Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Bytte by Ann-Helén Laestadius

54 reviews

nadiamasood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Speedy kicksleds, snowmobiles, the herding of reindeer, and a wintry Scandinavian forest! I found myself completely engrossed in this book, enthralled by the Sámi way of life. Laestadius’ writing style makes the story so visual on the page.

There are, however, dark but important messages in the book that we all need to be aware of. Issues that Sámi is still dealing with today. Laestadius is part of a growing number of Sami authors who are taking a stand against the way their histories have been told by outsiders. The Indigenous Sami, for example, have faced persecution and racism for centuries, and to this day are a target of discrimination. And then there's the torture and killing of reindeer, none of which had been properly investigated or led to prosecution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Suicide

ambermariebee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

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

hnebel's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Animal cruelty

meroth07's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide

nellieerik's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

One of the best books I have read. I learned so much about the struggles of being Sami that I did not know before and it was just a really moving book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Death

lisa00's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

mweis's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I usually don’t put a lot of faith in comp titles, but in this case calling Stolen “Louise Erdrich meets Jo Nesbø” is very accurate. The book follows Elsa, a Sámi girl and who witnesses the murder of her reindeer when at the start of the book. As the plot continues we see the struggle of the Sámi people as they battle racism and hate crimes and climate change and other factors that are threatening their way of life. While Elsa is the main character, we do get chapters from other POVs including of the man who is torturing and killing reindeer so major trigger warning for animal cruelty here as there are some graphic depictions.

I think what this book does well is immerses the reader into the Sámi way of life and the struggles they face due to the other people’s hatred, an indifferent police and government, climate change, and more. The writing is also very immersive and well suited to such a bleak story. That being said, the pacing of this was off for me. That might be because I came in expecting more of a mystery plot, but we know from the beginning who the culprit is, so the book is more of a family saga than a mystery. But even after I readjusted my expectations, there were places where the story dragged for me.

Overall, I’m glad I read this book and I do recommend it if you’re in the mood for a fairly bleak family saga centering a Sámi community.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Racism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Suicide

teenytardigrade's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

Brilliant writing and storytelling about the lived experience of the Indigenous Samí, told from the (mostly) POV of a Samí girl/woman over her younger life. All Scandinavians should read this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Ableism and Suicide

bella_zaga's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

This book was an amazing slow burn. I definitely enjoyed the second half more than the first. And by the end, I felt deeply moved for the characters. It felt so tender to learn about the Sámi so intimately. I was deeply impacted by the way mental health was explored in this book and the long lasting effects of a single moment from being a little girl to a grown young adult. Also loved how sexism, racism, animal cruelty, climate change, and trauma were all interlaced throughout the story to bring a full, dynamic image of the Sámi people in the modern world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, and Suicide