DE TAR ALLT IFRÅN MIG – THEY TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME
By Linda Jones
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUGUST PRIZE and the Norrland Literature Prize, awarded the Adlibris Prize for Best Young Adult Book of the Year and the Region Blekinge Hjärtans Fröjd Prize for Young Adult Fiction, They Take Everything From Me has stunned readers and critics alike.
FRIDA IS FIFTEEN years old and has just become a hunter. She dreams of following in her mother’s footsteps: leading the hunting party, getting moose blood on her boots. Hunting is the only thing left in the village. Everything else has been taken from them. But when a mysterious animal appears in the forest, the authorities call off the hunt. This fall, everything is on the line. Instead of the long-awaited hunt, a battle ensues over who has the right to decide over another person’s life. And then there’s Emmy, Frida can tell something’s off about her. And Frej, with the black nail polish, what does he actually want with Frida?
THEY TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME is a breathlessly well-written story about rural northern Sweden. It offers a sparkling depiction of an eroding society where rage and alienation bring people to take the law into their own hands.
ABOUT THE BOOK
First published by Bonnier Carlsen, Sweden 2023
RIGHTS SOLD
Bonnier Carlsen, Sweden
REVIEWS
“They Take Everything From Me offers a powerful voice to a rural community whose deterioration seems inevitable. Loyalties are forged and challenged when a mysterious hybrid animal perplexes the village hunters and the reader alike. Linda Jones confronts the story head on, complexities are made crystal clear through her rifle scope. And when she pulls the trigger, her thundering shot can be heard for miles.”
The August Prize Jury, Sweden
“They Take Everything From Me is a brutally honest novel about being young in a society that is slowly but surely coming undone. With elegant, personal language, Jones makes felt the lives of rural Norrland youth. […] It is a uniquely well-written, thrilling and captivating young adult book.”
Region Blekinge Hjärtans Fröjd Prize Jury, Sweden
“A colorful, realistic portrayal of trauma and teenhood, of high school and hunting. Ennui mingles with glimmers of hope and humor.”
Borås Tidning, Sweden
“An intense young adult novel about growing up in a depopulating village. The rural-urban divide is explored alongside themes of teenhood, high school and friendship in this colorful portrayal of the countryside and its people. […] I strongly recommend this penetrating page turner to readers both young and old.”
Söderhams-Kuriren, Sweden
“The story is anything but bleak, I’d sooner use words like powerful, thrilling and urgent. Its portrayal of both people and nature is so realistic that I can almost smell Frej’s deodorant, taste the frozen lingonberries, and feel the pain in my shoulder from the recoiling rifle. At the same time, there is a beauty to Jones’s language that evokes nature portrayals in folk tales of old. In other words, it would be a shame if this incredible novel did not reach beyond a young adult readership.”
Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
“Jones has found her voice in They Take Everything From Me.”
Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
“Decades of government-sanctioned rural depletion haunt every sentence like a silent roar.”
Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
“Brilliantly intense young adult novel with innovative language.”
Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
“I instantly recognize myself in Linda Jones’s They Take Everything From Me. Village life is special, it’s not like the city. […] It’s a very entertaining book.”
Norrländska Socialdemokraten, Sweden
“Do not underestimate this book, I strongly recommend adults read it too.”
Borås Tidning, Sweden
“A brilliant portrayal of the countryside, marginalization, and what it’s like to live in a society coming undone. A contemporary slam dunk! […] Jones writes with passion and energy, characterizing a sense of claustrophobia from the first page. As readers, we witness how basic social infrastructure is eroded right in front of our eyes, deepening our understanding of the rural experience.”
Monica Lindgren, Go’kväll, Sweden
“Descriptive and realistic about trauma and teenage life, about topics as disparate as high school and hunting. […] A worthwhile and empathetic novel about daring to trust others.”
Oskarshamns-Tidningen, Sweden
“They Take Everything From Me evokes adult fiction like The Wolf Run by Kerstin Ekman and Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell. It’s been a long time since I read such an expert and simultaneously somber portrayal of the countryside and its people.”
Expressen, Sweden
“They Take Everything From Me is a very well-written book. The language is refined, concise and acute. I can hear the rustling trees, the roaring river, the echoes of gunshots. The book peaks in its character portrayals and its relationships – within the hunting party, between Frida and her mother Jorun, and in the raw but rock-steady friendship between Frida and Emmy. […] They Take Everything From Me is rich and dark, a worthwhile read for everyone, not just young adults. Despite its gloom, I close the book thinking that the new generation will not repeat the mistakes of the past. That there’s hope.”
Vetlanda-Posten, Sweden
“With linguistic acuity, Jones breaks new ground in the expanses of Norbotten”
Västerbottens-Kuriren, Sweden
“Jones offers a unique take on the rural novel, which we must understand as a distinct genre. Instead of returning to a vague past, she writes in a present in which no one knows what village life will look like in a decade. It’s exciting.”
Norrbottens-Kuriren, Sweden
“Jones’s new novel is a page turner. Her power and passion for rural trauma is communicated with rich language and humorous observations, like when the kids’ new Swedish teacher is just off the train from Denmark. This novel reads like an insider perspective, a knowing roar that gives voice to the voiceless. Stunning!”
Christina Wedenmark, BTJ, Sweden
AWARDS
The Adlibris Prize, 2023
The Heart’s Delight Award, 2023
The August Prize, shortlisted 2023
Norrland Literature Prize, nominated 2024
BOOKS
Children’s & YA
