I loved this book for very personal reasons. I am Swedish, born on Sámi land (problematically still called Lappland). I am not Sámi. The Sámi people are Europe’s only indigenous group.
This lyrical book shines a light on some deep history, while also being a crazy good love story (and who doesn’t love that?). Here is a summary, which I admit that I cribbed straight from the publisher’s site (Macmillan). I loved this book for its characters and its plot. It will take you someplace you have never been before, and will inform what you might think about this region today.
In 1851, at a remote village in the Scandinavian tundra, a Lutheran minister known as Mad Lasse tries in vain to convert the native Sámi reindeer herders to his faith. But when one of the most respected herders has a dramatic awakening and dedicates his life to the church, his impetuous son, Ivvár, is left to guard their diminishing herd alone.
By chance, he meets Mad Lasse’s daughter Willa, and their blossoming infatuation grows into something that ultimately crosses borders—of cultures, of beliefs, and of political divides—as Willa follows the herders on their arduous annual migration north to the sea.
Longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction
An epic love story in the vein of Cold Mountain and The Great Circle, about a young reindeer herder and a minister’s daughter in the nineteenth century Arctic Circle
In 1851, at a remote village in the Scandinavian tundra, a Lutheran minister known as Mad Lasse tries in vain to convert the native Sámi reindeer herders to his faith. But when one of the most respected herders has a dramatic awakening and dedicates his life to the church, his impetuous son, Ivvár, is left to guard their diminishing herd alone. By…
I love this book so much that I reread it every year. I read it in its original Swedish but the English translation is good, too.
I grew up “on” Tove Jansson, genius creator of the Moomintrolls. This book is for adults. It is gentle, yet piercing. An old woman and her granddaughter have small adventures and conversations about what matters, on a remote Finnish island. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is magic. It features illustrations (by the author) which take you right to the soulful setting.
This is one of those books that makes you ponder life’s big questions, while being about everyday life. Highly recommend. It’s only “second” on my list because I read and reread it, so it’s not a “find” to me, rather more like a bible?
In The Summer Book Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer—its sunlight and storms—into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature…
As a public school teacher, I worked with neurodivergent children.The hero of this middle grade novel, Sparrow, is such a child: spirited, obstinate, an outside-the-box thinker. She often gets “carried away.”
This beautiful book, set in my own state of Maine, follows Sparrow on her quest to find homes for the many cats her neighbor has to leave behind, when she beaks a hip and goes into a nursing home. This doesn’t sound like a scintillating premise… but it is.
In finding homes for each cat, Sparrow finds one for herself, in this her new neighborhood and school. Donovan paints a believable portrait of a quiet hero, a quiet rambunctious questioning “too much” hero of a girl. The illustrations, by Elysia Case, are lovely, too.
An endearingly energetic fourth grader takes on the big job of finding new homes for her neighbor's seven cats in this heartwarming illustrated middle grade novel for fans of Patricia MacLachlan and Sharon Creech.
Sparrow Robinson loves to dance and leap around. She loves cats. She has a million questions about the world, and she's not afraid to ask them. But she's just moved to a new town and a new school, and her busy parents have no time for her to get "carried away." Suddenly, she feels totally out of place.
A heartwarming story about loss, healing, and how to be a friend during hard times.
This tender exploration of loss illuminates the sustaining power of kindness, empathy, and friendship. It will resonate with anyone who has experienced hardship or grief, from the death of a loved one or a pet, to the transition to a new home, family situation, or learning environment. It is especially comforting during this time of social distancing and the uncertainty around what the future holds, sensitively demonstrating that we are stronger together.
