hate crime, Genocide, Racism, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gun violence

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

I know very little about Sámi culture, so this novel ended up being really insightful in learning more about modern Sámi life and the discrimination they face in Swedish society. Laestadius presented a number of nuanced situations for the Sámi community in her novel, such as the challenges of upholding tradition in a time of modernization, generational trauma, as well as gender roles (especially as a reindeer herder). Importantly, though, Laestadius is concerned with exploring the tensions between the Sámi community and non-Sámi community, particularly when dealing with law enforcement. The message is a little heavy-handed, which is that it’s clear she wants to draw attention to the injustices that indigenous peoples face when dealing with authoritative figures.

Structurally, I admit that I had some difficulty getting into this one. I don’t know if it was the particularly short chapters or what, but I was a bit thrown off by the overall pacing of the novel. I think another thing that didn’t quite work for me was that, while situations were explored with nuance, many of the characters themselves lacked complexity. I did feel that Laestadius set the reader up for a good versus evil story with how the characters were depicted. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, it did make everything read as somewhat reductive.

One last thing I would add is that this novel is definitely not one for those who get squeamish about animal cruelty and death, as Laestadius does not shy away from describing the horrific killing of reindeer, also adding considerable emotional depth in losing them, especially since reindeer are more than “just animals” in Sámi culture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Racism, and Hate crime

Moderate: Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident

booksandabackpack's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

geerbeer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Heftige omschrijvingen, maar wauw! Voor iemand die de cultuur niet kent is het ontzettend leerzaam en je voelt enorm mee met de personages en dieren in het boek. Elke keer was ik weer in 'awe' over hoe mensen toch prachtig in verbinding kunnen staan met de aarde, haar flora en fauna en al zo snel zien dat het klimaat naar de klote gaat. Ontzettend mooi!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Miscarriage, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Gun violence, Dementia, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Death, Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Grief, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Violence

esmeloa's review

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

What a story. I was drawn by the cover and its reindeer being cut in parts.
It's such a complex, intricate web of human relationships and feelings that it's hard to describe.
I never knew about the Sámi people before reading this book, and reading it prompted me to do some research and watch the movie ''Sámi blood" which was somewhat complementary to this book - the MC is a little girl who wants a different life, where the MC of Stolen is a little girl who wants nothing else than being a reindeer herder.
One small complaint with this book is that it felt a bit long and repetitive towards the second part,

with reindeer repetively being killer one after the other

, but I understood this narrative choice during the last chapters of the story. The ending had me crying in a way I really didn't expect - it was absolutely cathartic.

The scenes with Elsa talking to Ljungblad, finally revealing what she kept for 11 years (and 370 pages) and hearing him reply "yes, actually I do" when she asked if she believed them... just wow.

Another complaint, much more personal and probably missing the point, is how human centered the story felt at times. This is a story about humans so it makes sense - I just couldn't help feeling for the reindeers who are ultimately used by humans, whether as means to hurt the Sámi people or as means of survival for them. It was definitely a painful read as someone who does not eat meat and is strongly against animal cruelty.
Other than that I did find the book fantastic, very skillfully written and really informative.
I really liked the discourse on female roles within the community as well, and all female characters with their unique minds and ways to cope were rather well portrayed in my opinion - I actually felt for Anna-Stina,

especially when criticized by her mother, depicted as shallow for wanting the housewife life - although maybe that's her own way to cope. Because what about her grief? She's not been a great friend to Elsa perhaps, but I did feel like the story did not explore this character enough - the why and the what's going on inside her mind.

whose relationship with her mother was also really interesting to follow.
This book will definitely stay in my heart and in the person I become, and I'm very grateful for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

ellenravioli's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Racism, Dementia, and Animal death

Moderate: Pregnancy and Bullying

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Dementia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Gore, Grief, Racism, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

As important as it is gripping, this book sums up what it means to advocate for yourself, your culture, your mental health, and your own land without wallowing into sentimentality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Death, Bullying, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Sexism, Stalking, Dementia, and Addiction

Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, and Vomit

Be wary of police negligence, slander, school yard fights, property damage, adults threatening children, an attempt at a home invasion, funerals, and PTSD.

mpswans1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Suicide, Hate crime, Grief, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pregnancy, Murder, Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Torture, Racial slurs, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexism and Dementia

marionlundqvist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Suicide, and Suicide attempt